What Would You Be Doing?

[kato13]

TR 10-06-2004, 09:34 PM Always a fun theme for this board, seeing how we have new and old folk alike... Given the Twilight scenarip what would you be doing in that setting? For me being in Colorado at that time I'm sitting in the midst of all kinds of fun and games. Although officially no mention is ever made of New America's cell outside of Howling Wilderness we know Milgov would be moving out to the Springs. So I guess I would be opposing New America and aiding Milgov anyway I could. At that time my Epilepsy was in remission so it is not impossibile to imagine possibile being in some civilian or military raised unit... I'm no killer commando type but I've got research, analysis and people skills so that screams Intelligence Analyst to me.


Unofficially if things follwed as I outlined in a series of stories than Colorado would be a fighting ground as New Americas cell in Colorado was on the largest and had to be weeded out by guerilla groups and Milgov units


What about the rest of you?


Until later


TR

********************

TiggerCCW UK 10-07-2004, 05:44 AM Assuming that my life ran the same path up till 2000 I would be living in Belfast working as a bar man. The cannon history states that there is an all out war being raged here, which I have never agreed with, but if its true I could well be serving with some kind of militia unit - I'm asthmatic so the regs won't touch me, but I have a fair amount of shooting experience and a good grounding in basic military skills, from spending years as a cadet and instructor.

********************

chico20854 10-07-2004, 07:26 AM I was part of the (US) 28th Infantry Division in 95-97. I would have probably started the war as a supply sergeant in the signal battalion. The US Army Vehicle Guide states that the 28th took heavy casualties in the retreat in the Fall of 97 and was then reorganized and rebuilt. Assuming I'd lived through the retreat, I would have probably ended up as a Sergeant First Class, running some battalion's supply operations. (I had a reputation as one of the Pennsylvania National Guard's best scroungers... some of the stuff we were able to pull of in peacetime was incredible, wartime would have been out of control!).


-Dan

********************

pmulcahy 10-07-2004, 07:32 AM Well, I would be in sort of an anomalous position -- in 1996, I had been medically retired for 3 years, and here in San Antonio, but without psychiatric medication, I gradually become as nutty as a fruitcake, and quite frankly, dangerous to myself. I'm guessing I would have either somehow taken up arms and gotten myself killed in some suicidally-brave action, wandering the streets of a Soviet/Mexican-occupied San Antonio as a gibbering idiot, or have committed suicide. An outside chance is that I might, given the danger to the US, kept myself going long enough to make myself useful to the Army again -- I'm an experienced infantryman, and my mother did it in her youth (she was an Anti-Tito partisan for many years, and a bizarre but decent mother for decades after that). I did it long enough to survive Korean border incidents and Desert Storm. But I think my future in such a world would probably be bleak.

********************

graebarde 10-07-2004, 08:06 AM During the period in question, in RL I was in the Corpus Christi area of south Texas. I probably would have become involved in Mexican/Soviet resistance, and fighting off gangbangers. At the time I was actively running around with several guys who were/are well equipped, though I had a meager aresenal. But then you can only use one weapon at a time, and I did have one that I liked to use most of the time anyways. There is always going to be weapons and ammo to police from the battlegrounds.. if you are the survivor.


The extended group in question was over thirty guys, most in their middle thirties to early fifties, all were either ex-cops (or some sort of law enforcement), or combat-vets from the Nam era, or both. I guess there were a couple in the group I knew that did not fall into either catagory, but were excellent long range shots, and had cool heads. Most were competive shooters too. The also had a broad range of non-combat skills. There was at least two EMTs, one was a ham operator, one was a gunsmith, more than one was a good or better mechanic, a couple of us had spent a good portion of our lives working with livestock and farming, as well as other sundry skills. It was a very diverse grouping where military or law enforcement was the bonding interest with firearns the focal point, and twilight 2000.


There were five of them in my old gaming group, and we use to talk about the 'what if' scenarios a bit. In fact we played a campaign one time that could have almost been a training session for the five of us, all centered around the area. THAT was interesting to say the least.

********************

Jason Weiser 10-07-2004, 10:01 AM Well, by Dec 1996, I was out of ROTC due to my siezures. (I was blacking out on two mile runs, but didn't actually have them till I got out). In any event, I doubt they would have called me back, and if they did, probably would have stuck my arse behind a desk. Would not have met my wife, but I would have ended up staying in DC. After all hell broke loose, who knows, methinks I would have struck out on my own to make my own way.

********************

Twilight2000V3 10-07-2004, 09:11 PM Well in 1996 I was 24 so I would have either joined up or been drafted. If not I would probably been dust in 1997 because I lived in the LA area. But I would have been well armed!

********************

Matt Wiser 10-07-2004, 10:19 PM Not sure what I would have been: in '95 (when the Sino-Soviet War broke out), I was still in college. I probably would've joined the Navy or AF hoping for NFO/Nav training (before my allergies really, really kicked in and grounded me), Assuming I made thru OCS and NFO/Nav, I would've been in a carrier air wing or AF wing as a aircrew member. Had I lived thru the war, I'd be trying to get back to CONUS, unless I'm in the CENTCOM AO, where things are still organized and going on, and I can still fly. (I originally wanted to be an A-6 B/N, or in the AF, and F-15E WSO)

********************

pmulcahy 10-08-2004, 12:15 AM I'm looking at the poll at the top of the page. I would be backing MILGOV, but not for the reason stated. I think that CIVGOV, in the circumstances that are presented in Twilight 2000 canon, is illegitemate, due to the circumstances under which the President, Vice President, and Congress assumed power.

********************

Matt Wiser 10-08-2004, 01:05 AM Yes, their methods of assuming their power and offices would dissuade me from joining them. Kinda hard to go to Congress when these Congresscritters are packing heat and might kill somebody giving testimony that they disagree with.Add to that their President apponted himself to fill a vacant U.S. Senate Seat....and then MAY have done some removal of the other candidates to get elected by the House.

********************

TiggerCCW UK 10-08-2004, 03:31 AM Doesn't really apply to me as I'm from the UK, but I do think that Milgov have the more legitimate claim.

********************

ReHerakhte 10-08-2004, 07:20 AM Where would I be in the Twilight world...


Well by 1996 I had been out of the Army Reserve for just over a year and considering my last unit was an Infantry Battalion recce unit and I had 9 years or so military service under my belt, I feel pretty confident I would have been recalled to service as soon as Australia and Indonesia started trading blows.

Given the location of my last unit (Western Australia), I would have been involved in the defence of north-western Australia, particularly the iron ore and oil/natural gas regions. Low level warfare with lots of anti-insurgency & anti-infiltration stuff to deal with.


Considering that Australia doesn't get a lot of coverage in any edition, anything else is speculative but could very possibly include actions in countries close to Australia such as Papua New Guinea and Timor. Recce work into Indonesia would be the province of the SASR and Commando Regts so I probably wouldn't be sent there.


As for the question about MilGov & CivGov, I would be too busy dealing with the Indo's so probably wouldn't even be aware of the situations in other countries.


Cheers,

Kevin

********************

graebarde 10-08-2004, 04:36 PM Missed the poll unitl today (blind inone eye and cant see out of the other).

I would support the MILGOV, as the CIVGOV IMO was a trumped up band of hooligans in the typical political fashion. The Martial Law, declared after the nukes, would/should not be steped down until proper civilain authority can be established. This might be on a local basis at first, and not at a national level until a proper census could be taken and elections held. I personally do not think the military would WANT to retain control any longer than necessary, but would definately have influence until a properly elected president was in office with a cabinet.


Yes there are rouges on both sides in the military. The thing to remeber about the NG units going over to CIVGOV, is the commanders are ALL political appointees.


The CIVGOV bandits, did not have a quarum<sp> to hold session, and a large protion of them did not hold proper credentials according to canon. The military is having a hard time "defending the constitution agains all enemies, foreign and domestic" by 2000.

********************

Antenna 10-11-2004, 05:32 PM The almighty Antenna would of course be called upon to release weatherballons from a Airforce base, the way he releases ballons is almost sexy according from females seen him do that if it wasn't it was Antenna himself that was in charge of that unit that releases ballons.


Well, I dunno I would have a schedule of 3 weeks in airforce, 1 week civvies if the war wouldn't come to sweden ?


If Sweden would enter the war the secret jaegerforce "the cloud jaegers" would instantly kill all those puny WP-forces.


As for guardtest we all did one week, the final day we had a test for the PltSgts (eq of faenrik over here or 2nd Lt)


The drillinstructor says in the forrest;

"The ground shakes and you feel a smell of onion, cheap vodka and diesel from kaukasus."


"You hear a resounding noise and the trees in the forrest flies like toothsticks. An armored ballalajkaorchestra is marching for your direction, WHAT YOU DO Sgt."


Sgt: "ALL TEAMS FIRE!!!"


Lt : "NO, NO, NO, dont you understand that you cannot fight an armored ballalajkaorchestra with M45B's. You have to lay smoke and tactical retreat..."


Well, we cloudjaegers was thought that the allmighty M45B would kill that ballalajkaorchestra :tongue:


Antenna

********************

Chuck Mandus 10-13-2004, 06:22 PM Well, living in the Pittsburgh area, I did vote "none of the above" since the Pittsburgh area was up for grabs although CivGov did mount an expedition to it in Allegheny Uprising. I guess I'd be bumming around trying to stay away from "Whitey's" clutches, maybe offer my radio communications/electronics skills to one of the survivalist groups or the Washington militia, being an amateur radio operator. I do sympathize ith MilGov and maybe if the situation warrants it, offer them my services to help them, but me being in "no man's land" I voted "none of the above."


Chuck


DE KA3WRW

********************

ChalkLine 10-13-2004, 08:58 PM Considering that Australia doesn't get a lot of coverage in any edition, anything else is speculative but could very possibly include actions in countries close to Australia such as Papua New Guinea and Timor. Recce work into Indonesia would be the province of the SASR and Commando Regts so I probably wouldn't be sent there.



Geez, I'd probably a twenty one-day-soldier asking you irritating questions.

"This is a bullet, right?"

********************

Ed the Coastie 10-23-2004, 11:27 AM In 1996, I was an officer with an armored cavalry unit and would most likely have had the (mis)fortune of eventually becoming one of the guys about which the game was originally played!


Oddly enough, one of the friends that I made after I moved to Oregon in 1998 would also have been part of the original T2K setting; we sat down one night, extrapolated duty assignments, and realized that we both would have stood a very good chance of being part of the Escape from Kalisz scenario. (Cav Scout officer and Intelligence NCO)

********************

antimedic 10-23-2004, 07:12 PM Lets see....1996 I was 22 years old, and was a Firefighter/EMT. So hopefully I would be doing Crash/Suppresion duties on a base somewhere in the states, or I would have been drafted and turned into cannon-fodder. Or I could have stayed in Florida and waited for the big hurricane to come and wipe out the state.

********************

pmulcahy 10-24-2004, 02:57 PM That makes me wonder about something...how many of those hurricanes would have happened in the T2K world, considering all the nuclear blasts and their effect on global weather? Or might they be worse, or not as bad, or struck in a different place? This could be said about any weather phenomena. It's mind boggling (to me, anyway).

********************

TR 10-24-2004, 06:56 PM I think we would need a meterologist and an expert in nuclear warfare to collaborate on that one to calculate the blast strikes... interesting notion though.



TR

********************

shrike6 10-24-2004, 08:20 PM Wasn't that the point of "Satellite Down"? To recover the data from the downed Soviet weather satellite so Milgov could make long range weather forecasts based off the impact of the nuke strikes.

********************

TiggerCCW UK 10-25-2004, 05:00 AM I always ondered about the lack of Nuclear Winter in the game as well. I think that the climate would have changed dramatically, but I'm no expert. The other thing to consider is that there could be hurricanes, twisters, earthquakes etc happening everywhere, but because of the damage to the communications networks you wouldn't know about them unless you were in the area where they happened.

********************

helix 11-20-2004, 04:03 PM Oddly enough my old unit ( 803rd Armor ) is mentioned twice in the U.S. Vechicle guide.I started in the scout platoon (1977) and became a tanker when the "D" company was added and the "CSC" was dropped.In the canon T2000 I would have been in Poland for the big fireworks show with the same guys I was playing AD&D,COC, and of course T2000.Actually the 803 was disbanded in 1993 and the southwest Washington units became artillery ( 2/146 SP 155 m109a3/a5/a6).In the 803 I would have been a First Seargant or possably the s-2 NCO.BUT.. right now I am in the 2/146 fa as the s-3 NCO in Kuwait.So much for my expections and those of my buddies that thought we were going to fight "comrad" in Poland cuz now we are a real part of the "sheikdom of the RDF. OH YES, Milgov played "Coming Home" too many times. MSGAHG OUT

********************

Andy-Shot 11-22-2004, 07:39 PM I always ondered about the lack of Nuclear Winter in the game as well. I think that the climate would have changed dramatically, but I'm no expert. The other thing to consider is that there could be hurricanes, twisters, earthquakes etc happening everywhere, but because of the damage to the communications networks you wouldn't know about them unless you were in the area where they happened.



I read an article after the cold war was over, the nuclear winter thing was re-visted and it was determined that the original grim projections were wrong, and that it would not have affected the world as first projected. I wish I had the link, because I read a similar article on the internet as well.

********************

Jason Weiser 11-23-2004, 12:41 AM Ah, the infamous TTAPS study. Some say it was and most say it was not crud. Personally, the whole thing has more holes than a pile of swiss, but seeing as how one could only prove the validity of it all in a nuclear war, then it kinda makes you wonder. :skullt:

********************

TiggerCCW UK 11-23-2004, 02:34 AM I read an article after the cold war was over, the nuclear winter thing was re-visted and it was determined that the original grim projections were wrong, and that it would not have affected the world as first projected. I wish I had the link, because I read a similar article on the internet as well.


Thanks for the info - I wasn't aware of the study. Does anyone have a link for it?

********************

graebarde 11-23-2004, 09:25 AM The major problem with the nuclear winter model was they used FLAT surfaced sphere and did not account for mountains, water bodies. It was a well orchestrated anti nuke work done by some 'big named scientist' that propsed hypothesis that could NOT be tested under the circumstances.

********************

dawg180 11-28-2004, 01:06 PM Back in 1996 I would have been 20 years old and through two years of Architecture school in college, so my guess is I would have have been drafted and ended up as a 2Lt in the combat engineers.


My brother was taking flying lessons IRL and the Army was offering him absurd amounts of signing bonuses to try and get him into avaiation- he very likely would have been using Hellfires on Soviet tanks or carting around troops in a Blackhawk when the first ones were dropping.


My parents live 1 mile from a tertiary nuclear target on the Sovier lists (Fermilab in batavia, IL- my brother actually found it on some unclassfied documents in the college library once by wierd coincidence) so even if one or both of us had managed to survive the nuclear hell in Europe and made it home all that we would come back to is 2 acres of firestorm and radiation devastated rubble.


Pretty grim when you think about it. Thank God it was only a game!


I actually remeber being in junior high back in 1988 and having a wtire-in poll in the class. 80% of us assumed that there would be nuclear war by the year 2000. Funny how a year later the wall came down and the same teacher passes a chunk of it around th room. Talk about a learning experience!

********************

Enforcer 11-28-2004, 04:08 PM In 1996, I would have volunteered to go back into the service. I was in artillery in the USMC, but as they say in the corps "No matter what your MOS, you are a rifleman".

********************

Ed the Coastie 11-29-2004, 09:55 PM ...as they say in the corps "No matter what your MOS, you are a rifleman".


I seem to recall reading not too long ago that, by order of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, ALL Marines are now required to maintain their proficiency with at least the M-16 rifle (or other current-issue rifle weapon), regardless of rank or duty assignment (including the Commandant himself).

********************

Enforcer 11-30-2004, 12:58 PM It has been that way even when I was in the corps, in 1983 to 1986, when I went for an early out (they offered it since we had to many personel in the Marines at the time). I was able to qualify every time range came up, but my main weapon was the M-60.

********************

Ed the Coastie 11-30-2004, 08:42 PM *shaking my head* I would hate to be the Range Officer on the day that the Commandant decides to re-qualify. :unhappy:

********************

thefusilier 11-30-2004, 10:16 PM Hey,

In '96 I would have been in the Canadian army reserve. My infantry unit on the east coast would most likely have been sent as a reserve for 4 Canadian Mech Brigade Group in Germany. Or I also could have been deployed as security force for any one of the many military or other vital targets such as petroleum installations in Eastern Canada. As it turned out IRL around 1999 I was assigned to running recruit training platoons and that hopefully would have kept me from getting killed in Twilight 2000's Europe battlegrounds.

********************

gstitz 12-06-2004, 11:12 AM In 1996, I was living in Houston, TX while attending school at the Texas Maritime Academy in Galveston. I was both a midshipman and a Gunner's Mate (Guns) First Class in the Naval Reserve.


So, either way, I would have ended up on active duty, probably as an Ensign rather than a Gunner's Mate. I would have volunteered for submarine duty as my first choice and some kind of small boat unit as my second choice, with a surface combatant as my third choice. Of course, with a merchant marine background, I could have ended up as a Third Mate on one of the MSC ships that got re-activated to support the war effort.


I'm sure my wife would have moved back to central Arkansas when I got called up, as that is where her family lived (and still lives) and we had few connections to Houston other than school and jobs, so she would have missed getting nuked when Houston bought it.


So, in 2000, I would probably be at the remains of Norfolk, having just been mustered out. I'd be trying to get a group of folks from the midwest together who wanted to go home.

********************

Ed the Coastie 12-07-2004, 12:38 AM So...how many of us would have likely been at the Battle of Kalisz?


*raising hand*

********************

graebarde 12-07-2004, 10:30 AM Not I.. possibly Corpus Christi, more than likely Beeville and the brush country around there.

********************

Mouser 12-07-2004, 11:06 AM I D F...




********************

Matt Wiser 12-07-2004, 08:30 PM I wouldn't; if Navy, I'd be somewhere where the Navy is (hopefully in the Mideast). If AF, then who knows, but hopefully the Mideast or somewhere that has JP-8 to keep a few planes in the air...

********************

recon35 12-09-2004, 08:33 AM I was in law enforcement in 1996, and was 29 yrs old, so I would have stayed put in central South Carolina. Probably would have ended up in an MP outfit for CivGov, according to Cannon, possibly as an officer since I attended the Citadel for 3 yrs, prior to being asked to leave.

********************

[Schone23666]

I know this is an OLD post....but for the hell of it, where would I have been...?

I was transferred to my first active duty Air Force assignment at Spangdahlem AFB in Germany in October of 1996, with the 52nd Fighter Wing. So, I guess that answers that question. Assuming I HAD survived whatever the Soviets had thrown that was available at the USAFE installations in Europe, I'd be on the "last train to Clarksville" trying to get to the boats heading back to the U.S. Only problem was, my immediate family resided in the Hampton Roads (Virginia area, which includes the massive Norfolk/Portsmouth naval sites along with Langley AFB, Dam Neck, Oceana naval air station, Little Creek, Yorktown Naval Weapons station, Camp Perry, etc.) area which got hit by the nukes, so even assuming they'd survived, I don't think there'd be much left of home in the aftermath.

[headquarters]

I did my national service in the cavalry from july 1994 to june 1995 in the Eastern part of Norway. ( NCO school).

Thereafter I transferred to do one more year of NCO training in Troms in Northern Norway.

At the time it was considered a strategic part of the Northern flank as Norway narrows in width ( stretch of landmass) here due to the Swedish border in the east and the fjords / sea in the west. Also the area has mountains and was considered an advantagous ground for defending.

I guess I would have been caught up in the fighting in Northern Norway and then ( if there was an after) be straggling south to avoid the winter and Soviet troops.

hehe.. weird to think about it really.

[mikeo80]

In 1996, I was working as an IT Network specialist for a textile company. The company would have escaped the blast effect of TNM. The plant probably would have been converted to some kind of war production. Seing how I was 43 at the time, I probably would not have been drafted.

However, living in Fayetteville, NC, eight miles from Fort Bragg and twelve miles from Pope Air Force Base, it is an unknown if I would have survived.

My $0.02

Mike

[Rainbow Six]

At the end of 1996 I was twenty seven, living in Edinburgh where I was Manager of a retail travel agency. Not sure whether I would have been called up at the outset (assuming there was conscription) - I was single at the time but maybe too old for the first lot of call ups and my eyesight without specs isn't the best - maybe more likely to have been called up later in the year, in which case who knows...most probably in the Army, although I think my eyesight might have meant I was a in rear area role.

If I wasn't called up I might have been vaporised when Edinburgh was nuked...I suppose it depends on whether I stayed in the City or went to my parents, which wasn't a canon strike (despite being five miles from Rosyth Navy base). If I survived until the summer of 2000 (which is probably questionable as I wouldn't say that I have too many skills that would be particularly useful in a post apoc setting - I'm a City boy) I'd possibly be eking out a living as best I could, possibly in a Royal Army of Scotland militia unit.

[rcaf_777]

In 1996 I was a reservist in the Algonquin Regiment had just made Cpl (E4) and was preform RTO duty, would have drafted for duty some where?

[Adm.Lee]

In 1996, I was a 28-year old library clerk, married and already rejected from the service for asthma. I certainly wasn't going to get drafted. My home city is Columbus, apparently we didn't get nuked, so I see two possibilities (well, 3 if you count dying).

1) At the time, I was playing games with some people who knew people who said they knew people in the Ohio Unorganized Militia. (Ohio's constitution actually says all able-bodied males not in the Organized Militia/National Guard are in the Unorganized, but these were sort of survivalists and 2nd Amendment fans. I really don't think the governor or AG knew about them.) So I could have gone to the farms and woods with my friends with the guns, and a friendly farmer or three, and working part-time in some militia, state- county- or otherwise.

2) A friend of the family would have been a colonel (bird or light) in the Air Guard, and at some point in the 90s, he was on the AG's staff. He knew I played wargames and was always interested in military stuff. I think I would have volunteered for some kind of office work.

I don't want to think about my sons' lives, born after 1997.

[cavtroop]

In 1996 I was a Track Commander of an M901 ITV in the MA ARNG, so I would have been called up, probably sometime before that. Part of the 26th "Yankee" Infantry Division, A Troop, 1/110th Cavalry. I think cannon has them headed to Korea in early 97...ugh. They couldn't have sent me someplace warm? I hate the cold

[Schone23666]

Originally Posted by cavtroop

In 1996 I was a Track Commander of an M901 ITV in the MA ARNG, so I would have been called up, probably sometime before that. Part of the 26th "Yankee" Infantry Division, A Troop, 1/110th Cavalry. I think cannon has them headed to Korea in early 97...ugh. They couldn't have sent me someplace warm? I hate the cold

True, but winters in Germany weren't all that great either. They have the "wet" kind of winters that first soaks you, then promptly chills and freezes you to the bone before making you into a slushy.

[cavtroop]

Originally Posted by Schone23666

True, but winters in Germany weren't all that great either. They have the "wet" kind of winters that first soaks you, then promptly chills and freezes you to the bone before making you into a slushy.

Very true! I was hoping for Iran maybe Gas, aviation, and warm! woo!

[Targan]

In 2006 I was living here in Perth, Western Australia. I was a couple of years out of the Army Reserve and still recovering from a pretty bad motorcycle accident. From memory I was able to walk without crutches by that stage but still couldn't run so if I had been dragged back into the military I couldn't have been in my previous light infantry role. Would've been fine for a rear area deployment though, maybe some kind of clerk?

As soon as things kicked off with Indonesia they wouldn't have needed to come looking for me to take me back into the military, I would've volunteered and done my level best to be combat-ready. To be honest, at that time I was unsure if I'd ever be able to run again so chances are I'd spend the war behind a desk, until my foot healed enough to let me fight as an infantryman again. I guess as the Army became more desperate for front line replacements my chances of fighting would improve.

[Sanjuro]

In 1996 I was a Flying Instructor, teaching at a small flying school in Scotland. The bulk of my work was training RAF cadets in basic flying- I don't know if I'd have been called up, or left in place with an increased workload. Of course, if the late 80s defence cuts hadn't shrunk RAF recruitment, I'd probably have been on a frontline squadron by 1992 or so...
Assuming I survived until 2000, I would probably be trying to scavenge together whatever light aircraft were available to rebuild at least a recce/communications capability.

[bobcat]

considering the fact that EUSA gets smashed by the north koreans somehow in the storyline. running comes to mind.

nah but really i'd just be trying to find a place to bunker down till i can get back to the world.(i know a couple of good bars if the commies don't beat me to them.)

[boogiedowndonovan]

old thread, I ignored it the first time. But I will participate now.

In '96-'97 I had just finished a stint as a air cargo loadmaster and was a struggling law student. I would have been drafted. I have language skills best suited for East Asia but I have no idea where I would end up. Probably grounded somewhere in CONUS trying to survive.

[Schone23666]

Originally Posted by cavtroop

Very true! I was hoping for Iran maybe Gas, aviation, and warm! woo!

Yeah...but you can scratch off girls, pork and booze. Different trade-offs everywhere I guess.

[Panther Al]

Well, in canon the cold war never cooled down, which is why I decided to stay out of the Army instead of going in: 93 I had all but signed up but seeing the winds was blowing for a better life on Civie street I had to tell the recruiter that had me all but signed up no.

So, Assuming 4 months Basic/AIT, 6 year hitch that I was going to sign up for, and the same connections used that I used when I joined Aug 26 2001 (hows that for timing, 9-11 I was in MEPS waiting for my plane to Knox), would have been in the 3rd ACR 1996.


Seeing how badly they was handled doesn't exactly bode well for my making it to 2000....

[Schone23666]

Originally Posted by Panther Al

Well, in canon the cold war never cooled down, which is why I decided to stay out of the Army instead of going in: 93 I had all but signed up but seeing the winds was blowing for a better life on Civie street I had to tell the recruiter that had me all but signed up no.

So, Assuming 4 months Basic/AIT, 6 year hitch that I was going to sign up for, and the same connections used that I used when I joined Aug 26 2001 (hows that for timing, 9-11 I was in MEPS waiting for my plane to Knox), would have been in the 3rd ACR 1996.


Seeing how badly they was handled doesn't exactly bode well for my making it to 2000....

I remember I was up in Richmond at a hotel just a few weeks after 9/11...and ran into a bunch of kids who were getting processed into MEPS. Needless to say, the mood among them as they were watching the latest news on the TV about what was going on was pretty sober.

[waiting4something]

If I would have joined the Marines after high school and been in the 7th, I would have been ripe for sweating my ass off in Iran in the 1997 invasion.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Dying.

I was working in a datacenter on Thanksgiving Day in 1997 in Orlando, FL. Once I smashed my way out of an inch-thick window or two* and saw the mushroom cloud over Tampa, I'd run the three or four miles home where my wife was and await the inevitable.


*=electronic door locks, so I'd have to break the glass to get out.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by raketenjagdpanzer

*=electronic door locks, so I'd have to break the glass to get out.

Electronic locks are designed to unlock in the event of an emergency or power failure - it's a safety measure. You should have been able to just walk straight out.

[weswood]

I've played this game before, I don't know why it wasn't in the original thread...

'96? I was 31, been out of the Corps for 4 years, married in May of that year. I don't think I'd have been recalled, but I'd have tried to reenlist, with an MOS change to Infantry.

If they wouldn't take me, the odds are I'd have been a cooked turkey at TDM. My house is surrounded by canon targets- Exxon refinery about 5 miles one way, Mont Belview about 2 miles north, and Bayer chemical plant 1 mile to the south.

[Snake Eyes]

In the fall of '97 I was still a police officer in the Maryland suburbs of DC. But I'm pretty sure I was home down with the flu that weekend, and - if it was in canon Twilight 2000 that the nuke meant for the White House went long and detonated in Rock Creek Park - I likely would have been incinerated. Had I survived, I imagine i'd have been tasked with internal security & civil affairs crap until drafted.

[weswood]

Damn, got my year wrong. Thanksgiving '97 was the day after my father died...For a minute I thought I'd actually live through it, the cemetary is far enough away, then I remembered the funeral was the day after Thanksgiving.

[Legbreaker]

I was out of the army, but applying for a intelligence analyst position with the RAAF. IRL I didn't get it (only one spot), but in T2KU chances are I probably would, and have been located in some high security office somewhere in the south east of Australia. Would probably have got that commission I turned down in '91 too.
On a positive note I'd have avoided meeting my ex and all the crap that came with.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Electronic locks are designed to unlock in the event of an emergency or power failure - it's a safety measure. You should have been able to just walk straight out.

"Should have been"

Remind me to tell those of you who haven't experienced it all about the minty taste of Halon-1301

[Legbreaker]

Then perhaps legislated requirements are different there then...
Over here it's the law.

[Schone23666]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Then perhaps legislated requirements are different there then...
Over here it's the law.

Raketenjagdpanzer is telling the truth, unfortunately. Most electronic locks that you'll find here in the U.S. are in fact designed to switch open in case of a power blackout, but certain electronic locks that are use to restrict, how shall we say, extremely sensitive information and/or equipment work differently. Once power is lost, nothing short of C4 is going to bust that lock open, depending on how well reinforced that lock and whatever door or gate it's attached to of course.

That said, I'd hate to know what kind of "datacenter" Raketenjagdpanzer works in.

[Legbreaker]

Sounds like a recipe for lawsuits....

[Schone23666]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Sounds like a recipe for lawsuits....

Not necessarily. Though you may possibly die an agonizing death from Halon exposure, the United States of America will appreciate your sacrifice knowing that critical data and equipment has been kept secure.

(please note I'm being sarcastic)

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Originally Posted by Schone23666

Raketenjagdpanzer is telling the truth, unfortunately. Most electronic locks that you'll find here in the U.S. are in fact designed to switch open in case of a power blackout, but certain electronic locks that are use to restrict, how shall we say, extremely sensitive information and/or equipment work differently. Once power is lost, nothing short of C4 is going to bust that lock open, depending on how well reinforced that lock and whatever door or gate it's attached to of course.

That said, I'd hate to know what kind of "datacenter" Raketenjagdpanzer works in.

I worked for a company that shall remain nameless. However, while it was a private company, we had systems that were tied in to the Federal Reserve and Visa/MasterCard International, and we were the largest processor of electronic funds (ATM/Point-of-sale/Debit/EFT) transactions on the east side of the Mississippi. Then once we merged with our west coast counterpart, for a brief period (before the company was bought and broken up by two different companies) we were the largest EFT in North and South America, for about a year and change.

Nearly twenty years prior to "If you see something, say something" part of our employee training was "Don't tell anyone what exactly you do at work. If you let it slip, and if someone approaches you about committing card fraud or asks you to breach customer data, call the FBI."

Yes, our data was pretty important.

(And incidentally, no, in response to you guys and to virtually everyone who ever asked me we were not responsible for $1 and $2 ATM fees - the independent ATM franchisers and banks were, our company took $.0075 (three quarters of a penny) for every transaction we processed. When we tried to make it a penny our customers (banks) screamed bloody murder; you'd have thought we'd gone Manson Family Helter Skelter on them.)

Anyway.

The electronic/electromagnetic locks in the first datacenter we worked at were always doing flaky shit, but it never involved not locking. Sometimes the combo system would fail (thank you for crashing, Windows NT3.51 machine under the raised floor), sometimes the locks wouldn't release despite showing a good card read...I can only imagine that an EMP induced blackout would produce hilarious results - including some in the fire suppression systems. I remember one day seeing one of the IBM support guys - dude must have weighed 500lbs - come running out of one of the glassed-in CPU rooms. On that raised floor it was just like...GBOOM-GBOOM-GBOOM! Yelling OUT OUT EVERYBODY OUT HALON SYSTEM KICKED ON OUT EVERYBODY! Turns out the valve just purged itself of ullage, like...one puff...due to a chronically leaky o-ring (that's what the report from the company that managed the fire system said).

But this was ages and ages ago. And ages and ages. I left that job in October of 2001 to go work for the Army (not be in the army; I was 31 then, hardly 11b material)...that's another sad story for another time, I think...

Anyway anyway, yes, I'd have made it out and as there was a pretty clear view to the west, I'd have seen Macdill AFB and most of southern Tampa (and Patrick AFB & KSC to the east) rising up as a column of smoke and ash, tried to start my car, then walked/run home as best I could make it and...well...you know. Assuming the fallout foot-print didn't sprinkle Orlando, probably spent about a week in utter terror, assuming I and my wife (g/f at the time) didn't get killed by looters in the next couple of weeks, we'd probably have slowly starved to death over a few months, or died of something that the day before Thanksgiving would have been viewed as a minor nothing (influenza, toothache, etc.) I don't have any really applicable "survival skills" and right now my "go plan" involves a few boxes of MREs and bottled water, a generator, propane to keep it running a few days and other sundry goods all "hurricane ready" folks in FL have - but that's now, didn't have that in 1997.

God this is getting depressing.