What to do with the 43,000 troops and dependents from Going Home?

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

It all really comes down to the tracks. As has been mentioned in many places, including canon sources, tracks are often pulled up by locals after the steel. Fires can rip though a track causing untold damage to the wooden sleepers, or at least warping the tracks enough to potentially cause derailment.
Security as mentioned is also a big issue. If units are having trouble securing their fields, how are they expected to secure hundred of miles of track as well. Yes, a field of potatoes is more concentrated value than a steel track, but there's still value.

Given the vast distances tracks cover, and some rather remote locations it goes through, they're prime targets for ambushes. A train forced to stop because of a fallen log, missing section of rail, etc is a prime target for marauders bent on stealing whatever cargo is on board. Yes you can mount troops on the train with machineguns, mortars, artillery and so forth, but as has been illustrated in history, a determined attacker definately has the advantage as long as they've planned ahead and set up in a suitable location.

Rail in my view will be very important for the reconstruction of the country, but it's going to be near useless early on. Maybe by 2010 when some order has been restored, and infrastructure rebuilt, but certainly not in 2001.

Who is going to move what, where, and with what fuel? The trucks are being used on the fronts, the factories are nuked, the ability to pump oil and refine it gone.

During the U.S. Civil War Scout trains were used. I had a flat bed filled with stone to detonate torpedoes (mines), then flat cars with troops armed with cannon, gatlings, calliopes, and rifles, the locomotive, fuel car, water car, freight car with rations and such then a caboose. Sometime even another locomotive on the other end facing the other way to hasten a retreat.

These scout locomotives would run ahead of the troop or supply train to see that the rails were open and good. A company of Rifle infantry to secure and clean rails. Sometimes even gandydancers, rail, and ties to repair the track.

[Legbreaker]

True, 150 years ago give or take they were well organised, but they also had an intact rail system to start with plus the necessary supporting infrastructure.
When the troops arrive from Europe, they'll be faced with a rail system which has been nuked, torn up and otherwise damaged. They will not have the necessary engines, carriages, and supplies to organise trains on even the civil war level. They will also be seriously lacking heavier weapons than rifles and machineguns with the odd M203 given the restrictions placed on troop "luggage".

In my mind it will take some time to arrange the first "scout" train, and much longer before anything resembling a regular service canbe established. 10 years does not seem like an unreasonable time frame given the problems the US will face with reestablishing the necessary infrastructure and security.

Trains are not the answer to shift the Omegamen from Norfolk in 2000 or 2001. Maybe in 2002, but by then the drought will have really kicked in and movement by foot and whatever other transport can be scrounged is sure to have been used to relocate the bulk of the people (canon supports this movement, but does not specify how).

[ArmySGT.]

However, someone else arranged for the Troops from Europe to come to Norfolk. Someone with an organization planned for the arrival of these Troops. If the could not feed, move, and support them, then why bring them back at all?

There is an organization there. MilGov. MilGov has the legal authority to commandeer (US Statutes) as does FEMA (FEMA is CivGov yes?).

However they have the organizational skills, the training, and likely the manpower.

Adaption, use the assets you have to support the Commanders intent, Act on your own initiative to support the Mission. These are tenets in US Military Doctrine.

MilGov troops will strip rail from sidings, yards, and spurs to build a route around nuked areas. Rail does go through Major cities, however there are miles and miles of track just to support all the small communities and farms. At this point it is not about speed, it is about economy. Rail and who controls it will be in a position to move resources, equipment, and personnel to viable places while cannibalizing anything else.

MilGov will be preparing for those Troops to comeback because there will be a plan to use them somewhere.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

I can think of nothing that would engender good will and gratitude to MilGov than by hiring contractors to get buses (bluebird school buses, mind you), trucks, vans, horsedrawn carts and whatever else up and working on behalf of troop resettlement. Pay with food and medical supplies, possibly gold and C16 ammo? Hell yeah. Net result: MilGov pays pretty good and getting on this reconstruction job is a good deal.

Also as to what to do with them (the troops) I can see a lot being employed to help start digging out DC.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

However, someone else arranged for the Troops from Europe to come to Norfolk. Someone with an organization planned for the arrival of these Troops. If the could not feed, move, and support them, then why bring them back at all?

Politics, as I have already indicated. Also, the military only needs to feed them until they are demobilised or otherwise moved on. Once they're cut loose, they're responsible for their own upkeep, just like many of the troops already were before leaving Poland.

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

MilGov troops will strip rail from sidings, yards, and spurs to build a route around nuked areas. Rail does go through Major cities, however there are miles and miles of track just to support all the small communities and farms. At this point it is not about speed, it is about economy. Rail and who controls it will be in a position to move resources, equipment, and personnel to viable places while cannibalizing anything else.

Absolutely and I totally agree they will be doing those things, what I am saying is that it won't happen overnight. It's a long and slow process made longer and slower due to a crippling lack of heavy machinery and the trains will not be available for use for a substantial amount of time, time they will not have due to the drought.

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

MilGov will be preparing for those Troops to comeback because there will be a plan to use them somewhere.

What units will be already onsite preparing for the arrival? How much work can they really get done in the relatively short time available and while they themselves are scrounging around for enough to eat? The US is beyond being on it's knees, it's laying face down on the canvas, barely hanging onto consciousness. There's almost nothing available to carry out any significant works to prepare for the coming influx of troops.

My guess is the organisers saw the operation as having more in common with an amphibious landing - very little useful infrastructure or immediately useful supplies available to hand and everything needed for at least the first month had to be shipped in. This may explain why everyone aboard was limited to just 100kgs of gear - the rest of the cargo space was taken up with tents, a few light vehicles, food, field kitchens, medical supplies, and the other necessities of life.