It has become somewhat personal: mainly because I used my entire Sunday replying and arguing for my plan and making compromises.
Then the plan of Potato Anarchy just showed up and gained rapid popularity with only three posts, while I used multiple posts to explain in great detail why I think that my plan is better and got only 4 people voting for it.
Moreover, from my perspective seems the things addressed in the "Plan: Foundations for Maneuver" are not urgent as there isn't a necessity for transportation right now, as we are not at risk of incumbent invasion and/or war. And we are wasting time by not addressing a thing that is better addressed in the fastest day possible and would give us the ability to better and faster complete the following reforms, saving us time & money and giving us a better military in the long run.
So yes, it has become personal, by a mix of me being REALLY convinced that my plan is the best way forward, a feeling of anguish given by the sensation that I could have wasted my entire Sunday for nothing, only for being surpassed by someone that invested minimal effort pushing his plan forward, and maybe a bit of egocentrism and victimhood(mainly because I feel like the people don't vote for me because of the false start I made at the start of the quest).
I started participating in this quest with enthusiasm, but now I feel like I am wasting time and effort only for my opinion counting nothing, and my efforts surpassed by others with minimal effort.
The map of Reewiin's borders for example: I started working on it on Thursday (even contacted the QM about it), doing research and consulting articles on the geography of the Horn of Africa; only for being surpassed and have the scene stoled by the map of yeastmobile, that seems like she put it together in half an hour with minimal effort and wasn't even fully correct.
I feel like a douche for bothering 4WheelSword continuously about trivial arguments but at the same time, I really want to see my efforts acknowledged and I don't know how to do it except that by shoving my work in the face of everyone, because that seems to me the only way it can be noticed.
God, I'm such an egocentric.
EDIT: Add also my obsessive/compulsive disorder and a bit of depression and you have how I feel now... this will not excuse how I bothered and annoyed everyone but I hope that explains my feelings...
Thanks for taking this seriously and doing some soul-searching about it. I know how hard that can be and how much it can hurt. We've been having to work through a lot of our own issues too. In our case, we find that a lot of them are rooted in our own underlying insecurity and a desire to be liked and respected. We've found that knowing that about ourselves has made it easier to understand what we are doing and why, and learn to catch it when it is happening and do something healthier instead.
One thing we've recently been learning is the way our own insecurity can make us tend to act in ways that cause the exact problems we were worried about. That's one you might want to keep in mind a little: for example, to avoid wasting your Sunday on a plan that might not win, you have thrown more time and effort into that same plan once people have mostly already made up their minds, which has the effect of causing you to have spent more time on it without really changing the other results. Or, for another example, you feel like you are a victim and that another plan winning reflects on how others think of you as a person, so you take actions to try to sway people to your side that end up grating on people and then impacting their opinions of you going forward.
The thing is, most people ultimately don't actually think that much about you. If you own up to your mistakes honestly without turning it into something performative, learn from them, and do something healthier next time, eventually most people are just going to be fine with you and anyone who isn't wasn't going to be convinced by throwing everything you have into changing their mind either.
Working on these sorts of issues is a difficult, long-term process, but you have to start somewhere to get anywhere. Self-awareness about it is a very good first step. I can't offer you more than a few hints from what others have told us, and would have no business gettign more involved even if I wanted to, but I want to make sure you know that it's possible to work on this stuff, and that it's worth it, and that I am genuinely wishing you all the best in getting there.
Thanks for taking this seriously and doing some soul-searching about it. I know how hard that can be and how much it can hurt. We've been having to work through a lot of our own issues too. In our case, we find that a lot of them are rooted in our own underlying insecurity and a desire to be liked and respected. We've found that knowing that about ourselves has made it easier to understand what we are doing and why, and learn to catch it when it is happening and do something healthier instead.
One thing we've recently been learning is the way our own insecurity can make us tend to act in ways that cause the exact problems we were worried about. That's one you might want to keep in mind a little: for example, to avoid wasting your Sunday on a plan that might not win, you have thrown more time and effort into that same plan once people have mostly already made up their minds, which has the effect of causing you to have spent more time on it without really changing the other results. Or, for another example, you feel like you are a victim and that another plan winning reflects on how others think of you as a person, so you take actions to try to sway people to your side that end up grating on people and then impacting their opinions of you going forward.
The thing is, most people ultimately don't actually think that much about you. If you own up to your mistakes honestly without turning it into something performative, learn from them, and do something healthier next time, eventually most people are just going to be fine with you and anyone who isn't wasn't going to be convinced by throwing everything you have into changing their mind either.
Working on these sorts of issues is a difficult, long-term process, but you have to start somewhere to get anywhere. Self-awareness about it is a very good first step. I can't offer you more than a few hints from what others have told us, and would have no business gettign more involved even if I wanted to, but I want to make sure you know that it's possible to work on this stuff, and that it's worth it, and that I am genuinely wishing you all the best in getting there.
Sorry for the long time before the answer, but I read your post while was doing my morning routine.
Moreover, I don't know how to exactly reply to your post, but I will try anyway:
While your message is full of insight and good advice, the problem for me is that it sounds to me too much like "make a step back and wait for the grating to heal".
The fact for me is that it feels too passive and I fear, that when I will return to post, people will still remember me as the guy who annoyed them. And for this, they will not even give me the hour of the day.
I feel that is too late, the first impression has been made in the worst way possible, and I will suffer for this for the rest of the entire quest.
This is distressing me because I love the premise of this quest, I love ORBATs, I love talking about the Late Modern period armed forces and history, and I love this type of military planning quest.
And this is terrible because I feel that at this point, any mistake I make will be seen in the worst way possible: at this point, anytime I post something on this thread I pass at least five minutes thinking if it's too annoying, if it will be received well, if it will be even read and not ignored because in the mind of the people reading I'm already someone to ignore, and then trying to adjust it in a way to not grate people. Heck, I feel even this post will be judged in the worst way possible. (Maybe I'm too victimistic, but this is the way I feel.)
And even then I feel like I'm too egocentric on this thread and my posts are felt by others like a way to grab attention (and they are that to a degree, but I don't think that anyone has posted something if they want to be ignored).
Basically, I'm in a dilemma of:
Not Writing: thus not grating people in the wrong way but not enjoying the quest by not participating.
Writing: thus risking of grating people out, AND risking of not enjoying the quest because you are felt in the worst way possible by most of the other participants
This is the best way I can reply.
P.S.: hoping that this is received in the way I intended it, English is not my primary language, I'm not a very eloquent person, and the argument and my feelings on it are complex...
Sorry for the long time before the answer, but I read your post while was doing my morning routine.
Moreover, I don't know how to exactly reply to your post, but I will try anyway:
While your message is full of insight and good advice, the problem for me is that it sounds to me too much like "make a step back and wait for the grating to heal".
The fact for me is that it feels too passive and I fear, that when I will return to post, people will still remember me as the guy who annoyed them. And for this, they will not even give me the hour of the day.
I feel that is too late, the first impression has been made in the worst way possible, and I will suffer for this for the rest of the entire quest.
This is distressing me because I love the premise of this quest, I love ORBATs, I love talking about the Late Modern period armed forces and history, and I love this type of military planning quest.
And this is terrible because I feel that at this point, any mistake I make will be seen in the worst way possible: at this point, anytime I post something on this thread I pass at least five minutes thinking if it's too annoying, if it will be received well, if it will be even read and not ignored because in the mind of the people reading I'm already someone to ignore, and then trying to adjust it in a way to not grate people. Heck, I feel even this post will be judged in the worst way possible. (Maybe I'm too victimistic, but this is the way I feel.)
And even then I feel like I'm too egocentric on this thread and my posts are felt by others like a way to grab attention (and they are that to a degree, but I don't think that anyone has posted something if they want to be ignored).
Basically, I'm in a dilemma of:
Not Writing: thus not grating people in the wrong way but not enjoying the quest by not participating.
Writing: thus risking of grating people out, AND risking of not enjoying the quest because you are felt in the worst way possible by most of the other participants
This is the best way I can reply.
P.S.: hoping that this is received in the way I intended it, English is not my primary language, I'm not a very eloquent person, and the argument and my feelings on it are complex...
I believe I understand how you feel. We've been there.
I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it really is as simple as I said. No one wants grand gestures. Just apologize humbly if it's warented, learn from your mistakes, try to understand and address the underlying causes, and do better going forward.
I can't make you do the right thing and I'm not going to keep trying after this. All I can do is give you the tools you need to make the right choice. Please choose the future where you end up as a valued contributer to this quest and no one remembers any of this in a couple months, rather than for example one where you desperately spiral trying to fix this but mostly just pissing people off until you can't bear to face them or a mod has to get involved or something.
I believe I understand how you feel. We've been there.
I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it really is as simple as I said. No one wants grand gestures. Just apologize humbly if it's warented, learn from your mistakes, try to understand and address the underlying causes, and do better going forward.
I can't make you do the right thing and I'm not going to keep trying after this. All I can do is give you the tools you need to make the right choice. Please choose the future where you end up as a valued contributer to this quest and no one remembers any of this in a couple months, rather than for example one where you desperately spiral trying to fix this but mostly just pissing people off until you can't bear to face them or a mod has to get involved or something.
I have no problem apologizing, what I fear is that my apologies will not be heard and the fact that I feel like I can't stop involuntarily annoying everyone.
You see, I like replying to someone's question, I like to intervene to correct small errors in arguments, I'm the guy who likes to tell "Actually...".
Think of me as a toned-down male version of Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and you'll be pretty much on the spot.
I'm conscious of this and over the years I learned how to not annoy people with this, I can look at their body language, expressions, and even tone of voice when they reply, to see if they are still interested, annoyed or starting to get bored. And I can act accordingly to not antagonize them, minimize the impact or apologize to them. When face to face or even with only the voice I can judge the humor.
This don't work on chat like this: you don't know the humor of the persons you are talking whit unless they tell you (or maybe I haven't yet learned how to), you could only judge by yourself with minimal information, and probably you won't know that you angered/annoyed them until them will tell you to "F**k Off".
I don't think that is such a big problem for most people, but for someone with a motormouth and (I don't know the English expression for this so I will use the Italian one) "Precisino" as me, this is a big problem. The solution for me most of the times is to not post at all, except for the votes and a comment or two, that I'm SURE will not be taken in the wrong way.
For a quest like this, it will not work: I'm too engaged in it to not participate in it.
I continuously have and make ideas, projects, and more things I want to propose to the chat: the fact is that whit the information I could gather by a chat, I can't judge WHEN is the right time to do that. (For example, at the start of the quest I started searching for tools to make cool/professional-looking ORBATs, the last Thursday I started drawing a DETAILED map of Reewin, two days ago I started to think about the best way to propose a Discord forum, etc..)
So what is worring me isn't apologizing(i have no problem doing that), but the fear of another involuntary error starting this thing again, and again, and again.
EDIT: add to this the language barrier and the difference in time zones, and you have the perfect cocktail for sending an unwanted message at the worst moment possible, or not being there when is the time to apologize for something you have done just before going to sleep...
Adhoc vote count started by 4WheelSword on Dec 7, 2022 at 7:57 AM, finished with 172 posts and 28 votes.
[X] Plan: Foundations for Maneuver (Manufacturing Remix)
-[X] Write-in: Develop a nationalized arms industry.
-[X] Establish a Remount Service to supply horses to the Army
-[X] Find a way to improve logistics through horses
-[X] Establish a Council-controlled Information and Analysis Office
-[X] Reform the Carabinieri
[X] Plan: Foundations for Maneuver
-[X] Choose a single cartridge for the military
-[X] Establish a Remount Service to supply horses to the Army
-[X] Find a way to improve logistics through horses
-[X] Establish a Council-controlled Information and Analysis Office
-[X] Reform the Carabinieri
[X]Plan: Lay The Foundation and Get Our Priorities Straight 3.1
-[X] Establish an officer training school with an ROTC program detached to the others few schools in the country
-[X] Establish an artillery school with technical tertiary school specializations (is better to call it an Ordnance school)
-[X] Establish a Council-controlled Information and Analysis Office
-[X] Reform the Carabinieri
-[X] Create a domestic, nationalized arms manufacturing industry
[X] Plan: Logistical Services
-[X] Choose a single cartridge for the military
--[X] .30-06 Springfield
-[X] Reform the Army
-[X] Establish a Waystation Service to improve communications
-[X] Motorise Logistics
-[X] Establish an Air Force
[X] Plan: Foundations for Maneuver (Manufacturing Remix)
- [X] Write-in: Develop a nationalized arms industry.
- [X] Establish a Remount Service to supply horses to the Army
- [X] Find a way to improve logistics through horses
- [X] Establish a Council-controlled Information and Analysis Office
- [X] Reform the Carabinieri
Internal Tension Levels
Government Tension: -10
Military Tension: 30
It is January 1930, and the easy part is done. Having determined your current long-term objectives, what awaits you is the hard work of implementing them.
Good luck.
Welcome to the turn structure of the ORBAT quest. This system will be used for the majority of votes from hereon, with the exception of certain key decisions that may need to get made. Each turn you will have a number of points you can spend on options listed below - ways to expand your military, its support structures, and the Council itself. These points represent the investment of time, money, and political will into each part of the plan.
The vote is segmented into a number of sections. Currently, there are two - Industry and Logistics, and Doctrine and Organisation. These are separate areas of focus for the Defence Council and have a maximum number of allocatable points. The Council currently has a maximum of 5 points to spend per turn. A maximum of 3 can be spent in any one section.
All votes also have an Investment category, representing how long the point will be allocated to that particular project. As turns will often cover a period of 3 months, a 3-Month Investment means that the point will be free to use the next turn, a 6-Month Investment means the point will be free after two turns, and so on.
Of particular note are Constant Investments; these require ongoing allocation of a point (representing the Defense Council establishing permanent organizational structures) in exchange for major, ongoing benefits to a given category. This can take the form of bonus, limited-use points, new voting options being unlocked, greater chances of success in the relevant section or sub-section, and so on. Additionally, a point allocated to a Constant Investment can be removed during later turns by taking an applicable voting option, at the cost of losing any bonuses accumulated.
Finally, if a single vote option receives a plurality but not a majority of votes (that is, more than any other but less than half), whether individually or as part of a plan, then the government will send the plans back to the Council for further rounds of voting until a majority is reached. We would encourage you to create plans that are inclusive of as many points of view as possible so as to ensure you reach a majority vote share.
Industry and Logistics
Armaments
The arms industry in Reewiin is near non-existent. Barring a small factory in the heart of Bur Gaabo producing old, outdated bullets all weapons and ammunition are bought from overseas. These come from all over the world, though Japan has recently taken a more active interest in arming their ally.
[ ] A New Office For A New Industry - Given the time and effort involved in creating an entire arms industry almost entirely from scratch, some on the Defence Council have proposed establishing a dedicated Ordnance Office under our direct jurisdiction. This will allow us to delegate much of the day-to-day administrative work while retaining final decision-making power. (Constant Investment. Effects activate in 3 months, will open up further options in weapon analysis, testing, and doctrinal guidance for use.)
[ ] Modernise The .43 Egyptian - Reewiin's single ammunition factory is dedicated to producing .43 Egyptian for the Carabinieri's Remington rifles. Expanding production and modernizing the round to use smokeless powder will offer immediate dividends at a low cost. (3-Month Investment. Initial production will be low-rate, and improve over time.)
[ ] Production Licencing: Ammunition - Buy the tooling for one calibre of ammunition currently in service or soon to be in service. Expanding the .43 Egyptian factory will not be cheap, but it will be worthwhile. (6-Month Investment. Initial production will be low-rate, and improve over time.)
- [ ] 6.5 mm Arisaka
- [ ] 6.5 mm Carcano
- [ ] .303 British
- [ ] Write-In
[ ] Production Licensing: Rifles - Attempt to buy the rights to produce a rifle design. Include a weapon available in 1930 as a Write-In. Some will be easily acquired, others will be immediately refused. (12-Month Investment. Initial production will be low-rate, and improve over time.)
[ ] Production Licensing: Machine Guns - Attempt to buy the rights to produce a machine gun design. Include a weapon available in 1930 as a Write-In. Some will be easily acquired, others will be immediately refused. (12-Month Investment. Initial production will be low-rate, and improve over time.)
Breeding and Working
Reewiin has few, if any, large herds of working horses and donkeys. Low-quality pastoral land and the constant threat of endemic horse diseases makes maintaining populations difficult. Nonetheless, it is part of the Defence Council's long-term plan to establish a Remount Service that can provide significant numbers of equines to the Army.
[ ] Establish a Veterinary Oversight Office - Bringing hundreds of horses into Reewiin and establishing breeding programs will require extensive oversight, administrative effort, and coordination. As the Council is largely unfamiliar with the subject, forming an office of qualified professionals to manage the project would be of great use. (Constant Investment. Effects activate in 3 months, will enable better handling of the various breeding programs and equine care in Reewiin.)
[ ] Equine Acquisition: Purchase Arabians - Buy Arabian horses for service en masse from Egypt. They will be monogender, and we will not be able to maintain the line if they're used for breeding stock. They also may not be resistant to AHS/ASS. (3-Month Investment. Sufficient mass of horses should be available in as little as one year.)
[ ] Equine Acquisition: Donkeys & Mules - Buy partially resistant donkeys and mules for service en masse from South Africa. This sturdy stock will immediately enable us to improve our logistical and supply services while being somewhat resistant to AHS/ASS. (3-Month Investment. Sufficient mass of donkeys and mules should be available in as little as one year.)
[ ] Equine Acquisition: Stud Farms - Buy a small number of Arabian studs from the United States. These will make good breeding stock for future programmes. (3-Month Investment. A breeding programme can begin within the year.)
[ ] Equine Acquisition: Requisition Locally - Requisition local Borana horses from the cavalry and agriculture for breeding stock. (3-Month Investment. A breeding programme can begin within the year.)
[ ] Government Action: Push for Equine Conscription - While pastoralism is not exactly a major industry in Reewiin, there are a large number of animals that could put to wartime use were they assessed in a proper census. (3-Month Investment. Implementation will occur at the government's pace.)
Lanes, Trains, and Automobiles
Reewiin currently has a single railway, a 3'6'' (1067mm) narrow gauge line running from the port of Kismayo out to the mining areas of the West. The line was only ever intended for bulk goods transport and has received no recent investment since its construction by a Japanese firm. If Reewiin is to be brought into the 20th Century, modern transport infrastructure must be prioritized.
[ ] Rail Expansion: Kismayo to Turkana - Improve the train line from Kismayo to the mining regions and extend it to Lake Turkana. The Japanese will likely invest in this project. (6-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)
[ ] Rail Expansion: Bur Gaabo to Mogadishu - Establish a train line from Bur Gaabo, through Kismayo to Mogadishu. The Italians will likely invest in this project. (12-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)
[ ] Rail Expansion: Mombasa to Kismayo - Establish a train line from Mombasa, through Bur Gaabo to Kismayo. The British will likely invest in this project. (12-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)
[ ] Rail Expansion? No! - Request that funds earmarked for rail expansion be used for the roads instead. (Constant Investment. Effects activate immediately, reduces investment time for Road Expansion projects by half. Prevents voting for any Rail Expansion project.)
[ ] Road Expansion: Somali Coast - Build some metalled roads connecting major towns and cities. (6-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)
[ ] Road Expansion: Inland Networks - Improve the unimproved road network to be more extensive and less vulnerable to flooding in the wet season. (6-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)
[ ] Doctrinal Shift: Beasts of Burden - Replace the porter system with draft cattle and other suitable animals. This will require buying or conscripting herds of animals, but can be much simpler than equine husbandry. (3-Month Investment.)
Doctrine and Organisation
DCIRRO
The Defence Council Informational Research and Review Office of Reewiin (DCIRRO)1 is located in a small side room of the Council's own Bur Gaabo offices. Consisting of a handful of researchers, administrators and non-uniformed experts, their mission is to provide the Defence Council with the information needed to make actual, effective decisions as time goes on.
مجلس دفاع رِوين - مكتب الأبحاث والمراجعة (مدرمأا)
[ ] Establish the Information Review Team - This group will be tasked with drafting reports on various arms of the internal structure of Reewiin. (12-Month Investment. Will enable additional work in this specific area, including write-in Information Review requests.)
[ ] Establish the Analytical Research Team - This group will be tasked with drafting reports on external threats, on internal dynamic shifts and on other non-standard areas of intelligence. (12-Month Investment. Will enable additional work in this specific area, including write-in Analysis requests.)
[ ] Information Review: Army - Determine the state, readiness and mood of the Army. (3-Month Investment.)
[ ] Information Review: Carabinieri - Determine the state, readiness and mood of the Carabinieri. (3-Month Investment.)
[ ] Information Review: Government - Determine what the civilian government wants out of their armed forces. (3-Month Investment.)
[ ] Analysis: Immediate Improvements - Develop and implement 'quick win' organisational changes to improve the Armed Forces. (3-Month Investment.)
[ ] Analysis: Ethiopia - Long-term analysis of the optimal army to defend Reewiin against our eternal enemy, Ethiopia. (6-Month Investment.)
[ ] Analysis: Britain - Long-term analysis of the optimal army to defend Reewiin against our eternal enemy, Britain. (6-Month Investment.)
[ ] Analysis: Italy - Long-term analysis of the optimal army to defend Reewiin against our eternal enemy, Italy. (6-Month Investment.)
[ ] Analysis: The Foreigners Have Some Good Ideas - Form overseas observation teams to take the best ideas from foreign nations. (12-Month Investment.)
Reforming the Carabinieri
The Carabinieri are the nation's first line of defence against threats both internal and external. It acts as a guard against rebellion and crime in Reewiin's vast interior, and against invasion along the border. Although many feel the organization is outdated or ineffective at its job, nobody seems to agree on exactly how, or even what it should be doing.
[ ] Establish the Carabinieri Oversight Office - No one really keeps an eye on the paramilitary police force that keeps watch over the nation. If the force is to be reformed and re-established in a new role, then oversight is needed at the very least. (Constant Investment. Effects activate in 3 months, will enable a better understanding of both the current issues facing the Carabinieri and of the best ways to enact change.)
[ ] Reform means Reform - Define a new doctrinal goal for the Regional Carabinieri. Are they police? A military force? The Council must decide. (3-Month Investment. Details will be determined by write-in and further votes.)
There will be a 6-hour moratorium on voting to encourage discussion. The vote will close in three days.
[]Plan: Investment is silly
-[ ] Modernise The .43 Egyptian - Reewiin's single ammunition factory is dedicated to producing .43 Egyptian for the Carabinieri's Remington rifles. Expanding production and modernizing the round to use smokeless powder will offer immediate dividends at a low cost. (3-Month Investment. Initial production will be low-rate, and improve over time.)
-[ ] Equine Acquisition: Stud Farms - Buy a small number of Arabian studs from the United States. These will make good breeding stock for future programmes. (3-Month Investment. A breeding programme can begin within the year.)
-[ ] Road Expansion: Inland Networks - Improve the unimproved road network to be more extensive and less vulnerable to flooding in the wet season. (6-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)
-[ ] Information Review: Carabinieri - Determine the state, readiness and mood of the Carabinieri. (3-Month Investment.)
-[ ] Reform means Reform - Define a new doctrinal goal for the Regional Carabinieri. Are they police? A military force? The Council must decide. (3-Month Investment. Details will be determined by write-in and further votes.)
--[ ] Focus development as a national police force
Concept plan, I want to get the offices up and running but we have no idea when we're getting more point for investment. In light of that I'm putting forward this plan to modernize our current ammunition, get breeding farms for our horses, upgrading rural roads to set up for equine logistics, and aiming the Carabinieri in the direction of being a domestic force. What think?
The arms industry in Reewiin is near non-existent. Barring a small factory in the heart of Bur Gaabo producing old, outdated bullets all weapons and ammunition are bought from overseas. These come from all over the world, though Japan has recently taken a more active interest in arming their ally.
[ ] A New Office For A New Industry - Given the time and effort involved in creating an entire arms industry almost entirely from scratch, some on the Defence Council have proposed establishing a dedicated Ordnance Office under our direct jurisdiction. This will allow us to delegate much of the day-to-day administrative work while retaining final decision-making power. (Constant Investment. Will open up further options in weapon analysis, testing, and doctrinal guidance for use.)
I think the Ordnance Office is, by far, the best choice right now. If we license production of a new rifle now, we're effectively going in blind. Sure, we can speculate, but a Ordnance Office would presumably allow us to buy a small number of guns, give them to the troops, and see what they like and dislike. This will also pay dividends when we want to do things like adopt artillery.
[ ] Modernise The .43 Egyptian - Reewiin's single ammunition factory is dedicated to producing .43 Egyptian for the Carabinieri's Remington rifles. Expanding production and modernizing the round to use smokeless powder will offer immediate dividends at a low cost. (3-Month Investment. Initial production will be low-rate, and improve over time.)
A gigantic waste of effort, especially if we intend to produce at least ~6000 of our new rifle (and thus can replace our entire stock of Remington Rolling Block black-powder guns). I would hope our production numbers would be well above that, so all those old guns are basically scrap. Sunk costs are bad.
[ ] Production Licencing: Ammunition - Buy the tooling for one calibre of ammunition currently in service or soon to be in service. Expanding the .43 Egyptian factory will not be cheap, but it will be worthwhile. (6-Month Investment. Initial production will be low-rate, and improve over time.)
- [ ] 6.5 mm Arisaka
- [ ] 6.5 mm Carcano
- [ ] .303 British
- [ ] Write-In
I would defer this vote, but if we do it now, I'm in favour of the 6.5 mm Arisaka. It's the only 6.5 that currently uses a spitzer bullet, and a 6.5 is easy-shooting which should make it easier on inexperienced troops. Sure, it's not a lot of stopping power, but artillery's the real killer anyways. If not 6.5 mm Arisaka, I'd suggest 6.5 mm Swedish; it's pretty similar and it gets a spitzer bullet soon.
[ ] Production Licensing: Rifles - Attempt to buy the rights to produce a rifle design. Include a weapon available in 1930 as a Write-In. Some will be easily acquired, others will be immediately refused. (12-Month Investment. Initial production will be low-rate, and improve over time.)
Long-term, I think a Mauser in 6.5 mm would be a good choice, but this should wait for us getting the Ordnance Office so that we can conduct an appropriate testing program (and who knows, maybe Springfield Armory will give us a few T3E2 Garands, the timing lines up!). The Arisaka proper, AIUI, is a Mauser action, so we'd have a very similar manual of arms to our existing stocks, allowing for troops to be trained before we have enough guns for everyone. However, the Arisaka is (again, AIUI) a difficult gun to mass-produce due to lots of little details that aren't really all that necessary; if we can develop a cheaper version of it then we should try and do that. We don't want to be in an Ethiopia situation where most of our troops are charging into battle with spears; that's terrible for morale and doesn't give time for the artillery to do its thing. If we procure a few guns of various types, we could also try and incorporate features from various rifles that we find good.
[ ] Production Licensing: Machine Guns - Attempt to buy the rights to produce a machine gun design. Include a weapon available in 1930 as a Write-In. Some will be easily acquired, others will be immediately refused. (12-Month Investment. Initial production will be low-rate, and improve over time.)
Not this turn, but when it comes time to do it, the Czechs are giving ZB vz.26s to everyone who asks for them and they're basically the perfect medium machine gun for our troops when chambered in 6.5. Light, portable, easy to manufacture, and an overall good gun.
Breeding and Working
Reewiin has few, if any, large herds of working horses and donkeys. Low-quality pastoral land and the constant threat of endemic horse diseases makes maintaining populations difficult. Nonetheless, it is part of the Defence Council's long-term plan to establish a Remount Service that can provide significant numbers of equines to the Army.
[ ] Establish a Veterinary Oversight Office - Bringing hundreds of horses into Reewiin and establishing breeding programs will require extensive oversight, administrative effort, and coordination. As the Council is largely unfamiliar with the subject, forming an office of qualified professionals to manage the project would be of great use. (Constant Investment. Will enable better handling of the various breeding programs and equine care in Reewiin.)
[ ] Equine Acquisition: Purchase Arabians - Buy Arabian horses for service en masse from Egypt. They will be monogender, and we will not be able to maintain the line if they're used for breeding stock. They also may not be resistant to AHS/ASS. (3-Month Investment. Sufficient mass of horses should be available in as little as one year.)
[ ] Equine Acquisition: Donkeys & Mules - Buy partially resistant donkeys and mules for service en masse from South Africa. This sturdy stock will immediately enable us to improve our logistical and supply services while being somewhat resistant to AHS/ASS. (3-Month Investment. Sufficient mass of donkeys and mules should be available in as little as one year.)
[ ] Equine Acquisition: Stud Farms - Buy a small number of Arabian studs from the United States. These will make good breeding stock for future programmes. (3-Month Investment. A breeding programme can begin within the year.)
[ ] Equine Acquisition: Requisition Locally - Requisition local Borana horses from the cavalry and agriculture for breeding stock. (3-Month Investment. A breeding programme can begin within the year.)
[ ] Government Action: Push for Equine Conscription - While pastoralism is not exactly a major industry in Reewiin, there are a large number of animals that could put to wartime use were they assessed in a proper census. (3-Month Investment. Implementation will occur at the government's pace.)
Hear me out. A write-in for Sanga cattle. Oxen can tow more than donkeys and mules, they're already in use with our current logistcs network, and we don't need to worry abou the absence of appropriate grazing since they're local. Sure, they're slow, but the Carabinieri aren't a maneuver element, the supplies just have to move as fast as the foot infantry. The Borana horse is also unsuitable as a draft animal, apparently, so if we want to tow machine guns/artillery or wagons full of supplies, we're going to want something to supplement it.
I worry that Arabians won't work well if we don't implement a Veterinary Oversight Office, and semi-permanently locking in a point plus two more points for three months each when we have so few to spare for some shinier horses seems a huge risk. I think a mix of donkeys and oxen for carrying/towing supplies and equipment, and Borana horses for our cavalry should work well at a much lower cost and will deliver sooner.
Okay, just saw the option below. I think we should go with Borana horses for our cavalry. It's much lower cost than Arabians and more likely to work without constant investment.
Lanes, Trains, and Automobiles
Reewiin currently has a single railway, a 3'6'' (1067mm) narrow gauge line running from the port of Kismayo out to the mining areas of the West. The line was only ever intended for bulk goods transport and has received no recent investment since its construction by a Japanese firm. If Reewiin is to be brought into the 20th Century, modern transport infrastructure must be prioritized.
[ ] Rail Expansion: Kismayo to Turkana - Improve the train line from Kismayo to the mining regions and extend it to Lake Turkana. The Japanese will likely invest in this project. (6-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)
[ ] Rail Expansion: Bur Gaabo to Mogadishu - Establish a train line from Bur Gaabo, through Kismayo to Mogadishu. The Italians will likely invest in this project. (12-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)
[ ] Rail Expansion: Mombasa to Kismayo - Establish a train line from Mombasa, through Bur Gaabo to Kismayo. The British will likely invest in this project. (12-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)
[ ] Rail Expansion? No! - Request that funds earmarked for rail expansion be used for the roads instead. (Constant Investment. Reduces investment time for Road Expansion projects by half. Prevents voting for any Rail Expansion project.)
[ ] Road Expansion: Somali Coast - Build some metalled roads connecting major towns and cities. (6-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)
[ ] Road Expansion: Inland Networks - Improve the unimproved road network to be more extensive and less vulnerable to flooding in the wet season. (6-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)
Someone's gonna have to make a map for this, but I think rail expansion is probably a better choice than road expansion. Rail is higher volume, and we'll inevitably be fighting away from the roads, so we still need to transfer supplies to a second transportation type that can go offroad.
Given that we'll likely be needing to invest in arms production, I'm leaning towards the first option so that we can create an arms factory in Kismayo?
[ ] Doctrinal Shift: Beasts of Burden - Replace the porter system with draft cattle and other suitable animals. This will require buying or conscripting herds of animals, but can be much simpler than equine husbandry. (3-Month Investment.)
Hell yes. We should do this. Sanga cattle pulling wagons or loaded up with supplies will double our available manpower (since all those porters can now be put into more useful roles) and allow the usage of heavier equipment that isn't feasible for soldiers to carry around for long distances, like machine guns, mortars, and artillery. WWI demonstrated that those are what actually inflict casualties on the enemy, we need to get a system to support them working quickly.
Doctrine and Organisation
DCIRRO
The Defence Council Informational Research and Review Office of Reewiin (DCIRRO)1 is located in a small side room of the Council's own Bur Gaabo offices. Consisting of a handful of researchers, administrators and non-uniformed experts, their mission is to provide the Defence Council with the information needed to make actual, effective decisions as time goes on.
مجلس دفاع رِوين - مكتب الأبحاث والمراجعة (مدرمأا)
[ ] Establish the Information Review Team - This group will be tasked with drafting reports on various arms of the internal structure of Reewiin. (12-Month Investment. Will enable additional work in this specific area, including write-in Information Review requests.)
[ ] Establish the Analytical Research Team - This group will be tasked with drafting reports on external threats, on internal dynamic shifts and on other non-standard areas of intelligence. (12-Month Investment. Will enable additional work in this specific area, including write-in Analysis requests.)
[ ] Information Review: Army - Determine the state, readiness and mood of the Army. (3-Month Investment.)
[ ] Information Review: Carabinieri - Determine the state, readiness and mood of the Carabinieri. (3-Month Investment.)
[ ] Information Review: Government - Determine what the civilian government wants out of their armed forces. (3-Month Investment.)
[ ] Analysis: Immediate Improvements - Develop and implement 'quick win' organisational changes to improve the Armed Forces. (3-Month Investment.)
[ ] Analysis: Ethiopia - Long-term analysis of the optimal army to defend Reewiin against our eternal enemy, Ethiopia. (6-Month Investment.)
[ ] Analysis: Britain - Long-term analysis of the optimal army to defend Reewiin against our eternal enemy, Britain. (6-Month Investment.)
[ ] Analysis: Italy - Long-term analysis of the optimal army to defend Reewiin against our eternal enemy, Italy. (6-Month Investment.)
[ ] Analysis: The Foreigners Have Some Good Ideas - Form overseas observation teams to take the best ideas from foreign nations. (12-Month Investment.)
My gut is leaning towards Analytical Research Team, since it takes so long and (according to discord) will improve the effectiveness of taking the latter options.
Reforming the Carabinieri
The Carabinieri are the nation's first line of defence against threats both internal and external. It acts as a guard against rebellion and crime in Reewiin's vast interior, and against invasion along the border. Although many feel the organization is outdated or ineffective at its job, nobody seems to agree on exactly how, or even what it should be doing.
[ ] Establish the Carabinieri Oversight Office - No one really keeps an eye on the paramilitary police force that keeps watch over the nation. If the force is to be reformed and re-established in a new role, then oversight is needed at the very least. (Constant Investment. Will enable a better understanding of both the current issues facing the Carabinieri and of the best ways to enact change.)
[ ] Reform means Reform - Define a new doctrinal goal for the Regional Carabinieri. Are they police? A military force? The Council must decide. (3-Month Investment. Details will be determined by write-in and further votes.)
We'll likely be unable to immediately reform the Carabinieri to the full extent we want, especially given its importance. As such, I think we should probably create the Oversight Office, push through the changes we want (which will be boosted by that), and then dissolve it once the Carabinieri are in the form we want.
As such, a rough outline of a plan could be:
A New Office For A New Industry
Equine Acquisition: Requisition Locally
Rail Expansion: Kismayo to Turkana
Establish the Analytical Research Team
Establish the Carabinieri Oversight Office
By the end of the year, we'll probably want to also:
Invite international companies to submit rifles for local testing so that we can pick the best option
Start the licensing of rifle production (and possibly ammunition production, although that can come later if we need to since it takes less time)
I'm on a lot of the same page as you; I'd like to get a vet's office in as well, if only because trying to make an animal logistics train from scratch is going to be hard. But I understand why it's not in there.
I'm on a lot of the same page as you; I'd like to get a vet's office in as well, if only because trying to make an animal logistics train from scratch is going to be hard. But I understand why it's not in there.
Yeah, if we were in, say, East Asia, I'd be 100% onboard the "let's get cavalry" train, but putting three points into getting horses is a lot for something that IMO won't pay off a huge amount in comparison to the other options, especially because "just use local horses and oxen" isn't a big downgrade from what I can see on google (I know nothing about horses). I think the risk of not having a veterinary office should hopefully be mitigated with local animals?
Anyways, putting my plan in a table to see how the point usage lines up, it'd look something like this if we hit everything I want to this year:
Reform will probably open up other options and might take longer than one Q so we may not have that free point, but otherwise I like the general scope.
We definitely want a vet office. I'm on board with doing both Carabinieri reforms. They're desperately needed. I lean towards using them as a national guard/reservist force. They're under the command of the military but help in disaster relief and civil conflict.
Reform will probably open up other options and might take longer than one Q so we may not have that free point, but otherwise I like the general scope.
Reform, in this context, is explicity the 3-month task:
[ ] Reform means Reform - Define a new doctrinal goal for the Regional Carabinieri. Are they police? A military force? The Council must decide. (3-Month Investment. Details will be determined by write-in and further votes.)
We definitely want a vet office. I'm on board with doing both Carabinieri reforms. They're desperately needed. I lean towards using them as a national guard/reservist force. They're under the command of the military but help in disaster relief and civil conflict.
The problem with that, IMO, is it delays critical things like logistics and giving the Carabinieri actually functional rifles. Most of them are using guns that are over sixty years old. No amount of reforms on paper will make the Carabinieri an effective fighting force when they're using pre-Franco-Prussian war guns and whatever they can fit in a backpack.
We definitely want a vet office. I'm on board with doing both Carabinieri reforms. They're desperately needed. I lean towards using them as a national guard/reservist force. They're under the command of the military but help in disaster relief and civil conflict.
Oh, also, I delayed the Carabinieri reforms in order to have the Carabinieri Oversight Office active during the turn where we take the Reform action, since that'll presumably improve its effectiveness.
Yeah, if we were in, say, East Asia, I'd be 100% onboard the "let's get cavalry" train, but putting three points into getting horses is a lot for something that IMO won't pay off a huge amount in comparison to the other options, especially because "just use local horses and oxen" isn't a big downgrade from what I can see on google (I know nothing about horses). I think the risk of not having a veterinary office should hopefully be mitigated with local animals?
Anyways, putting my plan in a table to see how the point usage lines up, it'd look something like this if we hit everything I want to this year:
I like this plan a lot and think that we definetly should when doing rifle trials require 6.5 Swede as our caliber just due to the fact that post war it will be in use with a first rate military till the end of the century meaning that we can basically just copy whatever guns that are submitted for their rifle/machine gun/sniper/etc qualifications going forward and save a ton on R&D or even after a while go in with them on designing shared gear due to buying same caliber stuff and maybe even becoming Africa Sweden with branched if all their defense company's and such
Oh, also, I delayed the Carabinieri reforms in order to have the Carabinieri Oversight Office active during the turn where we take the Reform action, since that'll presumably improve its effectiveness.
[X] Plan: Ready to Re-equip the Reewin Rural Riflemen
-[X] A New Office For A New Industry
-[X] Equine Acquisition: Requisition Locally
-[X] Rail Expansion: Kismayo to Turkana
-[X] Establish the Analytical Research Team
-[X] Establish the Carabinieri Oversight Office
[ ] Plan: Ready to Re-equip the (Reformed) Reewin Rural Riflemen
-[ ] A New Office For A New Industry
-[ ] Rail Expansion: Kismayo to Turkana
-[ ] Establish the Analytical Research Team
-[ ] Establish the Carabinieri Oversight Office
-[ ] Reform means Reform
