Composition of TF34

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Originally Posted by Rainbow Six

Something has just occurred to me.

I don't have a copy of Going Home immediately to had, so am going from memory, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, however isn't it kinda assumed that that this was a one way trip?

If that is the case and we agree that with the exeption of the USS John Hancock the majority (if not all) of the TF34 Fleet is made up of German merchant ships, I'm thinking there might be a problem finding crews for these ships? How many German sailors are going to be happy to sign up for a one way ticket to North America? Or do we assume that there are enough US and Canadian sailors stuck in Germany to form skeleton crews? Or are we back with the theory that TF34 includes a number of US ships that have been stuck in Bremerhaven since the reinforcements arrived in 1999?

just a passing thought...

Some German merchant sailors may be completely dispossessed: home was nuked out of existence, so a one-way trip to America where things maybe aren't so bad (relatively) might be more appealing than staying home.

Could be that there's a lot of sailors who've been shore security for a few years itching to get back in water even if it's one last time. I'm sure that there's probably a few fleet officers that feel that way.

Failing any of that, John Hancock could have brought over a compliment of US sailors from the 'States just for the operation. I think a few hundred would do the job nicely (if that many - I'm not up on how big cargo ships operate). This assumes Hancock had to come from the US. If it came from the UK there might have been a transferral of US Navy personnel from there; this is their shot at going home too...