A Bit More Coast Guard
Webstral
A Bit More Coast Guard
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I’ve been puttering about with my idea for the USCG in New England again. (Why aren’t I putting my scarce time into finishing my big-picture timeline or Thunder Empire? Lack of discipline, I suppose.) The more research I conduct, the more I see that “The Last Submarine” misses a lot of the picture in New England. Although New England is notoriously under-militarized, there are nevertheless some important assets that aren’t mentioned in “The Last Submarine”.
Here’s my creative question: what should the Coasties of a Port Security Unit (PSU) be called? Coast Guardsmen just seems like a mouthful. Also, the PSU is a specialty unit within the Coast Guard. Don’t they deserve their own name? I thought about calling them Marines, since they will essentially behave as Marines. However, that name is already taken by the USMC—a few of whom will find themselves serving with 1st District in 2000 and 2001. Also, the United Brotherhood of Fishermen (UBF) troops are called Marines. It won’t do to have the UBF infantry and the USCG infantry be called the same thing. Too confusing. So what should I call these guys? The best I’ve been able to come up with so far is “troopers”. Neither exciting nor inspired, I’m afraid.
Reviewing my notes, I have come up with a few more adaptations to the picture. At the time of “The Last Submarine”, USCG 1st District is based out of Portsmouth Naval Yard in Kittery, ME (Portsmouth, NH). When Boston started falling apart in late 1997 and early 1998, the District HQ was evacuated to Portsmouth. The DoD wanted to maintain positive control of Portsmouth Naval Base and Bath Iron Works to support naval operations in the Atlantic. Brunswick NAS had the assets available to secure Bath Iron Works; however, there was no one left to bolster the defense of Portsmouth. Accordingly, 1st District was ordered to move all remaining personnel and materiel at CGAS Cape Cod and other stations south of Gloucester, MA to Pease AFB just west of Portsmouth. All remaining federal forces at the Massachusetts Military Reserve facility on the Cape, including federalized National Guard, Air National Guard, and Army Reserve forces and their dependents, were to be moved to Portsmouth and the surrounds. Included in this list were all Coast Guard Reserve and Coast Guard Auxiliary personnel and equipment.
As a result of the wholesale relocation of virtually every USCG and USN asset in post-TDM Massachusetts to Portsmouth and, later, NAS Brunswick and Bar Harbor, John Carlucci of the UBF could make a somewhat legitimate claim that his Marines made a virtually unopposed takeover of an unpopulated Cape Cod in late Spring 1998. Almost all military personnel and most of their gear had been moved, along with large numbers of dependents and just about anything else the Coast Guard thought might be useful further north. The local police and militia on Cape Cod either had left with the Coast Guard or were co-opted by the UBF.
Once the move to Portsmouth was complete, 1st District began concentrating on supporting local fishing, protecting and supporting Portsmouth Naval Yard, and providing security for the surrounding area. An accident at NAS Brunswick left Rear Admiral Kolchek in command of all maritime facilities and operations between Gloucester and the Canadian border.
As I think I mentioned in my previous post on the subject, the USCG steered clear of conflict with the UBF Marines throughout 1998-2000 timeframe. There were several reasons for this. First and foremost, there didn’t seem to be much profit in messing with the UBF. The Coast Guard and the UBF were doing basically the same thing: using light infantry and light naval assets to safeguard fisheries and fishermen who were providing food for a starving populace. Both the 1st District Coast Guard and the UBF were full of military personnel and police of every description. Both were organized, disciplined forces keeping local pirates away from productive towns. Both were more concerned with securing their land frontiers than engaging in maritime warfare with each other.
In late 2000, MilGov decided against using 1st District to aid in the search for the USS Corpus Christi. Relations between the pro-CivGov UBF and 1st District were entirely too fraternal for the Joint Chiefs. Contact between the two forces was frequent and infrequently involved gunfire. DIA informers inside 1st District had led the Joint Chiefs to believe that if 1st District were involved in the hunt for Corpus Christi, the UBF would find out in short order. MilGov was unwilling to risk having Corpus Christi fall into CivGov hands; as a result, MilGov decided to use a small Special Forces-style unit to hunt for the submarine. The Coast Guard was left out of the action.
By early 2001, the Coast Guard was ready to change the situation in New England. They were embarrassed that they had not kept abreast of the developments surrounding Corpus Christi, despite having a number of paid informants in the UBF. The areas under 1st District had stabilized. A number of islands and easily-defended peninsula along the Maine coast were reliably producing food. The population under 1st District control had stabilized at about 175,000. This population was mostly adults fit for work and reasonably well-fed by 2000 standards. There were enough trained technicians to operate the ships and equipment. Most importantly, it had been possible to pull the Port Security Units (PSU) away from their regular security duties and train for large-scale maritime/amphibious operations. The tumultuous years 1998-2000 had been required to bring into being a reliable, stable, reasonably well-equipped militia to safeguard the base areas while the PSU trained in anticipation of other duties.
The most logical target for First District was the UBF. However, a straightforward slug-fest would be wasteful. The Coast Guard would probably win such a fight, as lengthy repairs and refitting of the cutters of the force were finally complete. Nevertheless, the District leadership decided that a decapitation stroke against Carlucci and his senior supporters would yield the best results. Ideally, a single battle on Nantucket would enable the Coast Guard to bring the entirety of the UBF Marines into the fold.
Webstral
Webstral
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DeaconR
Web: I generally like your take better--frankly my only real criticism is that you didn't come up with it last year when I was running my campaign set in the New England/Atlantic region.
I have to say I quite like your explanation for why the 1st District would not have been directly involved with the Corpus Christi incident. Unlike some other material yours would be easy to slip into a further campaign if for instance I wanted my players to return to the region.
A few other thoughts:
1. What about NOAA assets, which at the very least could be used for transport and for communications?
2. Who precisely do you think the UBF troopers ARE? They are listed as veterans for several encounters--and I remember there was some discussion about them. I have my own thoughts but I'd like to hear yours.
3. How then will this fit with the Challenge Article describing the USCG unit in Rhode Island?
4. How have they had to respond to the mutiny of the MPs?
DeaconR
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Webstral
1) I’m not familiar with the NOAA, other than what it does. Any input on ships, gear, etc. would be welcome.
2) I think the UBF are a collection of former service members and police, plus assorted thugs and other miscreants who have the necessary drive and skill to make enlistment in the UBF work. I see the UBF as a tough, no-nonsense organization that used good leadership and high standards to make the force work from the inception of the organization. After the TDM, the Marines have their choice of large numbers of young men and women in the southern New England area. Regular training and constant practice with coastal and riverine warfare have turned the Marines into a force to be reckoned with. This is why the Coast Guard has been reluctant to mix it up with them but also wants to bring them into the fold.
3) I haven’t read the Challenge article. However, as a blanket policy I have had 1st District broken into two pieces. From Woods Hole north is still 1st District, under the command of the 1st District HQ at Portsmouth. From Woods Hole south, 1st District has been incorporated directly into the Navy structure. Any surviving Coast Guard units in Rhode Island would be under the control of Atlantic Fleet HQ, unless of course any of the usual developments of Twilight: 2000 were to cause a USCG unit in Rhode Island to go another way.
4) The actions of the 43rd MP Brigade have not much endeared the MPs to First District. From a purely practical standpoint, increased unrest in eastern MA has had a direct impact on Portsmouth. The Portsmouth cantonment soon noticed the upsurge in refugee traffic out of the area and rise in marauder activity, including pirate activity. Arguably, the 43rd MP withdrawal from eastern MA set back First District plans to take back the Cape and the Islands by a year or more. As far as the breakup of the MPs goes, I haven’t incorporated too much of that. Yes, the MPs experience an attempted coup. The coup fails, and the survivors flee. Otherwise, the MPs remain intact, albeit diminished. Where is there a better deal, except maybe with the UBF or the USCG? Although there are small forces and cantonments controlled by the surviving governments of Vermont and New Hampshire, the situation isn’t any better in Concord or Montpelier-Burlington.
Webstral
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thefusilier
Webstral, in addition to eagerly awaiting additional Thunder Empire material, I'd very much like to hear more about your New England project. I'm in the process of finishing off my own Atlantic Canada project and would appreciate to hear more ideas for just south of the border. Granted, that area of the world (Eastern Canada) may not be as overly exciting as other parts, but I've been wanting to contribute something solid for a while. Considering the proximity of the two regions, whatever you have to add to what I have from Last Sub or Challenge would be great.
DeaconR, same to you since I've already been looking over saved threads you made in the past concerning New England.
To anyone... has anyone ever come up with anything for the New America enclave which supposedly exists in northern Maine? I can't remember where I read about it, but there is one there right?
thefusilier
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DeaconR
Very interested in all this--fusilier I'll be glad to answer any questions you might have. In "Howling Wilderness" it mentions a group of New Americans having taken over an area with a nuclear power plant in it. I don't have the book anymore--I lost it when I had to move unexpectedly. I had wanted to develop them more but I had not been sure what to do with them--I wanted to make them a little different from the already published material.
Webstral: NOAA operates two ships out of Woods Hole and has a research lab there as well. Here are links about both ships:
http://www.moc.noaa.gov/al/index.html
http://www.moc.noaa.gov/de/index.html
In my game I had depicted these ships having been taken over by the UBF Coastal Patrol. Since it seems in Carlucci's best interests to keep marine research going provided it is to make sure that the fishing goes well I figured he would keep the scientists at work--in fact I depicted them as approving of the fact that SOMEONE was keeping people able to live at least somewhat decently.
The Challenge Article depicts I believe an Admiral in the Coast Guard who commands some 600 cadets as well as a now out of date Coast Guard cutter and some auxiliary tugs and suchlike. I think that he had control of the USCGC Eagle as well. (in any case kind of cool to include another tall ship in the setting)
DeaconR
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thefusilier
Quote:
Originally Posted by Webstral
As far as the breakup of the MPs goes, I haven’t incorporated too much of that. Yes, the MPs experience an attempted coup. The coup fails, and the survivors flee. Otherwise, the MPs remain intact, albeit diminished. Where is there a better deal, except maybe with the UBF or the USCG? Although there are small forces and cantonments controlled by the surviving governments of Vermont and New Hampshire, the situation isn’t any better in Concord or Montpelier-Burlington.
From my understanding it read like the entire Brigade just melted away. I never liked that myself, even if a some large factions desert and head off on their own as marauders or whatever. I take it you agree that a chunk of MPs would remain intact?
thefusilier
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DeaconR
Actually what I did in my game was have a similar thing with a remnant group at Fort Devens while another group gone rogue went to Westover and other elements had gradually either deserted or just gone kind of bad in the area, to confuse the situation generally. So that for instance rumors that they were still trying to operate and being in contact with friendly forces were true, while rumors that they had gone marauder were also true.
DeaconR
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Webstral
Paratus Iterum: "Ready Once More"
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I like the Eagle, too, as a cool factor. As for a Rhode Island-based Coast Guard element using cadets, one must bear in mind that "The Last Submarine" claims that the staff and matriculants were inducted directly into the Navy in 1998. Not that we aren't perfectly free to ignore canon. I do it all the time when it suits me.
I'd ask a couple of questions about a USCG command in Rhode Island. What is the relationship between the Coasties and the Isolationists, if any? Where are the Coasties based? How have they organized their cantonment? How many people do they control? Where do they get spare parts, manufactured goods, etc.? Naturally, these are the very same questions one asks of every Y2k unit.
Assuming I were to include a Rhode Island-based Coast Guard unit into my campaign, I'd have to explain why two USCG admirals were operating in the same district on apparently separate pages. This isn't an insurmountable problem--just one that has to be addressed. Perhaps the commandant of the Coast Guard Academy took command of the cadets and staff. We could fudge the canon explanation so that the Navy absorbed the Academy en masse, then decided against breaking them up. It may have seemed better to send them back to New England to conduct coastal security operations. By the time they got back, New London had been overrun by that mob that gives the UBF their chance to make off with Corpus Christi. Perhaps the USCG was sent back explicitly to secure New London and the precious submarine, only to find that the place had been thrashed. We still must explain why this force wasn't involved in the hunt for the sub, but surely that can be worked out as well.
As for the MPs, I see the majority of the force staying at Westover AFB. The mutineers might head back to Devens, but they aren't likely to find anything of value once they get there. Scavengers and marauders will have made off with anything of value following the departure of the brigade in 1998. I just can't see anyone with a stake in affairs at Westover being dumb enough to strike out into the wilderness with nothing more than what can be carried on soldiers' backs and a few vehicles. The stupid soldiers will be dead by 2000, leaving the ones with strong survival instincts.
There are a few more additions to the canon. The surviving government of Vermont controls the Montpelier-Burlington axis. All surviving military assets have been consolidated into the Green Brigade, which is actually little more than a battalion. The presence of UVM (University Viridis Montes, or the state university of Vermont) in Burlington gave the government access to a large body of young men and women and a large pool of educated personnel. This combination has enabled the State to make the most of meager resources and hang on through the cold winters.
The surviving government of New Hampshire controls Concord and the surrounds. The State's forces are somewhat limited, as First District absorbed many of the available personnel into federal service. There is, in fact, some bad blood between the State and First District. The Coast Guard effectively has taken control of the short New Hampshire coastline using, in part, people and assets New Hampshire feels rightly belong to New Hampshire. The only fish coming inland goes through First District's cantonment. The District has not shown much inclination to get involved with events further inland, despite repeated pleas from the State to aid in such mundane tasks as liberating Nashua from its tin-pot dictator and conducting anti-marauder operations. As a result, a good deal of potentially productive land in southern New Hampshire lies fallow.
[The other side of the coin is that many of the people outside the District's boundaries have fled to the coast. While this has created some overcrowding along the coast, it has given the District a pool of compliant labor working inside somewhat secure boundaries. In some ways, the situation is rather like a wetter, colder version of Thunder Empire. In others, of coursem, the situation is entirely unique.]
My last addition for now is the group that inspired Thunder Empire: the Black Watch. The Watch started as a small group of survivalists who established themselves in Brattleboro, VT before the nuclear exchange. They managed to survive the chaos of 1998 by the skin of their teeth. Using woodland survival skills and sheer determination, the Black Watch kept the population of the southeastern corner of Vermont alive. By 2000, several small towns in the area have joined into the United Communities of Southern Vermont. They give lip service the legal authority of the State of Vermont but little else. Although the Watch is small (about 300 all told), they are exceptional. They have been much more active than the better-supplied and more numerous First District regarding anti-marauder duties. During winter, the Watch takes to skis and snowshoes and takes the battle to bandits in their winter encamments in central Vermont, southwestern New Hampshire, and northwestern Massachusetts. Their most famed exploit is the 1999 overthrow of a tin-pot dictator who had come to power in Keene, NH. In many ways, it can be said that the Watch's exceptionally aggressive winter operations have given them the breathing room to do other things during the growing season. The State of Vermont is exasperated by the Watch's refusal to come into the fold. The State of New Hampshire thinks these guys are the best thing since sliced bread, now that Keene is free of its warlord and operating as normally as can be expected under the circumstances. The government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts no longer exists, but the 43rd MP Brigade thinks the Watch provides a useful service by attracting and destroying marauders who might otherwise be drawn towards Westover AFB. The minimal contact between the Watch and the MPs has secured a very modest good will that enables occasional trade and exchange of information.]
A final omission is that First District effectively replaces the much weaker Gloucestermen, who are mentioned on the last page or two of "The Last Submarine." First District occupies essentially the same area as the Gloucestermen--the coasts of northern Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine. The chief differences are that First District is much more powerful, having much more materiel, many more personnel, and a somewhat stable if not universally adequate base of food, power, and industry; and First District does not have the anti-Carlucci vitriol of the Gloucestermen. The fishermen of this area really are civilians who ply their trade under the protection of the Coast Guard. I have retained the Salem Defense Force, which is mentioned in "The Last Submarine" as providing a barrier between the megapunks of greater Boston and areas north. The SDF cooperates with the Coast Guard in that they regularly exchange information, conduct some trade, and occasionally cooperate in military matters.
Webstral
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DeaconR
Webstral:
1. I would agree that having two admirals is redundant; I'd suggest perhaps having the commander of the Eagle establish the base in Rhode Island. It was not really perfectly done in the Challenge Article and in fact I had depicted the USCG as well as the players helping evacuate an area in Rhode Island that had been overrun by gangs. While the main government is Isolationist I had depicted what passed for prewar type government in the region cooperating during emergencies at times. I had played up everyone being haunted by what happened at Groton and New London and Boston. I kind of like your idea better than the Challenge Article which I now remember was called Rifle River. A lot of your questions were not answered to my satisfaction but I remember that they were around Newport and supporting a fishing community as you have depicted for Gloucester. 600 personnel is what I remember. I had wondered myself about ammo production and maintenance and fuel but these questions were not as I remember it well answered.
2. Finally someone with clear ideas on Vermont and New Hampshire! I always thought it was a copout to depict those areas as almost depopulated. One thing that would make the Black Watch work well would be for them to mostly be using hunting weapons; then they could be doing their own reloads and certainly they'd have to forage for themselves at times. I picture that they would have military assault weapons reserved for big missions and a few heavy weapons as backup just in case, but if they are as canny as you describe they'd husband their resources and try to live off the marauders perhaps?
3. I like you generally replacing the Gloucestermen with the USCG. The game setting gave almost no ideas on how to carry out this conflict, which I found frustrating. (though at the end of the day the players never tried to infiltrate, they just snuck around a lot at night and avoided encountering anyone till they actually got to the sub)
4. Why didn't the USCG take part in the sub hunt? I like your original reason but I would also speculate that the very reason it might have been kept secret is that it seems to me that in the last year or so Civgov and Milgov have been at odds but tried to avoid coming to direct blows.
DeaconR
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Jason Weiser
Web,
This is great stuff, and it's really good to see you posting again. Mind if we crib it for our "recovery project"? I think the UBF is going to be very interesting politically, as things heat up between the two US governments and New America.
Deacon,
I PMed you a while back, I was kinda hoping to get your campaign notes from you. Mainly, a rundown of where your campaign had been, and where was it going. Us working group folks have plans for those guys...big plans that work very well. Suffice to say, they do a lot for their country.
Jason
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DeaconR
Jason: I never got your pm--I was away for a bit and my pm log got clogged up I think. If there was other stuff in it could you send it again? Otherwise I'll get to work on sending you that in some kind of intelligible form.
DeaconR
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Jason Weiser
Never sent one as it turns out, thought I did..aw hell. I did send one to Web. Web, Dan and Flamingo and Law and I have sort of an offer to make to you if you'd like. PM me if you're interested.
Jason
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DeaconR
Please do.
DeaconR
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Jason Weiser
Well, it applies to both you and web.
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Jason Weiser
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thefusilier
Anyone want to spend a minute to give an opinion on Maine? Forces and the current situation.
thefusilier
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DeaconR
First of all: I have found it weird for a while that Loring AFB (one of the biggest SAC bases in the Cold War east of the Mississippi) was not hit. I don't want to resurrect old discussions on target lists but I would mention that here you'd have a lot of trained personnel who wouldn't just vanish.
Second, there are the Bath Iron Works and Portsmouth Naval Yard. Webstral has mentioned these and I like his take on them so I'm going with that. That's in Maine. He also covers Brunswick NAS which is also there.
Personally I'd go with the idea of the units at Loring (presuming that the B-52s and the KC-135s have long gone) will have teamed up with the local naval units.
As for the New Americans in Maine...
I'm going to give it further thought, fusilier, but suffice to say that I'd thought of them overlapping both Maine and New Brunswick in their activities.
DeaconR
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thefusilier
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeaconR
First of all: I have found it weird for a while that Loring AFB (one of the biggest SAC bases in the Cold War east of the Mississippi) was not hit. I don't want to resurrect old discussions on target lists but I would mention that here you'd have a lot of trained personnel who wouldn't just vanish.
Second, there are the Bath Iron Works and Portsmouth Naval Yard. Webstral has mentioned these and I like his take on them so I'm going with that. That's in Maine. He also covers Brunswick NAS which is also there.
Personally I'd go with the idea of the units at Loring (presuming that the B-52s and the KC-135s have long gone) will have teamed up with the local naval units.
As for the New Americans in Maine...
I'm going to give it further thought, fusilier, but suffice to say that I'd thought of them overlapping both Maine and New Brunswick in their activities.
I agree about not bringing up nuke hit lists. Google Earth shows Loring in the middle of some farm fields in that part of Maine, so I guess they could sustain themselves.
New America. I believe we think the same for some of this. Cannon mentioned that along with a number of US states - 3 Canadian provinces had cells as well. While it didn't mention them - I named them British Columbia, Alberta, and New Brunswick (like you I closely linked that group with Maine - now overlapping)
thefusilier
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DeaconR
What I'd suggest is this: the New Americans according to canon are trying to get a nuclear power plant online again. A few thoughts about this:
1. If they have thought of it, so have others. Any Milgov/Civgov units in the area would have thought of it. So there has to be a reason why they haven't made the attempt--it could be that they have had other priorities but surely they will at some point think of sending a team to investigate the area.
2. The Maine-Yankee plant is in Wiscasset, Maine. This is a town of about 3,000 on the coast in the southern part of Maine in Lincoln County. It was decommissioned in the mid nineties.
3. The New Americans in the area would I imagine have some kind of coastal patrol boats--if only launches or the like--and would probably either be holding the locals remaining captive or else have supplanted them altogether.
4. Another strong image comes to mind with these people--they are cut off. The nearest enclave of New Americans would be in Plattsburgh, New York. Communications are apparently poor.
5. On the other hand to New Americans this is good. Bear in mind, those of us who have read New American-esque literature know that they WANT disaster, they want a total social upheaval so that they can rebuild society in the US in their own image. They don't care how many people suffer and die for them to accomplish this--they don't see it as their fault anyway. So they are probably cheering at the disintegration of things in the New England states. They will want the Isolationists, UBF, and Milgov units in the area to fight among themselves. I'm picturing that as with Florida there is probably some kind of provocateur on a ham radio or something.
6. Further bear in mind that they are insidious. New Americans only take over wholesale when they know they've pretty much got the advantage. Otherwise they prefer to undermine local social structures and use acts of terrorism and the like.
7. The surviving New American cells as depicted in canon all have something in common--they all managed to grab their caches of arms and ammunition. They are probably quite decently armed and fed if they have remained around this long.
DeaconR
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thefusilier
Thanks DeaconR, I'm pretty much online with much what you said already, but your opinion has cemented the ideas.
If not the Maine-Yankee plant there is the Point Lepreau plant in New Brunswick.
thefusilier
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Webstral
With respect to canon, which as you all know I am more inclined to try to preserve than change, I can’t see a New American cell successfully operating at Wicasset, ME with an intact and successful 1st DST (my working abbreviation for First District) cantonment so nearby. At the risk of being self-centered, I’m going to choose my project with its more in-depth treatment of coastal New England over a blurb in “Howling Wilderness”, which we have almost universally rejected. I’ll bet Frank Frey would support me, so long as I’m doing decent work.
Now what would be very interesting is to have a New America cell literally on the border of 1st DST—at least for a while. While the District is sorting itself out, the New Americans begin sorting out their area. During the tumultuous 1997-1998 phase, the Coast Guard has little attention to spare for events in Wicasset, even if it is right up the street. The New Americans are smart enough to hide under the guise of legitimacy for the time being.
Perhaps one of the reasons 1st DST doesn’t undertake offensive operations further south in 1999 is that they are busy with New America in and around Wicasset. For a time, the New American cell plays nice and gets away with it. After a while, though, things come to a head. Word is going to get to Portsmouth that someone is messing about with the nuclear plant. Someone goes to investigate, and then there is trouble. The District discovers that the New Americans are well-armed, more numerous than expected, and well-equipped. The District mounts a major offensive that destroys the New American cell (although not killing all the New Americans). This operation costs the District dearly in manpower and materiel. They spend the next year rebuilding their forces. As an added bonus, this operation will give 1st DST a valuable base of experience for mounting large-scale operations. Of course, escaping New Americans might cause more trouble at another location.
Webstral
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thefusilier
Thanks for further insight Web. I try to preserve cannon as much as possible myself... but as you said there can be exceptions.
thefusilier
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Webstral
Some of the very best stuff is exceptions to the canon. GDW only had so much time and attention. Those of us who have opted to carry the ball have much more time and energy to devote to developing the world and expanding on the material provided in the 80's. Each of us has a favorite area, etc. Everyone can contribute excellent exceptions to canon, I think.
Webstral
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Webstral
Life in 1st DST Notes 01
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As of January 2001, the USCG 1st DST controls an area extending roughly from Rye, NH along the Maine coast to Bar Harbor. By road, this is a distance of nearly 240 miles—an impressive area to control in early 2001. However, not all is as it appears. The District, as both locals and the USCG call the Coast Guard realm, holds sway no more than ten miles inland in any location. In most areas, 1st DST controls the hinterland to a depth of less than five miles. Thus the District controls a sliver of territory clinging to the sea. In many areas, control is nominal—there isn’t anybody along certain stretches of coast to contest the Coast Guard. In most other areas, control really rests in the hands of local militias who receive training and support from the Coast Guard and who conduct coastal trade under the protection of USCG cutters and boats. The Coast Guard maintains order throughout its slender domain with its manpower and materiel stationed predominantly at four bases: Portsmouth Naval Yard in New Hampshire, the City of Portland in Maine, Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine, and the City of Bar Harbor in Maine.
Life in the District is in many ways typical of American life in 2001. The luxuries of the late 20th Century are long gone. Modern life is about the struggle to produce enough food and to survive the hard winters. Violence, starvation, and disease have carried off more than half the population; everyone has lost someone. The old economy has collapsed. In the new economy, the most valuable asset is productive farmland—or, the case of the District, a working fishing boat and the ability to harvest the bounty of the sea. The next most valuable commodity is the rifle and the ability to use it to defend the productive farmland and the fishing vessels. Those who have weapons and who are ready to use them to take what other survivors have are ever-present wolves lurking beyond the borders of towns and cities struggling to survive in the harsh world that is post-attack America. In this regard, 1st DST is like any other place in the United States of 2001.
In other regards, however, the District is completely unique. The area retains a surprisingly large percentage of its pre-war population. Although many of the original residents of coastal southern Maine have died, they have been replaced by refugees from inland areas. The harsher winters of inland Maine, coupled with the rising tide of marauders and bandits, drove survivors towards the coast by the tens of thousands. The produce of the sea kept them alive—as well as keeping the local governments and the District itself in control of the situation. Without the sea, with its fish, lobsters, shellfish, and seaweed, the whole region might have collapsed in 1998. However, with control over a reliable food source, the District had control over the local population. This gave the District its opportunity to sow crops and reorganize southern coastal Maine for self-sufficiency. At the same time, the disparate armed units throughout the area—from Coast Guard personnel to active duty and reserve personnel from every branch of the armed forces to law enforcement of every stripe—were welded into a cohesive force by never-ending small unit actions against the inland bandits seeking to encroach on the coastal enclaves.
By late 2001, life in the District has stabilized considerably. Food is reliably available—so much so that the District can consider trading some to other cantonments in New England. Corn and fish are the staples of the District diet, supplemented by beans, potatoes, tomatoes, squash (including pumpkin), carrots, beets, various garden greens, chives and garlic, and small game. Local farms and garden shops provided the seed for 1998’s planting season. Local farmers and agricultural experts provided the know-how. The Coast Guard and its supporting militias provided the security.
Food is still rationed, except for what is grown in gardens. Fishing boats are required to operate out of USCG-controlled facilities, to which they are required to return with their catch. The boat crew can keep a certain percentage of the catch. The rest goes into the general supply and is distributed through the ration system. The same is true of the produce of farms and greenhouses. Local governments handle the rationing under the watchful eye of USCG officials.
Living conditions are cramped. Houses with many people in them are much warmer in the winter. Tightly-packed communities are safer, given the limits on manpower and the ever-present threat of marauders from inland. Many homes have been lost to fires over the past three years, and there has been limited new construction. However, those who have made it to 2001 are generally safe in the District. Public health is not quite what it used to be, but neither are people greatly at risk from disease.
Pirates, who represent a major threat to many other coastal communities throughout 2001 America, are no longer a significant threat to the District. The District has fought a vigorous anti-pirate campaign from 1998 until the present. Some have excoriated the District for its failure to reach any appreciable distance inland in its security efforts. Instead of securing the Maine hinterlands, the District has hunted along the Maine coast and even into Canada for all pirate bases. Using its Port Security Units as marines, the Coast Guard has attacked pirates in their own bases, sinking or capturing scores of ships, killing or capturing thousands of maritime bandits, and forcibly relocating their dependent populations to prevent further outbreaks of piracy. Thus while Augusta is outside the District security zone, District-based fishermen can operate throughout the Gulf of Maine without escort.
For all intents and purposes, the District is divided into two parts—North District and South District. In South District, the security zone is a more-or-less continuous belt running from just south of Portsmouth, NH to Newcastle, ME. Patrols by local militia and Coast Guard troops are frequent throughout this area. Although only the unwise travel unarmed outside the urban areas, lawless elements are generally small groups of individuals who survive by being unobtrusive. Large groups of marauders who move into this area have met untimely ends so frequently over the past few years that they generally stay away from the District.
North District, running from Newcastle to Bar Harbor, is a different story. Here, District control is limited to easily-defended areas. Islands and isolated peninsulas in Muscongus Bay, Penobscot Bay, and Blue Hill Bay have been turned into cantonments. Thanks to persistent patrols by the Coast Guard, offshore islands generally are safe from marauders. Small groups using one or two boats generally are discovered and dealt with by the island militia. Larger groups requiring multiple boats simply never get the chance to assemble. The Coast Guard has fought several one-sided engagements in the area, smashing every attempt to land a sizeable force on any of the islands.
The peninsula enclaves typically are defended at the necks of the land bridge. The forest is cleared to create a wide barrier of open space. Fixed fighting positions are supplemented by patrols and LP/OPs manned by local militia and/or Coast Guard personnel. Infiltration here is much easier for bandits, although the use of dogs at the barriers makes this a real challenge nonetheless. The largest of these peninsula enclaves is Mount Desert Island which, though technically an island, is joined to the mainland by the Bar Harbor Road/Rte. 3 Bridge at the northwestern tip of the island. The bridge crossing is heavily fortified and manned at all times.
The situation is sufficiently stable for the existence of local politics. Municipalities elect their own officials, who have some leeway in how to use municipal resources. However, final say in all matters remains with the Coast Guard. Thus far, there have been few complaints about the situation. More than half of the population of the District has come from elsewhere in Maine, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts. A steady stream of refugees keeps the local population aware of how good they have it relative to many parts of New England. The occasional sound of small arms fire from the perimeter of the District reminds the population that they are under the protection of the Coast Guard and their local auxiliaries. For now, at least, there is no real restiveness among the natives.
The District maintains a force of 2000 Coast Guardsmen under arms, including all boat and cutter crews, all PSU (Port Security Units), and command and support personnel. About a third of this number were originally USCG, USCG Reserve, or USCG Auxiliary. Around a quarter are military personnel originally from other services (principally Navy personnel from Brunswick NAS and National Guard from Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire), while the last portion are former police and local recruits. The equipment of the Coast Guard is good, if worn, and the ammunition is adequate if not bountiful. Many pre-war gunsmiths have been relocated to the four main bases, where they keep the Coast Guard’s weapons in good repair.
Approximately 8000 militia are scattered throughout the District. One fifth of this number is active duty/cadre troops, almost all of whom were military or police before the war. The remainder is reservists who serve, on average, one week in every four. Their level of training is generally modest, although most can give a good account of themselves in a fight. The equipment of the militia forces in the District is virtually all small arms. As the Coast Guard has claimed almost all the assault rifles and machine guns, the militia uses hunting rifles, shotguns, handguns, and a sprinkling of older military rifles. Ammunition is not as abundant as anyone would like, but the militia is better-supplied than the marauders who have been testing them for the past year.
Although the exact number is unknown, the most reliable estimate of the population of the District is 150,000. The single largest economic activity is farming, whether on regular farms, in labor-intensive gardens, or in greenhouses. Fishing is the next most prominent economic activity, followed by manufacturing of all kinds and military activity. Having solved the basic problems of food and security, the District finds itself at a crossroads. Further industrial recovery will require more labor, more expertise, more energy, more tools and fixtures, and more raw materials. Expansion of the District’s territory will meet some of these needs but not all. Machine shops, which are fairly common throughout eastern and southern New England, can solve some of the District’s problems. However, the issues of energy, skilled labor, and raw materials will continue to plague the District for the foreseeable future.
Webstral
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thefusilier
Once again, well done Web. This is amazing work. This is really helping me with my Eastern Canada project.
thefusilier
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Webstral
Life in 1st DST Notes 02
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In early 2001, the neighborhood of 1st DST is far from peaceable; and yet, the situation in New England is not as bad as it is in some parts of the country. Put simply, the people who were going to die of starvation, disease, and violence are mostly dead. Pre-war stocks of food were eaten in primarily 1998, though some lasted through 1999. However, during 2000 virtually everyone in New England was eating food that had been grown or gathered since the nuclear exchange. Though something more than half the pre-war population of New England (about twelve million) was dead, the survivors were growing or gathering enough food to keep themselves alive—at least for the time being.
By January 2001, certain patterns have evolved throughout New England. Cantonments of various sizes and populations have developed. Each has a mixture of various ingredients for the recipe of success in post-exchange America. Each cantonment that has survived to the beginning of 2001 has productive land, farming labor and crops, a self-defense force with at least some weapons and ammunition, a defensible area, and some source of power for whatever industry is being used to meet the needs of the farmers and the self-defense force. Although these elements vary hugely in their quantity and proportion from place to place, virtually every cantonment in existence in New England in 2001 has these things.
Outside the cantonments are small groups that survive by escaping notice, hunter-gathering groups, and marauders. By early 2001, there are fewer marauders in New England than in many other locations in the country. New England winters are hard—especially inland. Those who make their living through banditry are finding pickings increasingly slim outside the cantonments. In 1998, much of the suburban populations of the New England states remained in place. Those who had fled the cities and suburban areas died in large numbers over the winter. By the end of 1998, the breakdown of food and fuel distribution resulted in another surge of refugee movement, thievery, and escalating civil violence. Those inclined towards more-or-less peaceful cooperation banded together, as did those inclined towards the use of arms to secure their needs. Like medieval towns and cities, the population centers of post-attack New England became islands of housing and industry surrounded by their fields (figuratively speaking). Beyond the safe zones, marauders roamed. Those who chose to live outside the cantonments that rapidly came into being in late 1998 and throughout 1999 frequently died of hunger or violence or turned to violence themselves to meet their needs.
Thus by January 2001, New England is mostly a series of cantonments separated by areas of wilderness sparsely populated by those who survive by their wits. The term wilderness is, of course, something of a misnomer. Many of the unpopulated areas are filled with homes, malls, and industry. However, these places have been given over to the bandits as well as those small groups of hunters and farmers who choose to remain outside the cantonments for whatever reason.
Many of the larger and more successful of the marauder groups have set up bandit kingdoms of their own, complete with warlords. Foremost among these are the megapunk fiefdoms throughout greater Boston. Other examples exist throughout the region, where marauders concluded their chances for success were better if they controlled the cantonments.
As a result, a tenuous stability exists throughout most of New England at the beginning of 2001. Though on its knees, civilization has not collapsed completely. The survivors represent the young, the adaptable, and the iron-willed. A few of the more powerful cantonments have begun to look around them as they consider the future.
Manchester, NH
The government of the State of New Hampshire has survived—barely—in the largest pre-war metropolitan area. Like most surviving urban areas, Manchester is more a city-state like Krakow (Poland) than a traditional city. Much of the original population of the city is gone, and many of the current residents are from elsewhere in the state. The government has endured, albeit as a skeleton of its former self. In late 1998, the State Treasurer conducted a coup with the support of the state police and some leaders of the hastily-assembled New Hampshire Military Reserve. Federal representatives like the commander of USCG 1st DST and the commander of 43rd MP Brigade used this development to justify severing ties with the State of New Hampshire.
The new Acting Governor of New Hampshire moved the surviving government assets to Manchester. The New Hampshire Military Reserve (NHMR) had been formed using weapons and equipment left by New Hampshire National Guard and Air National Guard units. The single largest concentration of these was in the Manchester area. Also, industry was more concentrated in Manchester than elsewhere in the state. The acting governor wanted to consolidate every government asset in the area most likely to yield a sustainable cantonment (although he did not use that term himself). He promptly abolished the municipal government “pending future developments”.
As of January 2001, the population of Manchester is 60,000—down from a pre-war high of 100,000. About forty percent of the population lived in the city in November 1997. The remainder have moved to the city fleeing marauders and chaos elsewhere. The city has survived through the high level of volunteerism and cooperation of many of its residents. Few seem to view the acting governor’s actions as suspect. In fact, many see his actions as the only reasonable course of action, given the state of things in late 1998.
Another factor that has helped the city survive is the abandonment of every other part of the state. Throughout the northern half of New Hampshire and in many other locations, state assets were simply packed up and moved south under the guns of the NHMR once the new acting governor had assumed control. When Nashua fell to a strongman who became a petty dictator, Manchester did nothing. When Concord was overrun by a marauder group, Manchester did nothing. Manchester has little idea what is happening beyond its own borders.
Despite all this, the state government survives—if in name only. The Granite Brigade disposes 400 full-time soldiers and another 1400 militia commanded by the pre-war State Adjutant. Training and equipment are mixed. Regular attacks by marauder bands of various sizes have hardened the Granite Brigade considerably.
Life in Manchester is hard. Food is barely adequate. The winters are cold. There is some electricity from ad hoc hydro power and other sources, but the government uses all of it to operate the sparse industrial base. Despite this, everyone knows it could be worse. Life in the city is relatively safe. Those who work on the farms ringing the city and those who patrol the outskirts are the ones who bear the brunt of the danger.
Manchester suffers the same problems as most New England cantonments in early 2001. Nearly everything is in short supply. The pre-war equipment is wearing out, and no one knows where replacements will come from. The state government has sold their souls to survive (and, to their credit, to keep a city alive), but no one can say whether the future will bring redemption.
Webstral
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Last edited by Webstral : 05-20-2007 at 09:33 PM. Reason: Correct grammar
Webstral
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DeaconR ,266
Web, you have a gift. I'm also very impressed. You manage to evoke that sense of isolation and desperation that was so well conveyed in Alas, Babylon.
Here is some of my take on New England based on my own game.
Connecticut is a state of contrasts. Part of it along with northern New York is a devastated area partly emptied by panic over radiation fears but also from a wave of disease that went in a swathe from New Jersey to central Connecticut. With civil unrest and food shortages already stretching state government to the max the plague hit like a tidal wave striking an open coastline.
Along with the riots in New London and Groton the devastation of the disease left the coastal regions of the state all but depopulated. Refugees, the most ill armed and timid of marauders, scavengers and the sick and dying are most of what remain.
One of the main enclaves in the area is New Haven.
New Haven was almost overrun by marauders and refugees and general mobs when they were rescued by an unexpected source--the 11th Connecticut Militia. While normally these people were a Revolutionary era reenactment society they proved to be following the overwhelming of some of the last police blockades in the area one of the few cohesive forces of altruistic citizens. They exchanged their muskets for hunting weapons and privately owned pistols and presented a startling sight--not in their eighteenth century uniforms but simply in their civilian coats and jackets--marching shoulder to shoulder with excellent discipline, discharing their weapons into the air and warning off the mobs. With some difficulty but with determination--after all it was their homes they were fighting for--they managed to help local police restore some order, build defenses and begin to patrol the area.
New Haven's Marsh Botanical Gardens have been altered to suit growing food and medicinal plants instead of hothouse flowers.
Yale University contains one of the most important libraries remaining in the country, as well as a repository of knowledgeable people. Currently it is able to manufacture a certain amount of basic medecines as well as provide information about vital needs for economic recovery. Some of the important collectibles such as rare medical texts and Elizabethan era works have been carefully placed in guarded and sealed vaults.
Unlike some other cities New Haven has its own power station right in the city--admittedly the city is small, with a present day population of only 80,000. Careful screening of refugees has made certain that there are people capable of running the plant. The only major problem is that fuel is now desperately short. In order to run the hospital and the gardens they need the power station. There is talk of sending a major expedition at some point to reconnect to some kind of supply line to get fuel.
New Haven is run by its mayor and a city council. They are only vaguely in touch with the outside world--much of the immediate area surrounding them is a horror show of devastation and death, and they fear that much of the rest of the country is in the same shape. What few sparse radio communications they've had indicate a country gone mad--what is Milgov? What is Civgov? Who are the New Americans?
In general people in New Haven eat nutritiously but are constantly on the verge of a near starvation diet--everyone is always hungry though they have just enough to keep working. Luxuries are few; a warm bath is considered a luxury. However no one is scavenging rats to eat and you can walk down the street without wondering if you are going to be robbed. Work is almost constant--lurking behind any smile is the fear that the power station may have to be turned off, that the night will come with a vengeance and close around them. That someone sick will get through the safety net and infest everyone. That they'll run low on ammunition at a crucial moment when another crazed, starving mob of the dying and sick comes in on them.
DeaconR
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thefusilier
You guys are amazing.
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The Fusilier
thefusilier
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Webstral
I’m glad you have produced something about Connecticut. I have shied away from Connecticut so far. The Connecticut River is a major thoroughfare, so Connecticut should figure prominently in recovery plans for New England, if for no other reason. Given that a New Haven cantonment is in a position to interdict river traffic, the cantonment leadership might have some decisions to make. Do they have contact with the UBF? Do they have their own fishing fleet? Has the 43rd MPs shown any interest in New Haven? Is New Haven self-sufficient regarding food, or do they need to trade manufactured goods with surrounding communities a la Krakow?
I love that you’ve brought in Yale. I tend to focus on higher education as a resource, too. UVM is a cornerstone of the survival of the government of Vermont in the Montpelier-Burlington corridor. The catch for us is keeping a substantial percentage of the staff and student body (preferably the upper classmen and graduate students) in the locale until the surviving government puts them to work. I wonder if some formula might be devised?
Webstral
Webstral
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DeaconR ,266
thanks Web for asking the pertinent questions!
New Haven only produces so much food--while some sail operated fishing ships bring in some protein they generally trade for more with information and technology to the UBF and the Isolationists. They have even traded with some of the more friendly and stable communities in New York. However they are wary of travelling too far afield since they lack long range communications as yet and more importantly the ammunition to make such journeys safe. Thus far New Haven is safe largely because its militia are known to be armed and determined.
Yale did not have a full student complement after the TDM but there were still a number of students and professors along with other staff stranded there. This being the case it was felt that they could be more easily protected if they remained on campus--and city leaders realized that they might have a valuable asset in the students.
First of all, some few of these students were ROTC and these were quickly put to work helping to improve the militia along with the instructors who had been assigned to them.
Second: while free to leave they were strongly encouraged to stay. For some it was a desperate lifeline--few truly know what nuclear targets were hit, what cities were entirely evacuated or what precisely happened. Those who stayed gathered their courage and determined to make the best of it. They are highly valued members of the community--they are not just working on degrees but on survival and hopefully prosperity! Interestingly the structure of the college as far as social hierarchy remains in place but as in all such cases at times true leadership rises beyond the norms. Thus student union members have a lot more influence at the college and in town than they normally would have--they make important decisions about work projects on the campus grounds, about changes in bylaws, about security and even on their own work.
DeaconR
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chico20854
Deacon, Web-
Some concepts we are discussing for the recovery plan that may bear on your work on New England:
-It seems that the Army (& presumably FEMA) had relocation plans for evacuating cities. The third-world style refugee camps with acres of blue plastic tarps aren't really a long-term housing solution. I found references in an obscure Army regulation (which I didn't jot down, drat!) to authority to requisition real estate, especially hotels & apartments for non-military purposes. Desirable criteria were remoteness from military installations & cities. It seemed to imply that these were for refugee resettlement. The two types of areas that seem to spring to mind are resort communities and colleges/universities in rural areas. So I could see Branson, MO, Vail & Aspen, CO and Killington, VT as relocation sites, in addition to places like Lafayette, IN (Purdue Univ.), State College, PA and College Station, TX.
-Universities- we seem to see eye to eye on their desirability. ROTC students were gone by the end of the Spring 1997 semester - the seniors as officers, the rest of the students as NCOs or privates, the instructors to the battlefields of the world. Many lost a portion of their student bodies during the TDM (most students were home and were unable to return). Refugees were moved into the dorms of many of them. Even community colleges have libraries and labs full of priceless equipment and the educated personnel to make them work, while the many arts & humanities teachers can continue the existence of civilization by preserving higher learning and teaching the next generation. We will probably feature "university rescue or recovery" type missions in the recovery plan, where governments send a team (perfect for a group of PCs) to essentially raid a university campus and salvage library materials, lab supplies and bring back to a cantonment faculty and staff of a university in an unsecured area.
Great work, guys!
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