Schools Thread Episode XVII: Return of the Schools
Edward Kirk
Well, it has finally happened. Two and a half years after the end of the war, we finally have schooling again. I know my six year old is going to have a lot of catching up to do. We have been trying here at home to teach them, but, well, I don't think Imagined Communities is exactly the kind of thing to teach a kid on. Same with arithmetic and writing. I don't remember how we were taught to do it. Fortunately, now I can send the boy off to someone who actually knows what they are doing.
Made a new thread, because I don't think we need to interrupt the impromptu homeschooling discussion in Episode XVI.
VAdm. Harrison Carter [Space Command]
My respect goes out to all parents and guardians who did their best in the last two years. I will be delighted to see future engineers, scientists and university graduates whose careers took beginnings in these schools.
YourFateCalls989
At last. I may have issues with some aspects of the standard GDI curriculum, but a quality education systems is one of the best tools of self-improvement a person has. I only hope the youth does not waste this opportunity.
Bicycles0-0
So, as one of the people affected, I'm kinda torn. On the one hand, there's a lot I know I want to learn if I want to do more than fix bicycles with my dad my whole life. On the other hand, homework. Ugh.
Ormonde2020
I've been working in manufacturing for a while now, but with primary schools back open I put in an application and I've just got confirmation I'm getting put on as a teacher! I'm super excited to get the chance to help get things back on track. I'm feeling so hopeful lately!
Accomplishing Providence
Excellent news indeed. The task of shepherding young minds, helping them grow in knowledge and wisdom, is one of the oldest and most honorable professions in human history. It lifts my cynical heart a bit to see such intentional effort being placed into expanding schooling to be a resource for all citizens of the world, rather than simply those living privileged lives in the Blue Zones. We can only hope that Director Granger will continue to spearhead efforts to maintain and grow the schools in Yellow Zones. The children of the world are our future, and we should do everything we can to safeguard that future, and its limitless possibilities.
St3ven
Dad's been telling me about school, apparently I can meet other kids there! Ones who don't live in my building! New friends will be great, there's some kids here but mostly it's a lot of old people who can't move so good and don't like it when we play loudly.
YellowZon3r
My concern is, well. They don't teach you how to think, just what to think. Eight plus hours of GDI state sponsored indoctrination per day including two hours of physical education. Every day. They're not even trying to be subtle. Just announcing to the world send your children here to be the next generation of enforcers for your high and mighty overlords.
ProfCollingsworth [PiledHigher&Deeper]
The debate about education vs indoctrination goes back centuries, and usually the people alleging that it's indoctrination are those who have political views that disagree with the facts. If you want to improve what is being taught, get involved!
I'm helping some of my younger colleagues with preparation, but I'm out of the game myself, since a) my field of study is a bit specialized, and b) I'm in my mid-80s and these creaky bones aren't really up to keeping up with the young-uns.
KropotkinsGhost
@ProfCollingsworth Funnily enough you saying that "those who have political views that disagree with the facts" is a show of political bias in our educational systems. How do you know that everything GDI teaches is true facts? How much of it should be "political"? Do you not have doubts about these methods and the content yourself? This is a global organization trying to teach a wide variety of subjects to people who only half a century before were a large collection of rich cultures all over the world that will now be sterilized into a GDI mono-culture enforced through a school system that can not hope to keep the minds of children free from biases and warped perceptions of history.
AccomplishingProvidence
Concerns about GDI's curriculum completely brainwashing children are a bit of histrionics. We can certainly have discussions about the weight of bias in the material. But at the end of the day, these are people in classrooms with books and other tools talking to younger people.
We could spend all day looking over statistics about the ratio of children who copy the views of their parents, adapt the views, change views, or even reject views. Politics, religion, language, and more. If one has the time it's fascinating reading.
But the point is, children are smarter than we think. They're filled with potential and curiosity. They listen, learn, adapt.
Watch the children, everyone. I think they'll surprise us all.
ProfCollingsworth
@KropotkinsGhost As I said earlier, I've been working with some people who are going to be teaching. There's certainly a pro-GDI slant towards presentation, but you're exhibiting the tendency frequently shown by extremists to point out the possibility of malfeasance as if it were evidence of it existing. I'd personally like to have more of an emphasis on the influence of 1800s-era philosophers in the history leading up to our current situation, but I'm aware of my own biases.
@Accomplishing Providence Thank you for emphasizing that children do tend to have minds of their own. Ensure that the information isn't unavailable, and they'll find it. (As I have found out in my own teaching misadventures...)
Stralyan1998
It's not propaganda just because you disagree with it. Not our fault the GDI is doing such a good job where NOD failed #sorrynotsorry
Rosmontis
Finally, school is back on the menu. Bless Dr. Granger and his minions for their hard work. After a few years of learning on my own alongside a few of my acquaintances. I'm hopeful that vocational school will be the main priority though. Anyways, wish the treasury and his goons all the best during the programs! They'll need it.
AngryMoose
Glad that school is being focused on, since I'm used to teaching a bunch of children in my local housing, what with being a former lecturer and all that jazz. I'm hopeful that GDI will open other essential QoL branches, maybe funding small and localized industries will be a good start.
My personal recommendation would be focusing on vocational schools first as it'll produce a somewhat skilled workforce faster than universities.
Resource Redistribution and the Quest for More Money (SECURE THREAD: Clearance Level V+ Required)
Henry Olvier (ZOCOM)
So, Dr. Granger surprised us all a few days ago with the announcement that he would be diverting millions of credits to other projects. I don't see any of the money, because we are still attached to the Treasury, but a few of my friends over at ZOCOM's labs, have been saying that they have gotten pretty significant windfalls out of this. So, what do people expect to be done with the resources, and how does this change our opinion of Dr. Granger and the Treasury?
Personally, I have to say I am very pleasantly surprised by all of this. To see Granger giving away the entirety of what my team has been working on these last three months is not something I ever expected to see a GDI administrator doing. Almost everyone is territorial about their budgets, and Granger has been going hard into expanding his. But no, he gave the military a much needed funding boost, made sure that the Health Service could start doing more operations, and tried to help everyone.
Mia Deeps (Treasury)
Just saying: You're welcome.
Janet Bars (Space Force)
Everyone over here is absolutely ecstatic. I saw the Admiral when the message came in, he was practically crying tears of joy. Doesn't hurt that we have actual work to do now, instead of people just bouncing around running fusion sims and going stir-crazy. Seriously, I found an actual honest-to-goodness shrine to Doctor Granger in one of the supply closets. No idea who built it, but someone was leaving staplers as offerings. It was super weird.
James Ashford (Logistics and Military Procurement)
Granger lives! (Please don't ban me for an obvious joke guys, come on.)
[USER HAS RECEIVED A WARNING FOR THIS POST]
Mikoto Arsikawa (Asst Secretary of Health & Services B-6)
As one of the primary beneficiaries of this act, I have to say that it's a great deal of weight off my back to actually have the resources for unemployment and other payments? With so many unemployed and refugees on our lists, we've been straining to keep up with the demands. Maybe we can actually afford to do maintenance on the camps in the Manchurian Yellow Zone, once we've taken care of our citizens.
@Janet Bars Sad to say I've seen your budgets in review, and you're going to see all of your increase go into deferred maintenance on the Ion Cannons most likely. Space launch is expensive, and compared to welfare programs or the military proper, you've got a relatively constrained budget.
Logan Barnes (Postal Services)
I can get my boys new tires! And new trucks! And COFFEE! and maybe even sleep. zzzzz...
Janet Bars (Space Force)
@Mikoto Arsikawa I can have hope, though. Hopefully we'll keep getting money for the Com Sats for awhile.
James Ashford (Logistics and Military Procurement)
I deserved that warning, but it was worth it. Seriously though, you cannot imagine how relieved I was when the news came in, we've been literally dying out in the field from not having the resources and materials necessary to keep NOD in check. It's been brutal having to send people out with the bare minimum knowing that a lot of them might not come back because we couldn't afford to provide things that would have been standard kit ten years ago. It was like god himself had descended from heaven to lift my face up and wipe the mud out of my eyes. People are going to live because of this. Granger might be a pencil neck pencil pusher, but I owe him a slab of whatever he drinks.
Terrence Lagunia (West Point)
It is nice to see things going again and I do appreciate what Granger(Treasury) is doing. Can't really say he has any political sense but maybe that's a good thing. I wonder what Solomon would have thought of him, already seen what Havoc does.
Q2 2052 Results
Resources: 325 + 5 in reserve
Political Support: 60
Free Dice: 5
Tiberium Spread
14.41 Blue Zone
32.00 Yellow Zone (36 points of mitigation)
53.59 Red Zone (20 points of mitigation
Current Economic Issues:
Housing: Sufficient but low quality (=) (+++++ in refugee camps)
Energy: Substantial Surpluses (++++)
Logistics: Marginal Surpluses (+)
Food: Sufficient production, inefficiencies in distribution (=)
Health: Substantially improved (++++)
Capital Goods: Massive Shortfalls (-----)
Consumer Goods: Titanic Shortages (------)
Labor: Gargantuan Surpluses (++++++++)
An Emerging Political Consensus
With GDI's nascent representative government has come lobbying, policy goals, and a hardening of expectations, rather than the loose and open ended goals of two years ago. While goals are still somewhat free floating, by the end of the plan Parliament expects you to reach the following goals.
95 points of overall mitigation
Complete at least one more of
- Philadelphia 2
- Orbital Reinforcements
- High Orbit Ion Cannons
Field Artillery Development: 63/40
Security Reviews (Services): 178 vs. DC 60
[ ] Yellow Zone Reconstruction (Phase 2)
The most important feature of continuing yellow zone reconstruction is the provision of massive new housing projects. While building the infrastructure to support them must come alongside construction of housing, the development of work can come later, a compromise to get people out of the overcrowded and degrading refugee camp system. (Progress 282/200: 15 Resources per die) (+++ Housing)
Yellow Zone reconstruction has continued apace, moving about a quarter of the population of the camps, and leading to a number of closures. However, in the remaining camps, there are dozens of refugee columns arriving, sometimes even daily or weekly, straining the capacity of the camp's garrisons to process them.
As for the apartments, they are relatively comfortable. Still firmly in the camp of cramped conditions, but better than the camps. While only a relative handful of the population has work, the preparations have been made for more diversification of the reconstruction efforts, ranging from the construction of planned cities for various operations, to fortress towns and arcologies. In non residential construction, there is a massive need for work, ranging from farm labor, to technical and scientific research. While construction for the Yellow Zones is always going to be more expensive and less comfortable than blue zone construction due to environmental problems, the construction crews have been growing far more comfortable with the methods of building in hostile environments.
[ ] Blue Zone Residential Construction (Phase 2)
With much of the infrastructure for new housing construction already in place, even more substantial housing development can be created. Much like the previous series, these are standardized apartment blocks, built to be cheap and cramped, but sustainable. While few would call them comfortable, they are far better than any existing yellow zone accommodations.
(Progress 144/200: 10 resources per die) (- Labor, ++++ Housing)
Residential construction has begun with a series of 300 unit six story apartment buildings. With the massive construction project still far from completion, it is also well on its way towards allowing many of the current refugee camps to be closed, especially when combined with the now completed immediate reconstruction of Yellow Zone Terminus cities. While many are unlikely to want to move, there are also almost certainly enough who desperately want to get a stable housing environment to fill every unit currently being constructed. Future housing projects are likely to be lower density and with larger units, a recognition that the immediate housing crisis has been concluded and that families, especially extended families, need a fair bit of space to remain sane.
At this time, the units are almost complete, and furnishings have already been ordered, but neither side has yet managed to fill the needs. While some units are ready, GDI at a policy level waits until all the units in a building are ready before moving people in.
[ ] North Boston Chip Fabrication (Phase 1)
While the Manchester chip fabrication plant has not yet broken ground, a series of destroyed blocks in North Boston provide a substantial area to set up a serious fabrication capacity. Far larger and with much more room to grow than the Manchester facility, it will also need a far more substantial investment into its infrastructure. The first steps will be to clear away destroyed buildings, and to establish a single unified system, with power, water, and logistics linkages for importing raw materials and exporting finished goods. (Progress 169/150: 15 resources per die) (- Labor) (Nat 100, Quality Improvement)
The initial groundwork for the Chip Fabricator in North Boston, north of the Charles River between Brandeis and Harvard universities, has been consistently outperforming expectations. The engineers have more than cleared away the damaged and destroyed buildings, they have extensively recycled them, speeding construction on a more comprehensive system of fabrication bays. While initially planned for 10nm chips, the heroic efforts of the engineers and construction teams have constructed a facility more suited for an even smaller 5nm chip. So called because of the size of each transistor, the 5 nanometer scale transistor is absolutely microscopic. The smallest living organism is Mycoplasma genitalium, a bacteria that lived in primate bladders, and is some forty to sixty times the size of a transistor found on one of these chips.
[ ] Christchurch Tool Plant
With the current capital goods crisis, the construction of new tooling plants, designed to work with extremely hard steels, is one part in making good the current shortages. Machine tools, like drill bits, press forms, and other cutting implements get worn down, and eventually break, even with the best of care. With five years of deferred maintenance and the increased demands of wartime necessity, there are many bits and other elements that need immediate replacement.
(Progress 402/300: 15 resources per die) (+++ Capital Goods)
Tooling shipments have finally begun to be packaged and sent out. While the first batch went to local industries, a concession to the political needs of the location, and lobbying from the Zone Operations Command, further shipments have already begun to be made as far away as the American west coast blue zones. The tooling spread will begin to make good on years of shortfall in the next few months, but it will take likely two years to fill the gap, even without any new construction.
Most tooling is fairly standardized, cutting heads, chisels, blades of various descriptions. But one place where Christchurch also works is in creating jigs. Specialized assemblies used to guide tools and create standardized parts. While prewar the jig had nearly fallen out of use with the number of CNC machines and other computerized assembly tools available, the Christchurch tool plant has had to begin shipping out standardized jigs to plants around the world to ensure standardization is maintained even as industrial tooling fails.
[ ] Chemical Precursor Plants
While Tiberium and greenhouses can provide many of the chemicals needed for both day to day living and industrial needs, there are many chemicals, such as ethylene, propylene, nitric acid, sulphuric acid, hydrogen peroxide, and a wide selection of others that are important in everything from body armor to storage vessels, to medication. By building large chemical plants around the world, many of these can be produced and shipped more cheaply than doing small scale production on site.
(Progress 36/200: 15 resources per die) (++ Capital Goods, --- Energy)
The easy part of a chemical precursor plant is the building itself. Thin roof, thick walls, designed to vector a runaway exothermic reaction upward, rather than outward. Many of these sites are well outside the cities, always downwind so that any toxic spread does not cover residential areas like happened in Bhopal India. While GDI standard construction is far more environment proof than the pre Tiberium housing, it is always better to avoid stressing the system unnecessarily. More complicated are the tanks and systems to manage the chemical reactions, none of which have been delivered to the sites yet.
[ ] Toy Plants
While electronic devices have been the preferred means of recreation for children the world over for decades, ongoing shortages have caused proposals for a new wave of toy plants to be constructed. Ranging from dolls to dart guns, toys can be produced simply and cheaply, a supply of entertainment for children the world over. (Progress 68/100: 5 resources per die) (++ Consumer Goods) (nat 1)
While the toy plants have begun construction, concerns have begun to be raised in Parliament. Many members wonder why GDI is wasting effort on constructing toys, rather than more important matters. The Free Market party has been quick to jump into the affairs, demanding an opening of markets and an expansion of market freedoms, rather than allowing the Treasury to continue "wasting" resources on such projects. The Hawks followed suit soon after, demanding Treasury attention to 'more important matters" The combined parties are too small to manage any substantial condemnation, but the issue has crystalized an alliance between the two groups, making constructing a coalition substantially more difficult.
[ ] Blue Zone Aquaponics Bays
With most of the lush farmlands that were once able to feed the world's population comfortably overrun by Tiberium, governments were forced to resort to as many methods of feeding its population as it could. One of the more successful ways found to work were hybrid fish and vegetable farms, that were able to provide balanced diets, even if they are not quite as calorie dense as traditional farming. It's time to restore those farms that were damaged in the fighting, and restock those that ran short.(Progress 172/200: 10 Resources per die) (-- Labor ++ Food)
There have been many methods practiced over the course of history for growing food in hostile environments. Ranging from the Aztecs to the southern reaches of China, growing fish, meat, and vegetables alongside each other created hybrid efficiencies, with better extraction ratios. In the modern day, aquaponics dates to the 1970s, with fish farming experiments. Much like their ancient counterparts, modern fish farmers have looked to edible plants grown in conjunction with fish, to both reduce their dependence on external inputs, and to avoid using expensive water filtration methods.
Aquaponics arrays are highly efficient, both in terms of water and inputs. In and around most major cities in the world a number of new and rebuilt aquaponics bays have been constructed. Most are long and relatively narrow greenhouses, holding a fish tank on one end, and then having grow runs the length of the building, each covered with floating plant holders. However, they are, for the most part, not operational. A last step will be to recruit the people needed to run the operation. While notably efficient in some ways, aquaponics still needs far more people per kilocalorie than late 20th century farming techniques. People still need to maintain the acres of pipes, pumps, tanks and runs, alongside handling the harvest. While some of it can be assisted by mechanization, that mechanization is mostly unavailable at this time.
[ ] Intensification of Yellow Zone Harvesting (Phase 2)
While a first phase of intensification has completed, there are many Tiberium fields left underexploited. Additionally, as a handful of the easiest fields have begun to be played out, they can be capped with Tiberium spikes, offering a continuous stream of Tiberium for shipment to industrial areas. While again providing jobs, this, and each further phase will offer fewer new jobs. (Progress 154/100: 15 resources per die) (small additional income trickle [5-10 Resources]) (slightly contributes to plan goal)
Around most of the yellow zone terminus cities, a forest has sprouted. Not a forest of trees, but one of Tiberium Spikes, scraping the skies. Beyond those spikes more fields are being harvested. However, that has begun requiring more logistical support, especially because shipping people out an hour or two and then back is not particularly feasible with current arrangements. More substantial logistical investments and building satellite cities and towns will make more development feasible.
Socially, the flow of resources has reignited an old conflict, with small protests near GDI structures, complaining that Yellow Zones work to make the Blue Zones rich. While so far the protests have been mostly chants and signs, and have been blunted by the construction of new housing, more will have to be done to ensure that the Yellow Zones are not left out of the sharing of the wealth.
[ ] Tiberium Glacier Mining (Phase 3)
With regions of the North American Red Zone now secured, a second major complex of Tiberium glacier mines has a green light for deployment. With most of the materials already set aside, the last major hurdle is the deployment of the entire project and beginning mining. In the time between the last major mining operation and this new one, a series of technical and methodological changes have been proposed. While the projected yield increases are unlikely to be worthwhile to backport to existing mines, a new mine is a good place to attempt to use them.
(Progress 268/200: 30 resources per die) (-- Logistics) (additional income trickle [40-60 Resources])
Tiberium mining operations have begun out of what was once known as Mobile Bay. While much of the bay is shallow, often less than 3 meters deep, it is also well located as a means of shipping supplies out. With four rivers feeding into the bay, Tiberium from Red Zone mining operations can be loaded immediately into shipping containers, loaded onto barges, floated downriver to a cargo facility, and then cross loaded onto container ships for deliveries around the world. While not a particularly convenient route, with many of the ships going around Florida and up the coast to port cities in B-2, GDI has sufficient shipping capacity to make it work.
Upriver, the Tiberium mines are much the same as found in the Italian peninsula, with a few modifications. The most noticeable is that sonic grenades are mounted to many of the harvester units, a means to allow them to break off partially cracked sections of the glacier, rather than waiting for another round from the sonic projectors. While certainly an efficiency upgrade, it has not resulted in more Tib coming down river. The mine is already working at capacity, meaning that another angle of attack will be needed before further expansion of glacier mining can be undertaken.
[ ] Tiberium Environmental Impact Reporting
With initial widespread mining active, more precise monitoring of the impact of Tiberium on health and the environment can be managed as part of mining operations. While more people will need to be hired, and substantial investment made into building a more accurate and responsive reporting system, they will be worthwhile in our efforts to manage the spread of Tiberium, and hopefully beginning to reverse it.
(Progress 82/80: 5 resources per die)
GDI's longest lasting mandate has been the eradication of Tiberium. While immediate crisis efforts have mainly focused on exploiting the material for resource extraction purposes, the increasing stability of the situation has prompted calls for more precise information on the effects of our Tiberium operations. The process has begun with collecting information and comparing it to prewar models of Tiberium growth rates. Initial findings are that Tiberium has a substantially increased rate of spread, likely a result of some combination of the Liquid Tiberium Bomb, and the Scrin invasion. However, this has not substantially reduced the effectiveness of existing Tiberium abatement measures, aside from the increased spread requiring more intensive investment to achieve equivalent overall impact. With ongoing supply problems, the process of information collection and modeling has been going slowly, but in future quarters, much more precise data will be available to our central planning committees.
[ ] Expand Orbital Communications Network (Phase 1)
The communications potential of satellites has been known for nearly a century. While GDI has often invested in such satellites, the current network has begun to show its age, between holes punched by the war, power failures, and the Kessler effect caused by NODs nuclear strike, many of GDI's orbital satellites need prompt replacement. While other fires have left this one on the backburner, it has come time to begin working to make good the damages above, as well as below. (Progress 85/150: 15 resources per die)
The first phase of reworking GDI's orbital communications network has been to identify which units need to be replaced. While the holes in the communication network are obvious, there are many more units that have damage, or are simply getting old. While standardized replacements have begun to be manufactured, they are far from being ready. The next step is primarily concerned with launches. When slotting a new communications unit into an existing constellation, especially in an orbital environment as crowded as Earth's, great care must be taken to ensure that the new unit does not have an intercept course with orbital debris, and will not be overly disrupted by dust clouds.
[ ] Primary Schooling
The war created a significant hole in standard educational practices. While not the highest priority, returning kids to school frees up parents to work, and is an ongoing investment in our future. Schooling will also increase security against the Brotherhood of Nod in the long term, as more children will be raised under standard GDI curricula and away from terrorist indoctrination. (Progress 362/300: 5 Resources per die) (---- Labor) (5 Political Support)
Primary schools are the basis of all other education, a first stepping stone towards a society with education for all. Formal schooling dates back nearly four thousand years, back to ancient Egypt. Universal education on the other hand is a much more recent program. The Aztecs in the 15th century were one of the first to attempt a program of nearly universal schooling, without regard to gender or social class.
The Initiative's schools are often fairly basic at this time, more reminiscent of those a hundred years ago, rather than ten. While school days are long, generally opening at 0800, and closing at 1600, with two additional blocks of optional extra care out to 1800, and 2000, there is a mandate for no more than two hours of homework a night, and every school day has at least two hours of physical education. A fairly typical schedule but two hours of classes from 0800 to 1000, an hour of games from 1000 to 1100, another hour of classes from 1100 to 1200, Lunch and homeroom until 1300, classes until 1500, and then 1500 to 1600 another hour of games. After school ends, the teachers stay to offer assistance with homework, and continue playing games with the kids, acting as caretakers and confidants as needed. Schools are in session nearly all year round, with a total of eight weeks off, spread around the year.
[ ] Railgun Refits
The first GDI asset to use a combat specified railgun was the Mark II Mammoth assault walker. Equipped with two heavy hypervelocity railguns, it was a terrifying foe for the Brotherhood in the Second Tiberium War. By the Third Tiberium War, the walker had been retired, but descendents of its railguns had lived on, being fitted to about a quarter of GDI's mechanized forces. During the war, the railgun proved itself time and time again, having better penetration, and allowing the tank to carry more ammunition than the 152mm smoothbore that had been the original weapon. However, railguns are also substantially more expensive, and need an entire separate equipment line to manufacture.
(Progress 51/150: 15 Resources per die)
Ramping up railgun production has gone relatively slowly. While the technology had already begun to be rolled out across the force, the new program is much more widespread, ranging from the thousands of Guardian canons to the RIGs. A rail gun can be as simple as a pair of parallel rails strapped to a capacitor array. It is something that can be built in a backyard, and powered off of standard nine volt batteries, although you do need a pretty substantial capacitor array to make it work. The problem however, is scale. GDI needs tens of thousands of railgun units. A single company of mammoth tanks takes some 70 barrels to fully equip. Two barrels, a set and a half of replacements, and the 152mm smoothbore is everywhere in GDI's arsenal. The initial deployment has heavily favored the lighter deployments, focusing on smaller units with only Predator tank compliments.
[ ] Field Artillery Development
GDI has often disregarded the role of field artillery pieces. Going back to its origins as a counterterrorism organization, GDI preferred to rely on various forms of self propelled artillery, or air power to serve in artillery roles. However, both of these options are notably expensive, something that meant that the units were only deployed sparingly. In the opening offensives of the Third Tiberium War, many units were overrun simply due to not having enough artillery and air support to cover them. A growing faction in GDI's political sphere sees the deployment of widespread, cheap, field artillery as a necessity, especially with the armies deployed into thousands of forward defensive emplacements.
(Progress 63/40: 10 resources per die)
GDI's field artillery development has emphasized existing calibers. 152mm smoothbore, 203mm rifled, and 120mm Mortar, the three standard tubes that GDI already uses. The former two are far more plentiful and broadly useful than the latter, making them, in theory, easy candidates for adoption. However, both are extremely heavy and hot munitions. A 203mm gun cannot maintain a sustained rate of fire more than one round a minute. 152mm is not much better. To deal with the Brotherhood's massed assault groups, a smaller, faster firing gun is needed. That is where the mortar comes in. Primarily aimed at the massed assaults that broke GDI positions across the Third Tiberium War, mortar groups are likely to be the mainstay of GDI's nascent artillery corps.
While the majority of the new pieces are likely to be fixed guns, emplaced in bunkers around the world, the Initiative does want more mobile versions, especially of the 152mm gun as a light alternative to fill the gap between the heavy artillery walkers and the mortar mounted Pitbulls. While the 152mm gun can be mounted to a Guardian chassis, the 203mm gun requires a Predator hull to have even the pretense of mobility.
Organizationally, the units are intended to be deployed in formations of six three gun batteries. three mortar batteries, two 152mm batteries, and a single 203mm battery. However, this scheme might well change multiple times in the coming months as GDI ground forces experiments with the new assets.
[ ] Security Reviews
GDI has often faced problems with infiltration by the Brotherhood of Nod. A full security review of one department of operations can mitigate or discover infiltration, however it will take a significant amount of effort. (DC 60 + 1 operations die)
The services department is the one with the most direct access to the population. Rather than working in well secured industrial complexes, isolated infrastructural projects or orbital stations, the services department works in towns and neighborhoods. Running everything from schools and consumable distribution to delivering the post, the Services department is a vital interface that keeps up the confidence in the Initiative.
In terms of NOD infiltration, one of the things that makes it difficult is their constant contact with the population. While someone in the industrial complex can change a few numbers and make off with equipment and information, the services division cannot get away without widespread contact with the public, and so most infiltrators are found out fairly early. While this does have a substantial false positive rate, due to jumpy residents reporting their suspicions, it is an effective means of preventing infiltration.
[ ] Reallocate Resources to other departments
One of the limiting factors on GDI's reconstruction has become the limited amount of resources allocated at the beginning of the plan. By moving resources earned from expanding Tiberium exploitation into broader pools, and voluntarily giving up claim to them, the Treasury can earn political support, and bolster other GDI programs beyond its mandate. (Reduces resources per turn by 15 per die allocated) (+10 political support per die)
There are many ways to win friends and influence people. Charm, a winning personality, and oratorical skills are commonly noted good ways to do that. However, for those lacking in the brilliance to cover those, there is another way: Money. Granger has made good use of that avenue, allocating a quarter's increase in Tiberium mining towards other departments, covering dozens of projects. While much of it will be eaten up quickly by filling deferred maintenance needs, GDI's military has used it to increase armor allocation to its infantry and go on a massive recruiting spree, filling out shattered complements and providing a number of new security battalions for the yellow zone mining operations. While these units are of course green, and are fundamentally not prepared to do much more than hold a position, it is a comfort to the men and women operating the engines of our economy.
