OMEGA Revisited

[Raellus]

There may be an existing thread dealing with OMEGA and CONUS, but if there is, I can't find it.

I've been thinking a bit about the massive draw down as U.S. forces return to CONUS from Germany in the winter of 2000. Several forumites have pointed out that it seems unrealistic that so many veteran troops would be released from service when foreign enemies remain on U.S. soil. I tend to agree. However, since, IMHO, it's best to try to reconcile with canon than RETCON it, whenever possible, I'd like to proffer an explanation.

First, imagine that you are one of the returning vets. You've spent anywhere from one to four years in combat with WTO troops, far from home. You've received word that nuclear weapons have been used on your home state. You haven't heard from your parents, wife, siblings, stateside friends in many months, years even. You are very likely desperate for reliable news from home.

Imagine that you step off the boat in [] (I can't remember the evac fleet's exact destination in CONUS). A bunch of deep reservists- quite a few of which who haven't seen the elephant yet- are there to keep you from going AWOL. The military has told you that you are to remain in camp until your unit receives new deployment orders, likely to fight the Mexican army in the Southwest. You're not from the Southwest. Tensions between the returned vets and MPs guarding the base camps rise.

The military would surely have anticipated these issues. The last thing that they would need would be a major mutiny- especially with rumors abounding that "CivGov wouldn't do this to us". The miltiary would need to take a proactive approach. They have options. The first is a law-and-order approach. This would involve establishing and maintaining strict control of the camps for returnees, including a crackdown on dissent. I think that such a response would almost guarantee the result it was intended to avoid. You'd be looking at large scale mutinies at the debarkation ports/mustering sites. Desertion would be rampant.

The second option is to take a more understanding, loose-handed approach. This would involve issuing furloughs or 30-day passes to returning veterans, with the understanding that they return to base after checking on their home towns. To make sure this process runs smoothly, I can see the military providing transportation to major hub cities. This would increase the probability that vets would return to base after their leave.

Now, in the latter case, what percentage of vets would return to their assigned bases after completing their furlough/leave? Or, on the flip side, what percentage of vets would decide that they'd had enough of the war, and desert for good?

We've seen, in T2K canon, that unit mutinies and desertion were an issue in Europe, despite cultural/language barriers between U.S. troops and their hosts. Once can imagine that back in the U.S.A., desertion would be an even bigger problem. This is backed up by RL history. Although there were very few munities, there were thousands of desertions by American troops in the ETO during WWII. Desertion rates were appreciably much higher, on both sides, during the American Civil War and there were a couple of notable mutinies (see Free State of Jones) in the South.

Another consideration is the 2001 military's ability to support (feed, clothe, house, etc.) large numbers returning vets. Perhaps the military calculates that they can only maintain a certain percentage of the returning vets under arms. They would likely pick the best units (any evaluation process would likely take time) and demobilize the rest, with the understanding that they were then considered active reserves that could be called back into active service at any time. Again, once they've transitioned to civilian life- whatever that would look like in 2001- how many demobed vets would heed that call? Plus, I don't think that military could effectively keep track of all demobbed troops in a post- computer U.S.A. Telecom is a mess, and any postal system is likely primitive and inefficient.

In closing, I think that, although, on the face of it, the massive troop drawdown described briefly in Howling Wilderness doesn't make a lot of sense- at least from a strategic point of view- when one examines the practicalities of maintaining control of and supplying the returning vets, and the sentiments of the returnees themselves, it is plausible, if not altogether likely that the military would shrink considerably.

Consequently, I think you'd see a lot of returnees forming local militias or turning to marauding to make a living. Many might be willing to return to the struggle to eject foreign armies from U.S. soil as locally-based partisan/guerilla groups instead of as federalized U.S. troops.