----- Original Message ----- > From: Onno Meyer <[email protected]> > > Brandon replied to me: >> > * Traveller had squad-sized detachments on some ships. I don't > recall if >> > the type was specified, maybe Patrol Cruisers? >> >> >> The 400 ton Patrol Cruisers were anti-piracy. The 1,250 ton Frontier >> Cruisers were a bit more general purpose. > > there was the TO&E for a Marine detachment in GT Star Mercs. It says > small vessel but it doesn't mention the type.
I don't have Star Mercs within 500 mikes of me, but that was probably for the 800-ton mercenary cruiser or perhaps either of the 300-ton ships. The 400-ton patrol cruiser carried eight troops in CT and GT, but these look like a security detail, not Marines (although a patrol cruiser certainly could replace a security detail with Marines if available). >> > * How would three Marine platoons from three different ships have to > be >> > organized so that they can form an effective company? >> >> Best guess: most senior platoon CO takes charge, with his XO or senior >> NCO taking command of his platoon. He would pull men from the three >> platoons and ships to fill out his HQ section (ship crew used this way >> are normally predetermined). > > If the platoon has an XO, it would have more officers than normal for > a platoon. A typical platoon has a 2nd Lieutenant as CO and a platoon > sergeant as second in command and mentor for the butterbar. Like I said, XO or senior NCO. Some nations may inflate office numbers, others might not. >> I think if the Marines were expected to deploy in company or >> battalion-sized force (rather than an ad hoc operation) company HQ >> would be on the ship with any additional company assets and >> battalion HQ on a ship with other battalion assets. > > I was thinking of a situation where ad-hoc operations are part of the > doctrine. Today ships don't take long to cross an ocean and there is > radio. With no FTL radio and month-long flight teams, should there be > a plan how the Marines of a naval task force assemble into a landing > task force, even if the naval force was reorganized because of the > naval requirements? I don't think Marines would conduct (well, not happily conduct) operations without proper planning. >> > What is the right size for a dropship/shuttle? >> >> It should be able to carry at least one squad/vehicle, more likely two. > > 18 tons could be two squads of battlesuits, or one squad plus one > vehicle. Or two vehicles and crew. >> > * If there are two or three people in each shuttle, what percentage of >> >> > the total manpower are crew? Twenty percent? Ten percent? Is that > too >> > much? >> >> >> Anyone not a Marine is a shuttle crewman. I don't understand your > point. > > A question of proportions. Say a cruiser has 120 naval crew and 60 > Marines. When the Marines drop, how many ship's crew have to be > detached for the shuttles? How soon will they be back? I consider the ship's crew that drop part of the ship's crew for administrative purposes. They are really Naval personnel attached to the Marine unit while it is aboard the ship (when the Marines leave, the Navy personnel stay and are attached to the next Marine unit that boards). >> > On a different note, would a battlesuit unit need battlesuit recovery >> > vehicles? >> >> Probably, but this could be as simple as a hovercraft with a flatbed cargo >> area and A-frame. Note i'd use this to get a suit, empty or occupied, > to a >> rear area. I would not have a medic try to fight through a battlesuit to >> treat the soldier inside. > > A hovercraft isn't known for fine maneuvering in tight quarters. > Does it make a good recovery vehicle? Other troopers in suits drag the damaged suit out into a more open area. >> (doesn't Mecha have a medpack you can put in a battlesuit, or am I > thinking of another game?) > > Yes. When the suit occupant is injured, the suit will be damaged. Yes it's in Mecha or yes it's in another game? ;) Brandon _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
