From:	Paul J. Adam Paul@********.demon.co.uk
Subject:	Starting equiptment [was: Value and so on]
Date:	Sun, 18 Jul 1999 17:55:20 +0100

In article <LOBBJIIHDGKNJHCGCIMMCEPICEAA.arcady@***.net>, Arcady
<arcady@***.net> writes
> I still would. I'd want to know what part of their military service
>involved them getting outfitted like that. If they're outfitted like that
>it's likely they were special forces and not regular soldiers.

Hmmm... thirty years ago only special forces had night vision gear on any
serious scale of issue. The new infantry weapon for the US gives every
infantryman his own thermal imager and laser rangefinder.

By the time you've trained an infantryman to be a useful combat asset,
the cost of a set of Boosted-III reflexes can be a quite worthwhile force-
multiplier.

But, there's a downside. At best, you've done a ten-year hitch, been
honourably discharged, and now your SIN is on file as "combat-trained and
cybered out the butt". At worst, you're a wanted deserter... whose SIN is
on file as "combat-trained and cybered out the butt".

Being wanted by a megacorp isn't so bad. Just stay off their turf. Being
wanted in the UCAS by people who know that much about you makes life
_much_ more challenging.

> That brings up another point. In the North America of 2060 it's very likely
>that many of the nations have a draft. With all those other countries around
>you and the politics very unstable you'd want a ready defense. Does
>Shadowrun say anything on this?

Conscript militaries drop in utility as the sophistication of warfare goes
up. You can teach a man to stand in line and load and fire a musket quite
quickly. Teaching him to use a M1 rifle, hand grenades and a BAR is
harder. Teaching him to use a M16, a M60, LAWs, and grenades; how to
mount and dismount from an APC; how to do all of that in NBC kit; and
the expanded library of tactics needed to take advantage of all this...

Not to mention the costs invovled. Conscription's okay if you want lots of
men with rifles. It gets really expensive if you want a large force of
mechanised infantry with armour and artillery support and you have to
turn your entire force over every two years (or however long the draft is
for).

--
Paul J. Adam