RE: [FT] Taskforce and Fleet Actions

> >Kind of like saying "With aerial tanking, an Eagle can fly at Mach
1.2
> >non-stop all the way from California to Kuwait."  Well, yes, but
> it wouldn't
>
> Its probably more like a CVN trucking from Norfolk to the Med at 32+
> knots. There isn't a need for Unreps (unless FT ships have a fuel
> tank we don't really show..), they don't zigzag and excepting for the
> working up cruise they normally go through prior to a deployment for
> training, they're ready to get on the ball.

Other than the fuel issue which I would agree with I have to mention
that I
see a whole lot of assumptions in this statement...

<SNIP>

> >be a good idea to go straight into combat when you arrive.  My
> impression is
> >that you don't make 6 hour jump cycles unless it's critical
> ("there's  a SDN
> >division coming towards us--6.5 hours to intercept") or possibly
> if you only
> >need a couple of cycles to get there and you believe you'll have
recovery
> >time on the other end before you go into action.
> Granted. However when war occurs, you do have operational tempo that
> isn't always as paced as you like it to be. Transfers of units into
> theatre occur with ships far faster than ground combat units tend to
> be. Look at the Solomon islands campaign during WWII. DDs and CAs
> were getting rotated in and out at a bloody absurd rate and no one
> had time to get aclimated before getting thrown into action. All they
> could rely on was training and doctrine.
> Naturally there is a balance between arriving too late and arriving
> strung out, worn out and tired out like the Baltic Sea fleet did at
> Tsushima...
> I was looking at absolute shortest time. A military packet ship on a
> shortest time to point for major flag signals would take this route
> likely.

Keeping in mind the PSB flavor text of FB1, no time passes in Transit.
In
the greater scheme of things having a fresh crew is probably going to be
better than saving yourself the day or two of "extra" travel time. If
couriers zip off at the first sign of trouble, and the Red Force still
has
to travel in-system there will be a fair amount of "overlap" with Blue
Force
(Reinforcements) coming to the rescue and the Blue Force (Home) fighting
a
semi-retrograde battle until they get there.

A more interesting issue is if the placement of planets and other forces
dictates certain routes that ships can Transit to safely? These would
naturally be the areas most highly defended and there would always be
the
temptation in the Red Force to "push the envelope" and take a slightly
less-safe route in...

Until somebody reminds the Navigator/Captain/Admiral of the Disaster of
Nueswanfeld when the NAC lost half their force, including all the DN's
and
SDN's, with such a tactic... <g>

David