Mortar's

[Draq]

Artillery and aircraft can only clear/destroy an objective, only boots on the ground can take and hold one.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Draq

Artillery and aircraft can only clear/destroy an objective, only boots on the ground can take and hold one.

Definitely true. Though air, artillery, and tank backup is always appreciated.

[Legbreaker]

Provided of course it's on target, otherwise it's ineffective at best, catastrophic at worst.

[jester]

I once drew up a Mortarman for a game. I had him retain the cannon with the M8 small square baseplate the sights and about a dozen mortar rounds with a M4 and small amount of ammo plus bipod. Spend some time trying to recall how many rounds the vest for mortarmen carried.

I myself trained as a mortarman, was made a rifleman for a few years then transferred back to mortars.

With the current 60mm mortar with the trigger, with an M8 baseplate, the built in level for ranger near the trigger, one man can fire the system and keep it on target easily with line of sight and even with a decent spotter.

In some of my games, I have gifted my players with 120mms or 105s and they created havoc with a decent amount of WP or even worse RP. Once on target you can do ALOT of damage.

Remember the scene in Kellys heroes? Where they bribe the mortar section to lay down fire so they can get through? Anyone under mortar fire will take cover and give you a chance to move in. And with the 60mm used in LIGHT units, it is man portable. In my unit, we carried them fully assembled less the round baseplate which was easily positioned, then the ball from the guntube locked in, bipods splayed and aimed in. Easy peasy! For us, we could do a large gun deflection in the max time for a minor, and for a minor, under 9 seconds was the norm.

If you folks aren't using mortars, you are missing out.

[rcaf_777]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Given the lack of GPS and other electronic devices in working order in T2K

How do you figure that?

The Original Block I GPS was deactivated on 9 October 1985, but the last Block I satellite was not taken out of service until 18 November 1995, well past its 5 year design life.

http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/navstar.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA-85

The first of the nine satellites in the initial Block II series was launched February 14, 1989; the last was launched October 1, 1990. The final satellite of the series to be taken out of service was decommissioned on March 15, 2007, well past its 7.5 year design life.

ftp://tycho.usno.navy.mil/pub/gps/gpsb2.txt

Originally launched between 1997 and 2009 to add capabilities to the GPS constellation and to replace other aging satellites, today 12 GPS IIR and eight IIR-M satellites – designed and built by Lockheed Martin -- help deliver precise positioning, navigation and timing services to more than one billion global military, civilian and commercial users every day. These satellites represent about two-thirds of the current GPS constellation.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/gps.html
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?Do=const...t=Type&dir=Asc

As for other electronic devices, military stuff will be hardened against EMP as are radios. Batteries would be the biggest problem, but some items could run on recharged batteries

It’s implied in the game that some systems may be damaged in the nuclear war but not actual written out.

GPS and other electronic devices are not talked about in the game a lot because under the original concept they don't serve a purpose.

GPS: Yes a GPS when you’re trapped behind enemy lines is great but, the PC's are on there own nobody coming to rescue them. A GPS will only tell you where you are and which way to go…but so will a MAP. This is why you don't see GPS or a Compass in the Basic Equipment Section

Radios: Beyond communicating between PC's and Vehicle to Vehicle, a radio doesn’t play a big role in Game play either. Most vehicle radios have ranges of 30-50 km but what would the PC’s do with a Long Range SATCOM radio? Contact Corps HQ which would say or do what?

In short it’s not practical for game play not because it’s not working.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by rcaf_777

How do you figure that?

Umm, "Satellite Down" and almost everything in it.

Just one quote (of many):

Now, during the height of the war, just about every satellite on both sides was knocked down or rendered worthless junk.

[rcaf_777]

[QUOTE=Legbreaker;69038]Umm, "Satellite Down" and almost everything in it.[QUOTE]

No Satellite Down is about a group of PC's that are trying to track down DP 201 which fell to earth, they only mention of other satellites is in the opening player brief given by Colonel Darren Darvish USA which says "Now, during the height of the war, just about every satellite on both sides was knocked down or rendered worthless junk" Page 4

Nowhere else dose it given any other details, not in satellite down or any other publication I looked at. In Version 2.2 at the bottom of page 14, it mention spaces stations being abandoned but not any satellite being shot out of the sky.

Now as for Colonel Darren Darvish saying "Now, during the height of the war, just about every satellite on both sides was knocked down or rendered worthless junk" How would they know if ever other satellite has been knock out, if you have no satellite to confirm this? or are a group USAF Officers watching the skies from the ground with a telescope.

There are also many other issues that both the Soviets and US would have overcome to knock every other satellite in Low, Mid and High orbit. And why would the Soviet Union waste a Anti-satellite weapon just to knock out Telstar 401 out of commission is Fox News that offensive?

Please post your reply in a new thread so we don't over take this one, and do list your pages number for your many quotes I'm sure you will find.