Restoration

[Quilboarian]

You make it so that convicted persons have the ability enlist in the Volunteer Guard as an alternative to imprisonment, where they will serve in the same units as normal members, who will not be notified of their penal service status.


The enlistment posters for the Volunteer Guard have been placed around Denmont, and several shipments of uniforms and weapons have been ordered. The recruiting stations are expected to open up soon, you just need somebody to train the recruits.

 

[Tkalec]

We may need to request officers from the Army to oversee the training of the new recruits. If that is not possible, then we will have to employ officers from the National Guard in this region. It should also be possible to sign short term contracts with professional training officers, but such an option may prove expensive and it solves the problem only temporarily.

 

[Quilboarian]

You may be able to write to the regional commander of the regular army's troops to transfer some training officers to you.


Alternatively, there are several private contractors that appear available, albeit at a cost. Though, hiring them would ensure that you wouldn't be drawing the army's attention towards your activities as much.


Getting Major Kirley's men to train your paramilitary troops would also work. Though, his National Guard officers probably aren't as experienced as full-time army ones, or seasoned mercenaries.

 

[Tkalec]

As expensive as it may be, we'll go for the private contractors. The less the Army is involved in our activities, the better. Major Kirley's men can also fill in some spots if necessary.


Besides training, once we recruit enough men, we should organize them into units and start looking for commanding officers who will command such units.

 

[Quilboarian]

Your assistants manage to contact several private military contractors that have experience in instructing and training recruits. They begin to set up arrangements. You may have to slightly raise taxes in order to pay for this.


From the group of the recruits, you could appoint the ones that demonstrate the best grasp of leadership and tactics to such positions like NCOs and possibly junior officers. Other sources may be from former military officers that have retired or have been discharged from the regular army. Alternatively, several of your willing cronies may be able to be appointed as officers. What they'd possibly lack in military expertise could be made up by their loyalty to you, which would extend to their unit as long as they're in charge.

 

[Tkalec]

After much thinking, I came up with the best approach. We'll appoint skilled recruits as NCOs and junior officers. Senior officers will be appointed by me. It is best that I appoint my own men. They may be incompetent idiots, but their loyalty is unquestionable. With enough experience and pressure, they could be made into good soldiers. But for now, I'll rely on their loyalty.

 

[Quilboarian]

The next few months are spent setting up your paramilitary forces. Weapons and vehicles are ordered in, and after the enlistees are inducted into the ranks, the private contractors you've hired begin to train them. Taxes are raised to pay for various expenses related to creating this organization.


It is estimated that you will eventually have at around 1,000 soldiers at your disposal, once everything is up and running. Though, this is "quantity over quality" played straight. The resulting troops will be inferior in most aspects to regular army soldiers and national guardsmen, but they can be recruited easily and equipped cheaply.


Volunteer Guard

National Guard

 

[Tkalec]

To compensate for the tax increase, I would like to either reopen or reconstruct a few factories in the district with the primary funcion of producing military equipemnt and munitions. This way, we'll simultaneously arm our troops and open new jobs.


I would also like to name my senior officers now. I'll start with the battalion commanders (for now, the units will be organized into three battalions plus an HQ unit forming a small brigade which will be expanded with new units in the future).

 

[Quilboarian]

A couple of your political lackeys have had prior experience as military officers , likely making them good candidates for the senior-most leaders. They're no longer members of the government's formal armed forces, so their loyalty towards you should remain solid. Others have little or no formal military experience- but at least they're on your good side.


A small arms company called Associated Defense Manufacturing offers to help you in getting several factories back up and running. They say that if they are allowed to manage these factories and produce weapons, they will provide some of them to your troops. Currently, Associated Defense Manufacturing can only produce a few civilian weapons like basic handguns and shotguns. They don't often invent weapons of their own; they say that in order to produce other weapons, they have to purchase licenses from other arms companies in order to copy their designs. They say that if they are given the necessary funding for this, they can produce other weapon patterns for you.


Meanwhile, a representative from the Army's regional command base offers to provide you with a few crates containing the weapons below. The representative includes the promise of "the Army's further support and oversight" if you accept his offer.

 

[Tkalec]

We'll offer a confract to the small arms company and set them up as soon as they sign. It is essentially a one year contract with the option to sign again after expiration. If we are satisfied with them, we can form new contracts and provide financial support. If handled carefully, they could prove themselves as a valuable investment in the future.


We let the representative know that we appreciate the offer but must decline. The integrity of this organization can not be compromised by outside sources. "Army oversight" was the last thing we needed right now. In other words, I wasn't willing to whore myself for weapons. We'll just have to make due without. We see the representative out, assuring him that the situation is currently under control and that further Army oversight is unnecessary.

 

[Quilboarian]

You send off the representative, who shruggingly leaves after you deny his base's offer. Maybe the Army won't be on your back as much anymore, after this.


You arrange a one-year contract with Associated Defense Manufacturing, and begin to restore several factories, now fitting them with the machinery necessary to process munitions and weapons. If there are any specific weapons you want to see produced, you can have a talk with the company about it. At the moment, they can produce revolvers, pistols and pump shotguns.


Associated Defense Manufacturing requests that you assign some government security police to guard the factories that they will be using. Alternatively, you could just help them pay for the wages of a couple normal security guards, or not help them at all.

 

[Tkalec]

For now we'll just lend them a few police officers from the city police force. Even though it is not a permanent solution, it will work for now.


When we have enough recruits, I will be ready to discuss the strucutre of the unit before we can actually deploy it.


[Once we finish up with the planning, I'll be back in character mode, right?]

 

[Quilboarian]

[sure thing, if you'd like.]


You talk with the police chief, and he agrees to have a few of his officers provide security to the factories, on a rotating shift basis.


Some time passes, and your paramilitary organization has mostly been organized. There seems to be enough weapons and ammunition for now, and there is a sizeable group of troops and designated squad leaders that have finished training. You've placed your lackeys into appropriate command positions as well, and they have familiarized themselves with the atmosphere of their jobs and received a few basic training courses. The officers who are lacking formal training have been given a few basic lessons regarding things such as handgun use and how to use proper radio terminology.


The organizational structure looks like this:


Volunteers (per se) from the civilian population and penal system make up the enlisted ranks, as well as the squad leaders and the like. A few older, noticeably experienced ones have been made officers, as well. The officer ranks are mostly made up of select supporters of your party, who you've just handed out commissions to. Though, the higher echelons of the command are made up of only the most competent and experienced of these supporters. Of course, your own Major Kirley and his officers can provide assistance in various things- the federal government has not activated his unit, so he works for you.


The official ranking system is not decided. If no changes are made, generic military ranks are used by default.

 

[Tkalec]

With the planning mostly finished, the only thing that remains is structuring the units. After much thought, I have decided to strucutre the unit as a single regiment for now, made up of three light infantry battalions. One reconnaissance platoon and one engineer platoon per battalion. I'd like to keep the ranks standard military.


As a light infantry regiment we assess that this unit will be capable of:

1. Engaging the infected
   
2. Easily overpowering most raiders and hostile survivors
   
3. Advancing deep into infected areas
   
4. Supressing any revolts or other forms of civil disobedience within the region (if necessary)
   

[i'll put a table here when I'm done making it listing all units within the 1st Volunteer Regiment, its correct name and strucutre.]

 

[Quilboarian]

It would be best to assign the troops with the appropriate experience to your engineering platoons. There are very few fully-fledged engineers that have enlisted, since one can typically secure a better paying and less dangerous job if they have that experience. Though, there are a few people that had college apprenticeship terms that were interrupted by the outbreak, but these people are not experts.


For your recon platoons, you find an adequate number of people to fill the slots in them. Former survivors that knew the area, people with hunting/tracking experience, etc.


1. The men of the Volunteer Guard have varying levels of experience when it comes to the infected. Some people managed to get evacuated to safe-zones immediately, or were already living in them when the outbreak started. Other people have survived in the "wild-zones" for quite awhile, but managed to get to safety before the borders were closed off. So, some claim they've killed numerous infected, others say they have never laid eyes on them outside the television screen. The private contractors managing the training have stated that they will provide basic directions on dealing with infected individuals, though.


2. You've heard many stories about how dangerous some survivors have become. While many survivors are just bands of scavengers and desperate refugees, there are sporadic appearances of large, organized groups. Marauders and "crazy survivalist" types tend to make up these groups, but there are also communities that are more "neutral" (neutral to other survivors, not necessarily your government). Groups are often hard to convert, either because they have just gone "feral", or because their community developed into a radically different society. Many soldiers in other regions have fallen victim to ambushes, traps and the like, both by random gangs as well as survivor militias.


3. Deeper into the wild-zones, you are sure to encounter more hostile survivors, infected, etc. It is also more difficult to get troops and supplies into these areas, and morale is expected to drop whenever troops get deeper in.


4. You'll have to re-establish control first. If the troops can deal with hostile survivors, they should be able to handle any riots after.

 

[Tkalec]

Current Operational Goals for the VG

PHASE ONE


Proper recon shall be carried out before initiating any large scale unit movements. After enough intelligence has been gathered, the 1st and 2nd Battalion will move out from Cardston. The 1st Battalion will move towards Cayden, and the 2nd Battalion will assault Treyton. As both towns are considered deserted, limited resistance is expected. This operation shall be carried out in coordination with the Denmont police force as they will provide a unit of police officers for this military action. This unit won't be attached to any formation and will act independently. The 3rd Battalion shall be kept in reserve.

 

[Quilboarian]

I improved the map and such (might make some small addons later). I'll update the pad with the new cities' information, too. So, you can alter your strategy based on this.

 

[Tkalec]

[updated Operational Goals. Ready to start in character rping.]

 

[Quilboarian]

[What in-character RP situation are you going to be in?]


It seems like it would be difficult to convince the Denmont Police Department to engage in that operation, as it takes place far away from the city. However, you can simply use officers from the State Highway Patrol, without much of a difference.


You send out scouts to the area, who report little to no activity upon their return. Though, one recon team member says that he saw a few civilians in Cayden before they disappeared from sight. It is considered illegal for unauthorized civilians to enter/leave the Safe-Region by passing through the buffer zone. It's not always about survivors trying to enter, since people sometimes leave in order to hunt for treasure in the uncontrolled zones, considering all the banks, jewelry stores etc. are abandoned.


In this state, such enforcement is done by the Theo River Quarantine Authority- though their patrol line has plenty of holes in it. You have some power to control them, but they mostly answer to their parent branch, which is federally-operated Border Security Service.


You mobilize the three Volunteer Guard battalions, and they prepare to move into their positions.

 

[Tkalec]

[i'd like to be on a helicopter ride heading for Cayden when 1st Battalion establishes a Command Post inside the city. Because this is the first ever large scale operation carried out by the regiment, I would like to personally oversee the efficiency of the Battalion CP.]

 

[Quilboarian]

You're sitting as a passenger in one of the National Guard helicopters as it makes its way over to Cayden, where Volunteer Guards and state police are beginning to gather. At first, you see many fields and grassplains, before passing over the marshy forested region. A very long razorwire fence has been set up along the river, in addition to sporadic watch towers and TRQA outposts. On the other side of the river, the abandoned town of Sprucevale can be seen, as well as the ruins of one of the bridge-crossings which was destroyed.


You hear the voice of Captain Perkins, the pilot; "Nearing Cayden in a few minutes." Along with whoever else you may have decided to bring along, there are two National Guard soldiers accompanying you, assigned to provide security. Sergeant Wilber and Lieutenant Haines, who both wear flight jackets and carry carbines.

 

[Tkalec]

David sits calmly in the passenger seat, observing the scenery bellow. A cocked revolver; you can never be too safe, is tucked neatly in the holster, hidden from view bellow his nice tailored suit. It was an odd sight as he was required to wear a flak jacket over his suit due to precautionary measures. "Drop us off as close as you can to the Command Post." He says, raising his voice because of the loud noise coming down from the rotors flapping in mid air.

 

[Quilboarian]

['tis all okay]


"Copy," you hear Captain Perkins reply. As you look out, trucks, tents and soldiers become more clearly seen on the ground below. Perkins hovers the chopper for a moment, before beginning to descend down to the landing zone. When it touches the ground, Lieutenant Haines and Sergeant Wilber step out of the helicopter, and you are cleared to do so as well.


Looking around the camp, you see various men setting things up, at least the ones who are not standing around. The town doesn't appear too far away. Its perimeter has probably been secured on some level.

 

[Tkalec]

David briskly jumps out of the helicopter to the muddy ground bellow. Relieved that the helicopter ride is over, he quickly straightens his suit and pulls out a pack of cigarettes from one of the pockets. He proceeds to pull one cigarette out of the pack and lights it with a zippo lighter. "Find the Battalion commander." David instructs the two men accompanying him.

 

[Quilboarian]

The two soldiers nod and sling their carbines, while Lieutenant Haines nods. "Yes sir," he says as he takes lead, with his subordinate following behind. They lead you through the encampment until arriving at the command post. Said command post appears to you in the form of a beige-coloured field tent, one that is larger and more distinctive than its counterparts in the camp. You're told that the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Wesley Perry will be able to meet with you inside.