Prime Base

[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.