[chico20854]

Originally Posted by Webstral

A potential mission or module would involve moving all of the airship equipment and personnel from Missouri to Colorado. MilGov probably would expend whatever resources necessary to ensure safe delivery. Still, given the state of things, there might be room for PCs to play their part. Route reconnaissance would be critical. Oklahoma, through which the most obvious route is traced, seems more-or-less under MilGov control, but one could tweak this situation to add excitement. Surely CivGov would have obtained information about the airships from its own agents. CivGov would realize that airships could completely change the balance of power in their favor. What kind of effort could they make to acquire the airship materials and people being trucked (presumably) to Colorado?

Equally, there may be players in the remnants of the Oklahoma government who could be swayed to try to get hold of the airship resources for themselves. Perhaps CivGov corrupts an important official in the rump Oklahoman government? Perhaps that person thinks s/he can make off with the airship resources and use them to purchase a position in whatever organization will offer the best deal? Perhaps a warlord just outside the boundaries of MilGov control gets wind of the movement of men and machines across Oklahoma and makes a bid of his own to acquire the invaluable convoy?

Opsec???? Maybe Milgov can find a team of soldiers whose families happen to be in a refugee camp in a Milgov enclave. In case years of operations overseas wouldn't have taught people that loose lips sink ships.

Milgov tells the state/local governments (or its subordinate commands) acquire X number of semi trucks (so many vans, so many flatbeds), Y gallons of fuel, and have troops ready to clear civilian traffic, if any, from roads when we tell you. Never any word of airships. High priority cargo, details classified.

Or it might be high enough priority to assign one of the remaining C-130s to fly out and pick up the cargo. To quote Mad Max in Road Warrior "Think of it as a down payment."

Originally Posted by Webstral

Assuming the airship materials liberated from the New Americans in the Ozarks make it to Colorado, there remains much to be done to realize a vision of fleets of airships aiding in the reestablishment of long-distance commerce and tying the nation back together. Based on the statistics in Airlords of the Ozarks (thanks, Littlearmies), the smaller New American airship cruises at 12 mph and has a range of 380 miles. The larger airship cruises at slightly more than 11 mph and has a range of more than 500 miles. In order to make proper use of the airships, MilGov will need to establish secure aerodromes at suitable intervals. In some cases, aerodromes will have to be established in locales where there is no MilGov control. Sorting out this problem is an excellent mission for player characters.

I see MilGov turning the whole airship show over to the Air Force. It wouldn’t take much for the USAF Chief of Staff to convince his counterparts that manufacturing as many airships with the greatest possible lift capacity would be Colorado’s top priority. Specialty products and machines not available in Colorado might be necessary. Players could be assigned long-range reconnaissance to locate the needed materials and machines.

Determining MilGov’s priorities is going to be a challenge for me. It’s not going to be hard to come up with a laundry list of missions for whatever airships Colorado Springs has available at any point in time. What gets done first? To a large degree, the answer is going to be based on the condition and assets of the Colorado enclave. Equally, the answer will be determined by the needs and assets of other MilGov enclaves. Also, key personalities will influence the list. Any input on all of this would be most welcome.

Webstral

It might be possible to string together Milgov enclaves with 500 mile hops. Colorado Springs to Ft. Sill, Ft. Sill to Memphis, Colorado Springs to Hill AFB, Hill to Mountain Home AFB, Mountain Home to McChord AFB, all are under 500 miles. (Yes, getting Hill and Mountain Home back under Milgov control might be an effort). California is more of a problem, as is finding somewhere in eastern Tennessee or SW Virginia to serve as a link to Norfolk and New Jersey.

One calculation the USAF will have to convince the other joint chiefs about is the tradeoffs between diverting men and material into airship construction is worth the savings in fuel over using the relatively massive quantities of existing civil (and military) cargo aircraft that sit grounded. When you add in the relative uncertainties of operations (vulnerability to rough weather, aircrew experience differentials between LTA and fixed wing pilots, availability of support facilities - runways, hangars, parts, gas, fuel) it gets even more difficult to decide.

When I was looking at what was needed for recovery, air transport came out pretty low on the scale. Its a (relatively) high-cost means of transportation. Its two advantages are speed and the ability to bypass hostile ground. Unfortunately, in many cases what is most needed to be moved between enclaves for long-term recovery is bulk items - food, fuel, munitions, manufactured products. These don't move well by air, even in LTA. In many cases, the most efficient use of resources is, unfortunately, to secure a surface transportation route - a rail line, navigible waterway, road or power/telephone line. In the recovery plan we're working on, we have Milgov maintaining a fixed-wing and LTA ferry service between enclaves, but it's infrequent and used for only high-priority passengers and cargo, certainly not being used to move sacks of rice or to reunite families. (This isn't to be cold-hearted, its just that the limited supplies of fuel, spares and crew means that commercial air service won't be back for a few decades).