Re: SG II House Rules - longish post

> In short, some people in an ambush are passive targets, others are
> far more active and very shortly cease to be targets and become
> combatants (returning fire, attempting a breakout, etc).
>

> > Note that, typically, better troops have better armour

Funny but I always think the side with the most money have better armor,
regardless of troop quality. As a perhaps non-applicable aside, I have
spent now 19 years in the Army, the last ten in Special Forces (the
first bit was as a paratrooper then drill sergeant). In most cases
outside of actually going on a "door kicking" op, we do not use body
armor or even helmets (we call them the dome of obedience). Even in
Desert Storm the great majority of SF and SAS did not carry body armor
or even fhelmets. We had too much other shit to carry and after getting
dropped off across the fence, you are on your own with your LPCs
(Leather personnel carriers).This primarily has to do with:A: You are
much mroe manueverable without the stuff on.
B: You ahve clearer feild of vision, hearing and sense without the stuff
on.
C: It's still pretty heavy. 99% of all warmovies or wargames ignore the
fact that you usually had to carry your ass twenty klicks from point A
to point B BEFORE you get into teh first fight. And weight=fatigue=lack
of attention.
D: That foolish feeling of invincibility that elite forces have.

> That's a tough one. Anyone can take a bullet, and in the open I'd
> have to agree. In any sort of close or rugged terrain, I'm fairly
> sure troop quality makes a difference (how much? I don't think I
> could guess).
>

I think troop quality makes the overwhelming differnce in any and all
circumstances short of overwhelming firepower and numbers. A good
example as it applies to ambushes. Regular or conscript troops pretty
much put their heads down and hump along under a heavy rucksack with
their eyes on the guys feet in front of them. Except if Sarge is
watching. Their minds are focussed on their pain and fatigue and how
much real army stuff sucks compared to what they saw on Rambo. As soon
as the shit hits the fan there is confusion and they drop straight to
the ground. Usually with their heavy ruck driving their heads into the
dirt. The logistics of all that weight, fear and surprise acts as a
natural dampener to doing anything. It'll take a few seconds of
screaming or yelling before they start to shoot back. Of course they
won't have the foggiest idea of where the targets are so they'll pretty
much just shoot up into the air.

A well trained soldier is still humping along under the heavy weight,
but he has long since become used to the feeling of being a mule and
worked out how best to make his equipment ride so that he stays fresher.
As he walks along, he's looking around and lokking at the ground,
wondering where he will dive if the shit hits the fan in the next few
seconds. Most likely he's also watching his writst compass, counting
pace, and thinking about who he's going to bang on his next leave and in
what order he will visit his favorit restaurants when he gets out of the
field. All this (except for the sexual fantasies and food) are done
virtually sub-conciously. Generally beforee an ambush, he will at least
realise he's in an area of high probability danger and be more alert. At
first contact, he'll still hit the ground, but will recover and return
fire more accurately quicker. More importantly, his unit will have
worked out immediate action drills that are almost like football palys,
that have long been ingrained into muscle memory.  These will be inacted
at the moment of contact, sometimes initaited by the leader. those not
in the kill zone will immediatelya sses the situation and begin
manuevering to flank the ambush. OR the entire patrol will begin break
contact drills such as the Australian peel.

All of this is what should be represented by that quality factor, and
should apply to targets as well as firers. IMO.

A well trained unit