BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

11 posts ยท Dec 8 2001 to Dec 10 2001

From: Michael Brown <mwbrown@s...>

Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2001 10:38:18 -0800

Subject: BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

1. What is the nominal ground scale? The trend in military affairs over the
last 100 years is for greater dispersion of forces over a given area. The
"zone of control" for a modern Company is 2-3 km wide.
2. IIRC, the GZG background describes Task forces of companies and specialty
platoons.  These could be the smallest units.  Players are TF/Regimental

commanders. 3. USMC vs US Army: The Army, as a Federal force was not created
until 1776.
 All units previous were State/local militias.  The Marines are the
oldest Federal force.
4. Commissioned Officers/Warrant Officers/Non-Commissioned Officers:
Commissioned officers are commissioned by their Government to Military rank.
Commissioned Officers give orders that have the force of law. Warrant officers
are typically technical specialists (senior mechanics, MP, pilots) that have a
Warrant from the their government. The key difference is that Commissioned
officers are meant to command and lead, where Warrant officers are highly
skilled technicians that may lead. Which brings us to
Non-Commissioned
Officers (NCO). They are promoted from the ranks and are usually long service
professionals.  They are the trainers/motivators/knowledge base of the
unit. Their quality is what determines the quality of a unit.

Sorry to ramble...

From: Laserlight <laserlight@q...>

Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2001 14:47:36 -0500

Subject: Re: BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

> 1. What is the nominal ground scale?

> From here to yonder is one mu...it depends on the unit size, which

> 2. IIRC, the GZG background describes Task forces of companies and

But we have DS2 already for that, and I'm expecting it to be FMA-ized
relatively soon. For FMA:BN, I'm hoping to get something: a) as quick and easy
as DBA or Ogre
b) suitable for campaigns--so scale should be about battalion/brigade
c) *not* excessively detailed--should be flexible enough to fit any
background (Slammers, Ogre, GZGverse, whatever) without too many special rules
d) which gives the "feel" of command

From: John Atkinson <johnmatkinson@y...>

Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2001 18:41:39 -0800 (PST)

Subject: Re: BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

> --- Michael Brown <mwbrown@veriomail.com> wrote:

> 3. USMC vs US Army: The Army, as a Federal force

So what was authorized on June 14, 1775?

The following is a description of the birth of the U.S. Army from Robert
Wright, The Continental Army (Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History,
1983),
pp. 23-24:

The June 14 date is when Congress adopted "the American Continental Army"
after reaching a consensus position in The Committee of the Whole. This
procedure and the desire for secrecy account for the sparseness of the
official journal entries for the day. The record indicates only that Congress
undertook to raise ten companies of riflemen, approved an enlistment form for
them, and appointed a committee (including Washington and Schuyler) to draft
rules and regulations for the government of the army. The delegates'
correspondence, diaries, and subsequent actions make it clear that they really
did much more. They also accepted responsibility for the existing New England
troops and forces requested for the defense of the various points in New York.
The former were believed to total 10,000 men; the latter, both New Yorkers and
Connecticut men, another 5,000.

Sounds like a Federal force to me.

From: Michael Brown <mwbrown@s...>

Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2001 22:16:15 -0800

Subject: RE: BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

Assuming 1 mu = 500m to 2 km, then 1 stand (Infantry or Vehicle) can be a
platoon.  Players will be Battalion/TF Commanders.  Time scale is @
15minutes to an hour. Movement can be huge, though this does not mean that
every mu will be or should be used. VTOL and Grav start to come into their
own.

Starts to look like Ogre.

Michael Brown

[quoted original message omitted]

From: Michael Brown <mwbrown@s...>

Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2001 22:18:06 -0800

Subject: RE: BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

I stand corrected. But answer me this, why does the Army Seal have 1776?

Michael Brown

[quoted original message omitted]

From: John Atkinson <johnmatkinson@y...>

Date: Sun, 9 Dec 2001 02:37:02 -0800 (PST)

Subject: RE: BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

> --- Michael Brown <mwbrown@veriomail.com> wrote:

Year the seal was adopted, according to the Army's Center for Military
Heritage website.

From: Laserlight <laserlight@q...>

Date: Sun, 9 Dec 2001 08:10:50 -0500

Subject: Re: BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

> Assuming 1 mu = 500m to 2 km, then 1 stand (Infantry or Vehicle) can

Something like GEV, something like DBA.

From: Beth Fulton <beth.fulton@m...>

Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 09:31:38 +1100

Subject: RE: BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

G'day,

You know you've lost it when....

In the middle of a discussion on the US army start date etc you see the
statement "Year the seal was adopted" and your immediate mental reaction is
"Why does the US army have a pet seal? Is it a mascot? What a weird thing to
have!".....

From: Andrew Martin <Al.Bri@x...>

Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 16:28:16 +1300

Subject: Re: BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

> "Why does the US army have a pet seal? Is it a mascot? What a weird

I believe it's part of the US Army's recent expansion into Artic and Antartic
operations, where trained seals were first adopted to cross the frozen
delaware river with George Washington on their back.

Or it could be a wax seal? :-)

From: Andrew Martin <Al.Bri@x...>

Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 16:40:06 +1300

Subject: Re: BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

Welcome back to the list, Beth! Congratulations to you and your baby!

From: Beth Fulton <beth.fulton@m...>

Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 14:42:02 +1100

Subject: RE: BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

G'day Andrew,

> I believe it's part of the US Army's recent expansion into Artic and

;)

Though you'd better watch out or you'll end up as warped as me;)