Prime Base

[tsofian]

Originally Posted by RandyT0001

Change the location to western Missouri. The construction of the site uses the cover story of a limestone mine about 500 to 1000 feet deep. The mine closes once the excavation is done. The site remains dormant for a few years. The site is bought by a new company that modifies the mine to be used as a underground storage facility and office space. A small portion is leased out while deeper in the mine the base is outfitted with the equipment, personnel and stores. The storage company files bankruptcy and the leases are evicted. The base is sealed. A "front office" is established to "monitor the mine" (and the war) and the items stored (the base that is in cyro sleep).

Missouri is a central location, close to the geographic center of the lower 48 states and the population center of the US as well.

Now the WoK do not have to travel across the Rockies to get to PB. PB is in a state close to their home area (area 7 (4th) - Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, etc.)

Western Missouri is going to take a hammering because of the ICBM field and also Kansas city. KC is basically the back up capital of the United States it has regional headquarters for nearly every single Federal Agency. There are also a number of critical defenses and nuclear industry contractors in KC. Eastern Missouri is in the same boat. Almost 70% of all east west rail traffic passes through St Louis. Boeing's fighter production facility is there. The Chain of Rocks Canal is critical to Mississippi River barge traffic. Scott AFB is within 45 miles. Unless something really odd happens Missouri will basically cease to exist because it is going to get slammed with a couple of hundred warheads, many of which are going to be surface bursts.

[tsofian]

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

I am ok with the ranch cover story.

Cattle and sheep doesn't call for a lot workers. Those workers have a place in PB as well. They are the hands on teachers of animal husbandry. Likewise, there is still good reason for trucks, even large semi trailers to come and go. Feed mostly, you have to lay in supplies of hay and grains for cattle and working horses. Manure is shipped out in great loads by semi trailer to fertilizer companies. Cattle are sold in the late fall to meat packing plants and that is another reason for semis coming and going.

The problem with the ranch has always been placement. I cattle ranch on top of the ridge makes even less sense. A lot of water will need to get pumped up for the cows. Cows are not exactly all terrain animals so getting them up and down the steep slopes might cause issues (unless these are the cute highland cows). A Ranch in such a commanding position would make a very good post whoops location. If it is still standing the buildings offer shelter. The windmill pumping water offers that life-giving resource. If the cows are still alive they are a huge resource.

This leads to a question about the cows. When the balloon goes up do they get euthenized? Do they get herded into the base (How the Hell do you decon a cow?), because if left free to wander about they will attract everyone with a knife and a hibachi.

I'm still liking the paper to mulch conversion plant.

Terry

[cosmicfish]

Why try and solve this with a single installation? Create a small town out in the middle of nowhere and give it a small number of businesses and residences, all Project-owned, that combine to explain the needed traffic. Have a regional trucking company or other distribution center. to explain trucks going in and out. Perhaps have some kind of communications company that uses the low-noise region to test different antenna technologies, to explain the antennas.

Then run a tunnel a few miles away to the actual Base, housed in an old mine or some such. You could do all pre-war operations through the tunnel, and open the PB main doors from the inside with hydraulic rams when it is safe to do so.

[tsofian]

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

Why try and solve this with a single installation? Create a small town out in the middle of nowhere and give it a small number of businesses and residences, all Project-owned, that combine to explain the needed traffic. Have a regional trucking company or other distribution center. to explain trucks going in and out. Perhaps have some kind of communications company that uses the low-noise region to test different antenna technologies, to explain the antennas.

Then run a tunnel a few miles away to the actual Base, housed in an old mine or some such. You could do all pre-war operations through the tunnel, and open the PB main doors from the inside with hydraulic rams when it is safe to do so.

There is some really great stuff here! The communications company idea is perfect-although it could be a SETI station which means it will have no staff and no one really expects any results, link it up via the "dead" microwave system discussed earlier and I think that the issue with prewar communications is totally solved. The communications array in the middle of no place offers a great clue to help the players find the base.

The issue with the town is that it still provides shelter and the possibility of supplies and salvage for wandering survivors. I see the long tunnel to Prime from the "peacetime" service entrance. It would be deep, over 150 feet. It zig-zags about a bit before it heads to the base, just to mess with folks trying to figure out which direction to Prime Base.

I figure the tunnel either gets collapsed or flooded with water (or both!)

There is still a guard post at the rump entrance of the tunnel.

[dragoon500ly]

My two cents...so Prime would consist of a central command cylinder, then Life 1, Life 2, Life 3, Medical, Lab and Support. Around the bottom level of these cylinders 2-3 rings of food production and storage tunnels, with a annex of tunnels stretching down the ridge line for manufacturing and storage of supplies. In the opposite direction and running deeper into the ridge, we have the ammo magazines. Sound about right?

[dragoon500ly]

It also.sounds like a rewrite of the bottom levels is needed, like a dedicated section for the fusion power plants, emergency batteries, sewage treatment, water pumps/filtration and storage tanks and the air circulation machinery...by the way, anybody give any thought on wear the air intakes and exhausts are.going to be located?

[tsofian]

Originally Posted by dragoon500ly

My two cents...so Prime would consist of a central command cylinder, then Life 1, Life 2, Life 3, Medical, Lab and Support. Around the bottom level of these cylinders 2-3 rings of food production and storage tunnels, with a annex of tunnels stretching down the ridge line for manufacturing and storage of supplies. In the opposite direction and running deeper into the ridge, we have the ammo magazines. Sound about right?

I think I can live with this!

A train system like this will be needed


Here is a map of an M1 magazine as part of a Maginot Line fort

[tsofian]

Originally Posted by dragoon500ly

It also.sounds like a rewrite of the bottom levels is needed, like a dedicated section for the fusion power plants, emergency batteries, sewage treatment, water pumps/filtration and storage tanks and the air circulation machinery...by the way, anybody give any thought on wear the air intakes and exhausts are.going to be located?

Prewar the main entrance is open and air flows in through it. However even them most of the base air is recycled. Once buttoned up the base totally recycles all air and water

[dragoon500ly]

Originally Posted by tsofian

Prewar the main entrance is open and air flows in through it. However even them most of the base air is recycled. Once buttoned up the base totally recycles all air and water

Perhaps, but even prewar, we are still talking about the need to circulate a large amount of air, I just think that there would have to be some means of venting air in and out of Prime. I'm thinking armored vents, concealed along the cliff face.

As for the train, Love It!

[RandyT0001]

Originally Posted by tsofian

Western Missouri is going to take a hammering because of the ICBM field and also Kansas city. KC is basically the back up capital of the United States it has regional headquarters for nearly every single Federal Agency. There are also a number of critical defenses and nuclear industry contractors in KC.

There is no ICBM field in Missouri anymore. It was deactivated in 1995. That means there is about 150 miles of western MO border south of KC unaffected by bombs and about 50-75 miles of western MO border north of KC unaffected by bombs. Plus any location along the Missouri-Iowa border seems suitable as well.

[tsofian]

Originally Posted by RandyT0001

There is no ICBM field in Missouri anymore. It was deactivated in 1995. That means there is about 150 miles of western MO border south of KC unaffected by bombs and about 50-75 miles of western MO border north of KC unaffected by bombs. Plus any location along the Missouri-Iowa border seems suitable as well.

Sorry, I'm a original end date in 1989 guy, so yes the ICBM field is gone. Whiteman AFB is home of the B-2s so it will still get a pasting.

There is a nuclear powerplant close to the Iowa Missouri border so it will take a nuke and screw up everything downwind Chernobyl Style!

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by tsofian

There is some really great stuff here! The communications company idea is perfect-although it could be a SETI station which means it will have no staff and no one really expects any results, link it up via the "dead" microwave system discussed earlier and I think that the issue with prewar communications is totally solved. The communications array in the middle of no place offers a great clue to help the players find the base.

I suggested a research facility because they would have good reason to avoid people while also having a reason to have a variety of antennas - a fake SETI installation would attract alien enthusiasts and conspiracy nuts and would have a hard time explaining why they have all those other antennas that could only communicate with Earth facilities.

Originally Posted by tsofian

The issue with the town is that it still provides shelter and the possibility of supplies and salvage for wandering survivors.

To a certain extent this is unavoidable - anyplace will draw survivors or scavengers eventually. But the town can be just "over the hill" from any highways and after the war PB could do a lot to divert attention from the facility and move stragglers away.

[nuke11]

Isn't there a ranch just south-west of PB? Soldier Meadows Ranch and Lodge : http://soldiermeadows.com/. It seems to have been there for at least 100 years. Wouldn't this make a decent place to use as a cover to help the base?

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by tsofian

The problem with the ranch has always been placement. I cattle ranch on top of the ridge makes even less sense. A lot of water will need to get pumped up for the cows. Cows are not exactly all terrain animals so getting them up and down the steep slopes might cause issues (unless these are the cute highland cows). A Ranch in such a commanding position would make a very good post whoops location. If it is still standing the buildings offer shelter. The windmill pumping water offers that life-giving resource. If the cows are still alive they are a huge resource.

Cows will surprise you. I worked a summer on a dairy farm. I never want that job again. Milking were 4am and 4pm starts and last about three hours. Then another two sometimes four hours of cleaning to get ready to do it again.

Typically, myself and the other guy didn't have to go get the cows. They would be at the gate waiting for us. Once a month or so, something would spook them and they would be in the hills. We would have to go find them. Out on ATVs in the dark and the cold. Fortunately, some grain would remind them that there was sweet molasses grain in the bin and they would obediently come back down.

If this happened to many times the dairy owner and some others would arrange a dog/coyote hunt.

Originally Posted by tsofian

This leads to a question about the cows. When the balloon goes up do they get euthenized? Do they get herded into the base (How the Hell do you decon a cow?), because if left free to wander about they will attract everyone with a knife and a hibachi.

I'm still liking the paper to mulch conversion plant.

Terry

I think you just leave them. If ringing the cow bell and the time of day doesn't have them at the barn; just let them go.

I have seen plans on the internet for earth sheltered barns for protecting livestock after a nuclear exchange. Always to small (pens), not enough fodder, and no place to remove the tremendous amount of manure cows produce.

Better to slaughter them, keep a small number of cows for breeding, and use artificial insemination of good stock after the radiation has died down.

This ranch can also be the place that the ag teams are supplied the cryosleep contained livestock too.

[tsofian]

So if Prime Base requires 4000 active staff members (which I think is the upper limit) how many total people and of what age groups would that population contain?

So I'm going to make some assumption.
The Project was more willing to take a couple if both members were functional within the Base in preference to a couple in which only one of the members was.

I am going to throw out that 85% of all couples in the base are both staffers and only 15% are couples that consist of one staffer and a "dependent".

The birth rate among couples in Prime Base was 1/8 that of the average (some couples will bring children with them, but I would bet that most would likely hold off until after the war "just in case".

That the rate of married vs single people is 80% of normal. Instead of around 45% this is around 36%. Each couple has an average of .45 children.

So let's see if I can get this math right.

4000 staffer. 36% are married. Since 15% of these marriages include a partner that is a dependent that means 38.7% of 4,000 or 1548 people are in 774 couples and at 1/4 the normal population rate that means 190 children. Now this will still be a bit high for such an environment. In a normal population a large number of these "children" will be grown. Very few parents would go hide underground while their children are above ground in a nuclear holocaust. I suspect that in such cases either the adult children were recruited, adults without adult children were recruited or the demographic was skewed to younger people, ones too young to have adult children.

So what is the total (OK, I know I screwed this word problem up, but I think I am at least close)

4000 staffer

108 married dependents
190 minor dependents (these can be evenly distributed in age from 1-18 years of age)
About 4300 total residents

So I will say
720 Couples apartments
150 Family Apartments

That leaves around 3200 or so people
I would suggest 1/2 are in doubles, 1/4 are in singles and 1/4 are in suites suitable for 4 people
so 800 doubles
400 singles
100 suites

This gives a total of 2170 apartments.

In the Original Module the maximum population was 448 staffers and up to 390 dependents. That is a lot of unproductive mouths to feed, but if that ratio is used 4000 staffers could have up to 3500 dependents.

I will need to draw out the cylinders to see if all these people can be crammed into three cylinders, with all the other stuff that should be in what amounts to a small town

[tsofian]

So Prime will certainly have something like this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalba...bal_Seed_Vault

Also I can see it having a number of freeze tubes for animals.

[RandyT0001]

I read the post above that stated the upper limit of PB was about 4000 personnel. IMO, 4000 people are too, too many people. In both 3rd and 4th edition rules PB has less than a thousand people. In 4th, PB is noted to have 250 personnel. I think that too many functions are being added to PB. Prime Base is the command, coordination, and control center of MP. It is not a supply depot, repair facility, manufacturing site, nor a rebuilding test site. It has five years worth of stored food, powdered/dried, freeze dried, frozen, canned, etc. There are no hydroponics growing fresh food. It was designed to serve for five or six years until the start of the recovery. The regional bases are the primary rebuilding facilities with supplies, assigned supplemental bases (Ag, manufacturing, etc.).

Personnel Needs of Prime Base

The Command Council consists of the Branch Leaders for each branch and sub-branch (MARS, Recon, Science, Medical, Agricultural, Engineering, Communications, Energy, Civilian Affairs, Production, Resources, and Logistics) plus the Chairperson. (13)
Each member of the Command Council has a second or deputy. (13)
Each member of the Command Council has two administrative assistants. (26)
There is a liaison for each of the twelve regions. (12)
Each liaison has three communication specialists to maintain 24 monitoring of signals and requests. (36)
Each liaison has an administrative assistant. (12)

During the attack each deputy branch leader (12), each region liaison (12), and one of the three communication specialists have the responsibility to monitor the attack through video and radio signals and to transmit the weather readings from pre-positioned stations to the weather team. After the first eight hours have passed, a new shift of communications specialists relieves the deputy branch leaders. After the second eight hours have passed, the next shift of communications specialists relieves the region liaisons. At the end of the first 24 hours, the first shift of communications specialists ends their shift. After eight hours of sleep, the first shift relieves the second shift of communications specialists. Thereafter, the three shifts rotate every eight hours.

Aviation operates only during daytime when there is good weather at the base and the destination because the pilots are limited to VFR.
Three C-130 aircraft crew (12) – There are actually five C-130 aircraft but two are spares.
Maintenance Crew (4)
Cargo Riggers/ Loaders (4)
Flight Line Ground Crew (4)

Medical
Three doctors, six nurses, six orderlies (15) – One doctor, two nurses and two orderlies per eight hour shift.

Base Support
Food Service (6)
Custodian (4)
Laundry (4)
Maintenance
Electrical (4)
Plumbing (4)
HVAC (4)
Physical (4)
IT (2)
Communication (4)

Administrative Records
Base (4)
Regions (12)

Processing
Decon (2)
Exam (2)

Power Plant
Ops (10)
Maintenance (7)

Security (5)
Base Counseling (5)
Logistics Support Team (12)
Weather (4)

Prime Base has 250 personnel with no dependents. One of the primary criteria for personnel selected to serve at Prime Base was a lack of surviving family. Virtually all of PB personnel are between thirty and forty years of age.
The chairperson, deputy chairperson and their two assistants also serve as the HQ section of the group assigned to Prime Base. None of the frozen members of the Prime Base Group know the location of PB.

Prime Base Group
3x Recon (3x2=6), 3x Commando Scouts
3x MARS (3x4=12), V150 w/ TOW, 2x V150 w/ mortar
Science (4), 2x HMMWV M1025
Communications (4), 2x HMMWV M1025
Civil Affairs (4), 2x HMMWV M1025
Engineering (4), DED, M35 Dump Truck, V150 ARV

Prime Base Two is identical to PB1.

[tsofian]

Originally Posted by RandyT0001

Personnel Needs of Prime Base

The Command Council consists of the Branch Leaders for each branch and sub-branch (MARS, Recon, Science, Medical, Agricultural, Engineering, Communications, Energy, Civilian Affairs, Production, Resources, and Logistics) plus the Chairperson. (13)
Each member of the Command Council has a second or deputy. (13)
Each member of the Command Council has two administrative assistants. (26)
There is a liaison for each of the twelve regions. (12)
Each liaison has three communication specialists to maintain 24 monitoring of signals and requests. (36)
Each liaison has an administrative assistant. (12)

During the attack each deputy branch leader (12), each region liaison (12), and one of the three communication specialists have the responsibility to monitor the attack through video and radio signals and to transmit the weather readings from pre-positioned stations to the weather team. After the first eight hours have passed, a new shift of communications specialists relieves the deputy branch leaders. After the second eight hours have passed, the next shift of communications specialists relieves the region liaisons. At the end of the first 24 hours, the first shift of communications specialists ends their shift. After eight hours of sleep, the first shift relieves the second shift of communications specialists. Thereafter, the three shifts rotate every eight hours.

Aviation operates only during daytime when there is good weather at the base and the destination because the pilots are limited to VFR.
Three C-130 aircraft crew (12) – There are actually five C-130 aircraft but two are spares.
Maintenance Crew (4)
Cargo Riggers/ Loaders (4)
Flight Line Ground Crew (4)

Medical
Three doctors, six nurses, six orderlies (15) – One doctor, two nurses and two orderlies per eight hour shift.

Base Support
Food Service (6)
Custodian (4)
Laundry (4)
Maintenance
Electrical (4)
Plumbing (4)
HVAC (4)
Physical (4)
IT (2)
Communication (4)

Administrative Records
Base (4)
Regions (12)

Processing
Decon (2)
Exam (2)

Power Plant
Ops (10)
Maintenance (7)

Security (5)
Base Counseling (5)
Logistics Support Team (12)
Weather (4)

Prime Base has 250 personnel with no dependents. One of the primary criteria for personnel selected to serve at Prime Base was a lack of surviving family. Virtually all of PB personnel are between thirty and forty years of age.
The chairperson, deputy chairperson and their two assistants also serve as the HQ section of the group assigned to Prime Base. None of the frozen members of the Prime Base Group know the location of PB.

Prime Base Group
3x Recon (3x2=6), 3x Commando Scouts
3x MARS (3x4=12), V150 w/ TOW, 2x V150 w/ mortar
Science (4), 2x HMMWV M1025
Communications (4), 2x HMMWV M1025
Civil Affairs (4), 2x HMMWV M1025
Engineering (4), DED, M35 Dump Truck, V150 ARV

Prime Base Two is identical to PB1.

I can see this for a regional base but this number of people can't manage all the tasks that Prime is supposed to be able to handle. Prime is supposed to record as much of the events of the lead up to the war and the war and its immediate aftermath as possible. This means they have to cover a lot of varied communications systems. staffing you have everyone basically works EVERY Day.

The Medical team in particular would be a bit over worked. If they get a major issue or even a moderately serious surgery two shifts are going to have to work together at least.

I can't see four mechanics keeping three C-130s in operational condition if the tempo is even moderate.

I can't see 5 people providing security for the base.

[RandyT0001]

Ops, it is 150 people left unfrozen to monitor the attack and it's aftermath. I will have to redo. And it looks like there are frozen personnel at the base and various facilities built in according to 4th edition.

Reset!

[mmartin798]

I just recently had a thought about Prime Base. Realistically, once the war is in has reached it's peak, the amount of information available to Prime Base diminishes greatly. But this is the time they really need some more up to date environmental data. Sure you can wake up a team locations far from bomb drops, but that is somewhat risky to valuable human resources.

The thought I had was what about a sensor network? It would be fairly easy and cheap to make a bunch of small sensors and place then on utility poles, Morrow Industries facilities and so on. They could have their electronics isolated from the grid and hardened to have a large number survive. Then a timer, chemical or mechanical, which starts after EMP are detected activates the sensor and it's radio. The sensor then attempts to join with the other sensors in a packet radio mesh network like PRNET. This way sensors can access data from something like the M1 CBR Kit, as well as other sources, like meteorological sensors. Using this near real-time data, Prime Base would be able to make better decisions where to wake up teams and bases and could even use it as a slow, but usable nationwide communications network.

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by mmartin798

The thought I had was what about a sensor network? It would be fairly easy and cheap to make a bunch of small sensors and place then on utility poles, Morrow Industries facilities and so on. They could have their electronics isolated from the grid and hardened to have a large number survive. Then a timer, chemical or mechanical, which starts after EMP are detected activates the sensor and it's radio. The sensor then attempts to join with the other sensors in a packet radio mesh network like PRNET.

I always figured some type of environmental sensing package had to be attached or available to each bolthole anyway - you need to be able to know what is outside the doors beyond what a periscope can see! So why not put them sensors at a slight distance (maybe 100 yds?) from each bolthole and have them communicate by a wire or radio with the bolthole, then have the bolthole use its radio (which it MUST have!) to provide the data automatically to PB?

[mmartin798]

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

I always figured some type of environmental sensing package had to be attached or available to each bolthole anyway - you need to be able to know what is outside the doors beyond what a periscope can see! So why not put them sensors at a slight distance (maybe 100 yds?) from each bolthole and have them communicate by a wire or radio with the bolthole, then have the bolthole use its radio (which it MUST have!) to provide the data automatically to PB?

Putting such a sensor near bolt holes is fine, but that does little to tell PB about the conditions 10, 25, 100 km from the bolt hole. A mesh network like this could still use the radios in the bolt holes. It just does not require them and adds to the resiliency of the communications.

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by mmartin798

Putting such a sensor near bolt holes is fine, but that does little to tell PB about the conditions 10, 25, 100 km from the bolt hole. A mesh network like this could still use the radios in the bolt holes. It just does not require them and adds to the resiliency of the communications.

It all depends on how much resolution you require in your environmental mapping. If there are 1000+ boltholes then some decent signal processing could give you a pretty good look at environmental conditions. Would more help? Sure, but it adds expense and exposure, and I am not sure that the additional resolution is going to have real meaning when your teams are already an ad hoc mobile sensing network.

I look at the Project like I would look at a satellite - the things you need must be as close to perfect as possible because repair is impractical, and the things that you want but don't need just make it more likely that the whole thing goes down in flames. If you feel that this network is needed, then go for it. Personally, I think added radio traffic and antennas and sensors are the kinds of things that get noticed and endanger the Project.

[RandyT0001]

For a 1989 EOTW game PB will have to rely on TV newscasts and the NWS predictions for weather information. For the 2017 EOTW game there are a couple of nationwide weather networks (WeatherBug, etc.) that PB could use to gather surface readings. In both cases the absence of upper atmosphere weather balloons will make charting those winds impossible. It is the upper atmosphere winds that are important for creating fallout patterns post war.

PB is going to record what it can of the attack and the aftermath. The Project always knew that the information gathered by PB would be limited and that the first recon teams to be revived would be those necessary to complete the assessment. Once that was done then PB could decide where to start the rebuilding process and what resources were needed at those locations to bolster the chance of success.

[mmartin798]

Pre-EOTW, the weather data is not that important. Neither is predicting the fallout pattern. The sensor net I suggested would be near real-time data, so the radiation detector will tell you the exact fallout pattern. The weather sensors would let meteorologists at PB to predict severe weather events and direct more aid to those areas than to ones that will have more temperate weather and can wait a bit longer. Relying solely on fairly widely spaced teams to provide this kind of data seems foolish. The sensor net, using only Morrow Industries sites, would likely be able to let PB map radiation levels, chemical contamination and local weather conditions for most of a state in just an hour. One to three teams would take better than a day to get an idea of the same condition with less resolution. Just seems a packet radio mesh network of sensors would be very useful.

[tsofian]

The Plan
Here is the way I see the original plan for how the Project would roll out post war.
After the war is over Prime Base will continue to conduct a listening watch of all frequencies expected to be used by survivors in the field. This will include Ham, CB, Emergency Services, Military, FAA and others. This listening watch will try and locate the sources of the signals and attempt to determine the local conditions as well as any human activities in the areas. Rather than being information for the archives this is critical intelligence that will be used to make operational decisions.
Prime Base will maintain a large map showing known and suspected radio transmission locations, amount of traffic, type of transmitter, strength and frequency. The language or encryption of the broadcasts will be noted, as will the content of messages. Are the transmissions calls for help? Are they traffic associated with combat?
The Project will also pick up any data that is still being downloaded by any satellites. This will be hit or miss and wasn’t counted on by the Project, since it was possible that the war would destroy every orbital device in existence. However Prime Base was fully equipped to continue monitoring download traffic.
Finally the base was capable of using the small sensor packages (SSP) located at each bolt hole. These packages serve a primary function of letting a recently arisen team know what the conditions just outside their door are like. Their secondary function is to provide Prime with a snapshot of local conditions around each bolt hole. The SSP is connected to the bolt hole radio receiver and spends most of its time in a powered down mode. It can be activated in any of a number of ways. It should be automatically activated if the bolt hole wake up sequence is initiated in any manner. It can also be placed in active mode without impacting the rest of the bolt hole, either via a coded radio signal or manual at the bolt hole itself.
Once activated the SSP has the following functions: Weather Module-Temperature, Humidity, Wind Speed and Direction, and the M8A1 Chemical agent monitor that can detect nerve agent. The data that this collects will require very little band width and can easily be sent via radio back to Prime. This means that the bolt hole needs a transmitter as well as a receiver. I would feel this would be shortwave and the data will transmit twice a day as the atmospherics will be good for long range transmission.
So Prime Base will be collecting data from each of the bolt holes and logging all the information as well as that collected from other radio sources.
This data will be used to build a map of the continent and will help determine what areas will be slated for Project help and which teams will be recalled. In any area the first teams up will be Recon. As soon as the Recon teams get the lay of the land Prime will wake up other resources as required by the situations. Ideally the next groups out will be teams to restore communications infrastructure, and satellites, the prewar microwave towers and long range radio networks. Science Teams will start doing more advanced analysis of the environment and begin developing recovery plans with the support of Engineering Teams. Logistical teams will salvage and recover resources as well getting materials that have been pre-staged by the Project. MARS teams will be recalled if other teams find themselves in conflict with locals. As more Project resources are recalled in an area MARS teams will be added as a precaution. In general once six teams are awakened four MARS teams will be recalled, and a ration of two Mars teams will be activated for each additional six non-Mars teams thereafter. MARS teams will also provide manpower resources for other teams and for efforts as a whole.
The initial regions selected will be those that do not have radio traffic that indicates the presence of large military units or widespread violence. Only after secure base areas have been developed will the Project even scout those areas, if at all possible.

[ArmySGT.]

Where are you going to locate the various transmitters necessary for PB to communicate to the outside? I am still for burst comms through a chain of antennas in a staggered pattern. This confuses radio direction finding shout in catch even a few of the milisecond bursts.

[mmartin798]

This brings into question the planners thinking about OPSEC once the base is in its active role. One school of thought is that COMINT leakage is not a problem, because the base is working and revealing its location is not an issue. The other would be the planners knew of some persistent threat and felt the need to maintain proactive measures to counter COMINT.

Giving the events at Prime Base with Krell, it would seem the former to be the case. However Bruce knew, according to 4th ed canon, that Krell was a persistent threat to the Project. We also know the Bruce did not want to be included in the planning for Prime Base so he has no knowledge of its location and presumably little input into its planning. It is also possible that Bruce passed information to the planners early that there may be parties that would make trouble at Prime if its location were haphazardly announced, and pushed for signals security even in the active phase.

Each of these scenarios have problems reconciling the published events at Prime and secrecy of the base's construction and passive operational phase. As already mentioned, the physical interconnecting of the antennas and the transmitters introduces secrecy challenges. Because if someone it curious enough, they will ask themselves why there are all these antennas interconnected and terminating at this fiber optic cable going off into uninhabited desert mountains and they will try to find out.

[ArmySGT.]

I am in a divided camp.

I think signals security was rigidly enforced from the start of the war, through the listening and recording phase, and into the first stage (recon teams) activation.

However, I think that with the intended activation of the bulk of the Project, Regional Bases and Combined Groups, the deception would be dropped.

After all, a 4000 foot runway for cargo aircraft was intended.