hoping that this group would provide him with a solid cadre of instructors. The success of this would depend on how malleable they were to his training ideas, and the leaving of any excessive egos out of the training camp.
Since the collapse, with the wild living out in the woods, personal grooming had taken a backseat. The groups that were showing up looked like mountain men, with beards and hair growing in, often cut off raggedly at the collar. They turned up in a variety of outfits and clothing.
Jack and Jim had discussed this and were not planning on doing much about it. It had the potential to turn into a sore point with Major Cassidy, but they were an irregular force fighting an insurgency style conflict, so uniforms and being ‘dress right dress’ was not what it was about.
They had agreed that the focus would be on strong self-discipline within an organization of leaders appointed into command tasks; some permanent, others temporarily allocated a command role for specific missions when groups came together. Leadership roles would be merit based and could be taken away for poor performance or if the team lost faith in an individual.
It would be trial by ordeal and fire for all of them. Given that there was no pay or career advancement involved, they hoped to foster a culture of excellence based on personal motivation rather than organizational politics.
As for the uniform thing, clothing was to be policed for serviceability and alternatives provided if personnel did not have it. Acceptable clothing included military or outdoor clothing in military or hunting camouflage, as well as drab and earth tone colors. No blue jeans, they did not work well when wet.
Clothing had to be serviceable and workable in the outdoors environment, and the right color. More mainstream civilian clothing would be retained for use in necessary covert o r close reconnaissance operations.
Boots were a key factor, and if personnel turned up without suitable footwear then it had to be sourced for them. They would be out working through the winter and good footwear, layers of warm clothing, waterproof gear and changes of socks were essential.
In terms of tactical gear, the focus was not on being uniform or identical, but rather that each fighter had the correct equipment in some format, depending what could be sourced or foraged. Everyone that did not have it already was issued body armor, including ballistic plates, and the necessary tactical pouches for carrying magazines and equipment. The extra supply came from the purloined truck that Major Cassidy had produced.
The minimum personal protection allowed was a plate carrier, with the preference being for a full set of soft armor with plates. Helmets were also issued, but their use was to be reserved for conventional set-piece operations, when they happened, as well as defensive tasks.
Each fighter had to show that he had magazine pouches for a minimum of eight thirty round magazines on his tactical vest or battle belt. He also had to carry an IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit) as well as an additional CAT (combat application tourniquet) on his vest. He had to have a rucksack, daypack and water source. If he was deficient any gear, it was sourced or reallocated to bring everyone up to standard.
The rest of the fighters’ personal load, such as sleeping and outdoors gear and all the various ancillaries was either provided by the fighters themselves or found from other sources. Some gear was donated from Zulu where those static there had no need for it.
It caused a little consternation, but Jack and Jim decided on a specific weapons policy. The aim was ultimately for everyone to run a personal rifle that fired 5.56mm NATO. The preference was for M4 style weapons. The idea was that this was the ammunition that the Regime was using and it would make ammunition resupply and reallocation easier.
Inter-operability was the key. 7.62 mm NATO was also useful, because it was used in the Regime
Since the collapse, with the wild living out in the woods, personal grooming had taken a backseat. The groups that were showing up looked like mountain men, with beards and hair growing in, often cut off raggedly at the collar. They turned up in a variety of outfits and clothing.
Jack and Jim had discussed this and were not planning on doing much about it. It had the potential to turn into a sore point with Major Cassidy, but they were an irregular force fighting an insurgency style conflict, so uniforms and being ‘dress right dress’ was not what it was about.
They had agreed that the focus would be on strong self-discipline within an organization of leaders appointed into command tasks; some permanent, others temporarily allocated a command role for specific missions when groups came together. Leadership roles would be merit based and could be taken away for poor performance or if the team lost faith in an individual.
It would be trial by ordeal and fire for all of them. Given that there was no pay or career advancement involved, they hoped to foster a culture of excellence based on personal motivation rather than organizational politics.
As for the uniform thing, clothing was to be policed for serviceability and alternatives provided if personnel did not have it. Acceptable clothing included military or outdoor clothing in military or hunting camouflage, as well as drab and earth tone colors. No blue jeans, they did not work well when wet.
Clothing had to be serviceable and workable in the outdoors environment, and the right color. More mainstream civilian clothing would be retained for use in necessary covert o r close reconnaissance operations.
Boots were a key factor, and if personnel turned up without suitable footwear then it had to be sourced for them. They would be out working through the winter and good footwear, layers of warm clothing, waterproof gear and changes of socks were essential.
In terms of tactical gear, the focus was not on being uniform or identical, but rather that each fighter had the correct equipment in some format, depending what could be sourced or foraged. Everyone that did not have it already was issued body armor, including ballistic plates, and the necessary tactical pouches for carrying magazines and equipment. The extra supply came from the purloined truck that Major Cassidy had produced.
The minimum personal protection allowed was a plate carrier, with the preference being for a full set of soft armor with plates. Helmets were also issued, but their use was to be reserved for conventional set-piece operations, when they happened, as well as defensive tasks.
Each fighter had to show that he had magazine pouches for a minimum of eight thirty round magazines on his tactical vest or battle belt. He also had to carry an IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit) as well as an additional CAT (combat application tourniquet) on his vest. He had to have a rucksack, daypack and water source. If he was deficient any gear, it was sourced or reallocated to bring everyone up to standard.
The rest of the fighters’ personal load, such as sleeping and outdoors gear and all the various ancillaries was either provided by the fighters themselves or found from other sources. Some gear was donated from Zulu where those static there had no need for it.
It caused a little consternation, but Jack and Jim decided on a specific weapons policy. The aim was ultimately for everyone to run a personal rifle that fired 5.56mm NATO. The preference was for M4 style weapons. The idea was that this was the ammunition that the Regime was using and it would make ammunition resupply and reallocation easier.
Inter-operability was the key. 7.62 mm NATO was also useful, because it was used in the Regime
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