Vote's open.
Everybody, to clarify: The FDO building ground infrastructure would be on their budget, both cost and upkeep. Those 70,000 credits they get every year. Commensurately, FDO-built colonies are going to be extremely small, and will grow slowly; think, "we built a mining outpost just like we do every year, but this time it sits on the ground." Virani is asking for this because ground infrastructure is labor-intensive, while in this case (Nimal Pak) also being the key to a massive industrial expansion; she identifies it as the most efficient way to address some of the problems Virmire faces.
But I'm specifically responding to the complaint, "We can't afford that!";
you don't have to. You'll have nothing to do with it, in fact. It'll be funded and run directly by the FDO. If that is the sole reason for your opposition, avail yourself of the up-to-date information. Poptart away!
Could we expand the Marines instead of the Army? Or just combine the two branches of service? I don't see any reason that army troopers couldn't do marine duties. As much as the USMC likes to beat their chest, marines aren't all that special.
Eh, I'll still vote for it.
At the scale this operates on I can understand not being able to make them all marines, but I'd expect this to be be able to siphon off a portion of the recruits to become void marines. Specialist training tends to be a thing for recruits that stand out from what I've heard. While I doubt it would be enough to expand the void marines on it's own, I'd expect to make it easier to do and cheaper than getting them from the general population.
The issue is not one of
scale, specifically. Remember that this is an Assembly and Army initiative. The Assembly is running it, the Army is implementing it. Neither is
qualified to recruit for the Void Marines. Void marine infantry have very advanced duties, well in excess of ground-based infantry, and moreover a totally unique means of operation, being necessarily and entirely ship-based. This requires specialized and advanced training. That's not a mark against the regular infantry; they don't
need to board and defend ships. Thus even aside from the quality demanded of the Void Marines -- which, given their vital role in protecting the Navy, is the literal highest Virmire can produce -- there are demands to void marine training which neither the Assembly nor the Army are qualified to meet. Thus, the VVMC lies beyond the purview of this bill.
That's not even getting into the insanity that is the standards for Void Marines serving aboard EC ships.
Once we have completed our public works projects, will they have increased our yearly income, given that they are expanding the civilian economy?
Possibly. The MoF is currently pulling some economic black magic to insulate your income from the effects of the crash, so how the eventual recovery will interact with that is somewhat unclear.
@tech - we do provide the means for maintenance of the fleet, we are looking what they are doing (Rachni/2-day war), we've got performance scans ... and a war to fight. Could we tell them we were reverese engineering what we scanned?
The Republic is unlikely to like that excuse even if they buy it. Also, this data contains several
doctrinal innovations that scans wouldn't have yielded.
I don't believe so.
We have 3 HQ Mines waiting for exploitation; they're expensive, but each brings in ~22k.
Still
@PoptartProdigy
Can you please,at your leisure, explicitly state the difference between
Diamonds In The Rough and
Low-Hanging Fruit?
What is unclear about the provided descriptions?
Question for the GM with our recent improved logistics is it possible to transfer army units to other planets/systems in a reasonable timescale? Given how long the reformation for the marines has been on a backburner having SOMEONE to clear out Rachni from facilities too valuable to bomb from orbit would be essential. Plus while they'd be unsuited for naval action the Army would have access to heavy armour which should help even the odds when fighting Rachni on the ground.
Secondly on demobilisation I'm guessing baring something disastrous we would be able to stand troops down gradually?
That issue is more Army-side than Navy-side. Your Army is built to maneuver and fight
on Virmire. That said, improved naval logistics helps a little, since the Navy would be the ones doing the lifting.
I will let the thread control Virmire's rate of demobilization.
@PoptartProdigy if the expanded army gets rubber stamped would a martial cation next turn be possible to "stream" the volunteers. By that I mean work out (test/analyse for) those who are going to stick around and give them standard military training, and for the others give them a military technical training program.
I have cousin whose joined the Asutralian army for the sole purpose of becoming a qualified electronics technician, after his 3 years training he does 4 years servicce and then he's out with a civilian equivalent qualification, some cash in his pocket and 4 years trade experience.
Programs like that are a symptom of peacetime. Mira hadn't put that program on her docket yet, but once she has those soldiers, she intends to
use them.
Yeah. This is my worry since I planned on starting Marine Recruitment this coming turn.
@PoptartProdigy what affect would this have on that option?
Zero.
