Co B, 116th ACR

[Chris]

Thanks for the very quick replies.

I won't know till they get there what the Colonel's intentions or condition will be. I had thought about a heavily wounded Colonel being declared not fit to command and even after he is "better" having the unit's medical officer declaring the same. "TBI, he acts normal until stressed."

Given the strong desire of B Coy to stay put I could really see a "Siege of Firebase Gloria" moment if he got pushy.

The Colonel is US Army Rangers (T2K v2.2, sorta) and the minimum age for it. 10 INT and he hit every promotion roll (Duh!). Anyway, by 2000 he was wearing more than 1 hat. We hashed things out informally for the groups background, he was in charge of 1st Battalions 5th ID(M)'s recon assets, co-ordinating security for the few engineer assets, and, last winter, running training for scouts pulled from the replacements from the States and local population. I'm going to have to give him a write-up about the B Coy. He'd have had some contact with them before hand.

Thanks,
Chris

[Legbreaker]

I'd say only minimal contact though. As a Ranger it's unlikely he'd have had a lot to do with armour, even when he was running the recon elements of 5th ID. Chances are though he'd met Captain Warren at some point, even if it were just a social event in the officers mess - doubtful she'd be able to pass herself off as higher rank after that.
Contact would only be minimal though - the Colonel was 5th ID and the Captain 116th ACR, two totally separate units and command structures. If they'd not been operating in roughly the same area, then there's as much chance of knowing each other as an officer in the 2nd Marines, 50th AD or even the Canadians or Norwegians - close to Buckley's.

[Targan]

I love this thread. Allow me to relate a story from my last campaign as a way to illustrate what can happen when a higher ranking officer shows up and tries to take command of a unit.

The CO of the PCs' unit in my last campaign was Major Anthony Po, US Army Special Forces. At the start of the campaign he was a captain and was tagging along with the 5th Division's HQ element as a way to get himself deep into Poland without having to have his own bodyguard unit or sneak all the way in-country. He was on a DIA mission to kill 13 CIA agents inserted into the US military in Europe (he had originally been one of those CIA agents but had defected to the DIA after the nukes started flying because he blamed the US Government for getting the USA nuked). At the start of the campaign it was part of his back story that he had already assassinated 12 of them and the 13th was thought to be operating with pro-NATO partisans in south-central Poland, possibly with Marczac's Legion.

Between the Battle of Kalisz and arriving in Krakow Po was the 2nd in command of the rag-tag PC group, the commander being an Australian named Lynch who had become a US citizen and a US Army Major (he was actually a military intelligence type who had originally been involved in the development of high tech missile guidance systems). Unfortunately Lynch was a burn-out case, a hopeless alcoholic and drug user, and wasn't at all popular with the men and women he commanded. Lynch was killed when he took an AK round in the mouth while entering the tunnels beneath the Jasna Gora. Po took command and was later promoted to Major by Colonel Stark in Krakow.

When the PC party encountered B Troop, 116th ACR, Major Po immediately recognised the level of firepower gathered in Dobrodzien and decided he wanted to command it himself, but he was smart enough to recognise that the cavalrymen and women may be resistant to him taking command. He attempted to sweet talk them and build up friendly relations between himself and B Troop but soon realised that Captain Warren was resistant to the idea of going on the offensive against WP forces in the area. To try and get what he wanted, Major Po attempted to seduce Captain Warren but he critically failed his seduction roll and licked the scar on Warren's face that she had received during a rape by Russian soldiers earlier in the war. The relationship between Warren and Po never recovered from that rather catastrophic faux par.

After that Major Po lost patience with the diplomatic option and ordered B Troop to follow him into battle. An initial engagement against a straggler unit of Soviet light armor went very well but then Po (for reasons never very clear to me) decided to mount an assault against the forces garrisoning Krakow and when that battle didn't go according to plan B Troop mutinied. During a face-off between Major Po and his command element and Captain Warren and her senior commanders there was a brief shoot-out. One of Warren's men was killed and several of Po's men were wounded. Following an extremely tense stand-off Warren and Po agreed that their respective units would go their separate ways.

Months later in Bremerhaven Po discovered that B Troop had also made it back in time for the US evacuation back to the States. At the time the campaign ended (February 2001 in game time) Po was still trying to have Captain Warren court-martialled (with little succes).

[helbent4]

Originally Posted by Targan

I love this thread. Allow me to relate a story from my last campaign as a way to illustrate what can happen when a higher ranking officer shows up and tries to take command of a unit.

. . .

Months later in Bremerhaven Po discovered that B Troop had also made it back in time for the US evacuation back to the States. At the time the campaign ended (February 2001 in game time) Po was still trying to have Captain Warren court-martialled (with little succes).

Targan,

FYI, every story about "Major Po" leaves me a little more dead inside. That's not to say they are not appreciated, they present T2K in a unique light!

I'm glad at least this one has a happy ending (by not having a "happy ending").

Tony

[Dog 6]

Originally Posted by helbent4

Targan,

FYI, every story about "Major Po" leaves me a little more dead inside. That's not to say they are not appreciated, they present T2K in a unique light!

I'm glad at least this one has a happy ending (by not having a "happy ending").

Tony

lol ......

[dragoon500ly]

The more I hear about Major Po, the more convinced I am that I have served with this officer!

LOL

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Targan

During a face-off between Major Po and his command element and Captain Warren and her senior commanders there was a brief shoot-out. One of Warren's men was killed and several of Po's men were wounded. Following an extremely tense stand-off Warren and Po agreed that their respective units would go their separate ways.

Wait, what?!?! Major Po backed down? You can't be talking about the same Major Po I keep reading about on these forums.

Chris

[helbent4]

Originally Posted by Chris

Wait, what?!?! Major Po backed down? You can't be talking about the same Major Po I keep reading about on these forums.

Chris

Chris,

As Targan mentioned, Major Anthony "Angel of Death" Po certainly never forgave nor forgot this slight. In his dreams he hits her with a spinning Eagle Claw kick, then rips the beating heart from her chest cavity as a heavenly choir declares: "FATALITY!".

Ah, I kid, don't get me wrong, I think most of us have played über-badasses like Po at one time or another either for kicks or to make some kind of point. (I know I have and had fun doing it.) Po's just been around for so long as a PC that there's an "Angel of Death" story for pretty much any occasion. A slightly over-the-top story that sometimes makes one want to take a shower afterwards.

Tony

[Targan]

One thing to remember is that Po was far from being the most deadly combatant among the PCs and major allied NPCs. He was a decent shot and was pretty good at Wing Chun but there were other PCs that were much bigger, scarier, better shots or just all-round more deadly. Po's most scary combat asset was his brain. And a built in machiavellian ruthlessness that I simultaneously admired and despised.

[helbent4]

Originally Posted by Targan

One thing to remember is that Po was far from being the most deadly combatant among the PCs and major allied NPCs. He was a decent shot and was pretty good at Wing Chun but there were other PCs that were much bigger, scarier, better shots or just all-round more deadly. Po's most scary combat asset was his brain. And a built in machiavellian ruthlessness that I simultaneously admired and despised.

Targan,

Sure, that's why he's the "Angel of Death" and not "Rambo" or "Audie Murphy". The Doctor thing fits, too.

I'll have to take a closer look at White Eagle, I ran Black Madonna some 25 years ago and it would be interesting to have a look at the aftermath.

Tony

[boogiedowndonovan]

Originally Posted by Targan

To try and get what he wanted, Major Po attempted to seduce Captain Warren but he critically failed his seduction roll and licked the scar on Warren's face...

Targan, that scar story is epic. Love it every time you bring it up.

Not sure if anyone else has the White Eagle module, which happens after Black Madonna and Going Home (Operation Omega), but B troop 1/116th stays behind...and Molly Warren is appointed the Duchess of Dobrodzien by the Margrave of Silesia.

Sooo, an argument could be made that when your group of PCs run into B troop, they don't even consider themselves part of the US Army anymore.

[Adm.Lee]

I think you have an opportunity to demonstrate to the group the concept that units are shedding the chain of command and settling down in place. Not just Soviet divisions mutinying, but NATO ones, too.

My suggestion would be that Captain Warren flash her written orders, and politely refuse to follow along. Offering guides, food and shelter would be good. Then, perhaps in a quiet aside over dinner, the troop first sergeant has a one-on-one with the PCs' ranking NCO, to explain that the troop isn't going anywhere anymore. The decision to settle down is popular with the boys and girls, and trouble-making officers trying to break this rice-bowl won't like what they find. (Could be junior officer to junior officer, too, but the "wise old sergeant" angle would be more appropriate). Play up that the survivors of B Troop are tight, and have been together since before the war. Bonds like that are not overcome easily, not when reinforced by years of combat and close living.

Having said that, there could easily be one or two troopers who don't really want to stay, and might join the PCs. If a heavily-armed group comes by with the intent to march , well, there's safety in numbers, right? They didn't object to the Captain's decision earlier, because they didn't see themselves making it to Germany alone. OTOH, pissing off the Captain and the rest of the troop won't win any recruits.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Adm.Lee

Play up that the survivors of B Troop are tight, and have been together since before the war. Bonds like that are not overcome easily, not when reinforced by years of combat and close living.

I absolutely agree on this point. I gave numerous example to my group of tight bonds within B Troop. For instance Captain Warren was very protective of one of her junior sergeants, a pretty blonde lass who had been one pf Warren's bank tellers when Warren had been a bank manager in Boise, Idaho. Warren had talked the girl into joining the national guard before the war to give her more self confidence. An example of personnel more likely to want to leave Dobrodzien was Warren's 1st Sgt, John Blue Elk. He was a Regular Army tanker before the war, had ended up with B Troop as a straggler in 1998 and in my campaign had absolutely no intention of living out the rest of his life in Poland.