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Recon Team R54

Page history last edited by Michael 5 years, 7 months ago

back to the Index or to the team equipment page


shoulder patch for Recon team R54

 

Team Members

 

Scotty

name:  John Scott Ferguson         education:  MS Metrological Studies SDSMT '79

military experience:  USAF, 1979-85; AF Reserves 1985-87; final rank Captain

birthdate: 21 April 1957               birthplace:  El Cajon (San Diego), CA        

age:  29 years                               gender:  male

blood type:  AB-                          height:  1.80 m                   weight:  100 kg

hair:  black                                   eyes:  green                        handedness:  left

position in team:   leader              security rating:  14            kit:  #2 grenadier

 

Spent 6 years active duty as a Combat Weatherman in the USAF. Recruited from Dynelectron where he was a field staff meteorologist.          player:  Kevin

 

JJ

name:  Jesse James Pettigrew III      education:  Colo. Sch of Mines, B.S. Mech Eng

military experience:  USMC 1974-1981, final rank Sergeant

birthdate:  16 December 1956           birthplace:   eastern TN

age:  30 years                                    gender:  male

blood type:  O+                                 height:  1.75 m                 weight:  78 kg   

hair:  brown                                       eyes:  brown                    handedness:  right

position in team:  scout                     security rating:  22           kit:  #3 marksman

 

Born and raised in the rural hill country of Tennessee. Spent 7 years in the USMC, much of it in Force Recon (3rd MEF and 1st MEF). After leaving the Corps, attended CSM working at various construction and mining jobs in the summers, with one summer spent as an assistant instructor at BOSS. After graduating he worked worked at Bell-Textron in the S.F. Bay Area, mostly working on high-speed gearbox design and precision manufacturing processes until he was recruited by MP.           player:  Ken


Gootz

name:  Jacob Gootz                         education:  M.A. Chemistry 1976

military experience:  2 years US Army 1968-1970, final rank E-2

birthdate:        /    /1950                   birthplace:          

age:  36 years                                  gender:  male

blood type:  A+                               height:  1.75 m               weight:  90 kg

hair:  almost none                           eyes:  brown                   handedness:  right

position in team: gunner                 security rating:  22          kit:  #5 support gunner

 

 

                                                                                                  player:  Nathan

Doc

name:  Gerald Albert Davis         education: NMHU, AA Anthropology '74

military experience:  US Navy 12 years; final rank Hospitalman 2nd Class

birthdate:  23 July 1954               birthplace:   Shiprock, NM

age: 32 years                               gender:  male

blood type: A-                              height: 1.81 m                 weight:  91 kg

hair: brown                                  eyes:  brown                     handedness:  right

position in team:  medic/driver   security rating:  18           kit:  medic

 

12 years in US Navy as a Corpsman (1974-1986). Postings included serving as medic with Marine units, and with the Seabees. Served aboard the USS Constitution during the Bicentennial. Final rank HM2C.                                          player:  Hugh

Jesse

name:   Jesse Cooper                  education:  Penn State Univ.,  B.S. Civil Engineering

birthdate:  9 November 1952      birthplace:  Titusville, PA   

age:  34 years                             gender: M                            military experience: none

blood type:  AB+                       height:   1.95m                     weight:  90 kg

hair: blond                                  eyes: blue                             handedness: right

position in team:   observer       security rating: 22                 kit:  #13 rifleman

 

Left college in sophomore year to become Peace Corps volunteer, Peru, 1972-1974. Various work rebuilding after earthquake & landslide. Completed bachelor's degree in '77. 

Employed by Bechtel (SF office), working on the James Bay Hydro Project. Jesse moved to Southern California to work for the county of Los Angeles, then quit to work in the film and hospitality industry.                                                           player:  Kirk

 

 

     Background checks began late 1985, contact by the Project recruiters would have been in April of 1986, and actual induction (after the background checks) was roughly May of 1986. Thus it's very likely the team members were born between 1957 and 1964. Covering up for the new member's absence, or arranging for a fake death, took a month or so. Training began right after the 4th of July, 1986 (in cohort 51), and ended in March of 1987. The team was frozen and placed in their cryo-berths before the end of March, 1987.

     The team has a V-150 with 20mm turret as their vehicle.

 

Standing Orders

 

     You expect to be awakened a very few years after the War.  

     The goal of the Project is the continued survival of human civilization after the War. The standing orders for every team are to:

    • assist the population in recovering in any way you can

    • reunite with the rest of the Morrow Project

    • survive!

     If they don't get any immediate specific instructions otherwise, Recon teams are expected to observe, record, evaluate and report on conditions in their assigned area -- locations of nuclear attacks, and the resulting damage, the environment (especially fallout and radioactive contamination), remaining population, power generation and industry, transportation, communications, government, civil rights and public safety, etc.

     The team members know that, somewhere in California north of the Tehachapi Mountains, the following 14 teams (total less than 100 people) are part of their group:

 

  • Science Team S-10 in a Science-1 vehicle

  • Science Team S-71

  • MARS Team M-1 in a MARS-ONE vehicle

  • MARS Team M-11

  • MARS Team M-12

  • MARS Team M-13

  • Engineer Team E-1

  • Agriculture Team A-10

  • Recon Team R-12

  • Recon Team R-13

  • Recon Team R-22

  • Recon Team R-34

  • Recon Team R-43

  • Recon Team R-54 (your own team)

 

     To support these teams, there are at least two dozen caches, and Depot Alpha (a sort of super-cache, unmanned but with bolthole-style conditions inside, and filled with items such as a few spare vehicles). The Science team leader is the "top boss" of all these teams, with the MARS-ONE leader as second-in-command. Project operations south of the Tehachapi Mountains exist, but you don't know any more than that. It's also possible that there are other specialist teams in northern California known only to the MARS-ONE and Science-1 team leaders.

     All the team members know that the Project has large amounts of "reconstruction supplies" stashed in various places.

     The Team R54 team leader has an additional instruction, and is authorized and encouraged to share it with the rest of the team immediately after wake-up:  locate any useful harbors along the California coast which can be used by the Project's reconstruction fleet -- four seagoing ships (two in the Pacific, usually) filled with supplies, equipment and Project personnel. While the ships have some landing craft, they will be more useful to the Project if they can tie up at a dock with good transportation links. So:  a dock that a ship with a 10 meter draft can reach and tie up to, with useable highway or rail connections.

     In addition, there were four Project maritime bases -- two on the Pacific coast, and two on the Atlantic coast -- each with a landing ship and almost a hundred persons. The landing ships were about the largest that could be fitted in an underground base, somewhat like a submarine pen -- the entrance must be at least 19 meters wide and 15 meters high. The bases will be built into cliffs facing the sea or a waterway connecting to the sea. The landing ships were to connect the reconstruction ships to the coast, carry cargo along the coast, and act as a military sealift vessel for the Morrow Project.


Given the team's current knowledge of sea level rise (7 meters or so),

getting the landing ships out of their bases might be difficult -- if they are still there, and still exist.

 

     In essence the plan is:  Recon teams will scout around, mapping the good and bad things; MARS teams suppress some of the bad things, Science teams look into and solve the other bad things. When enough is known/suppressed/solved, one or both of the Pacific Ocean reconstruction ships are summoned with thousands of tons of supplies (Prime Base will assign the ships and their supplies along the West Coast as needed).

 

Facilities

 

     For security purposes, you only know the location of your own bolthole and of your team's six supply caches. Keep in mind that the Project might have to change your team's location, vehicles, equipment, or even membership after you've entered cryosleep. The Team's intended bolthole is about 30 kilometers southwest of Willows, in Glenn county. It's located in a little-visited part of the Mendocino National Forest, a few hundred meters north of Sites Lodoga Road. Here's a picture taken a mile or so away, along Sites Lodoga Road. Here's another picture, taken about 20 kilometers to the west, but showing typical terrain for the area. Nearby water sources:

  • There is a year-round stream about 3 or 4 kilometers to the west, in Rail Canyon.

  • A few kilometers past Rail Canyon is the East Park Reservoir; water surface area about 736 hectares, the dam was built in 1910, and is one of the oldest Federal Reclamation Project dams in the country.

  • 20 kilometers to the south is the Indian Valley Reservoir; it's 320 square kilometers, and created by the Indian Valley Dam (earth dam, built in 1975, includes a hydroelectric generator).

  • About 40 kilometers away (as the crow flies) is Clear Lake -- average depth 8 meters, maximum depth 18 meters. Cache CA25 is near the western shore of Clear Lake.

     Four of the caches are in California, one is in Idaho, and the other is in New Mexico. Each cache is shared with at least one other Recon team; MARS teams, Science teams, depot staff, and of course Prime Base also know some or all of the cache locations. 

 

 

  • Cache CA20 :  6 km north of Paskenta Road, near Corning Road

  • Cache CA24 :  South Butte (3 km south of North Butte Road)

  • Cache CA25 :  Konocti (200 meters from west side of Clear Lake)

  • Cache CA30 :  2 km north of Highway 16, near Cadenasso

  • Cache ID04about 10 km east of Chilco, in Kootenai County (about 25 km northeast of Cour d'Alene). The open valleys around Chilco and Athol have several private airports; the Burlington Northern Railroad runs through the valleys also.

  • Cache NM22located just off Upper Canyon Road, about 6 kilometers east of Santa Fe NM, in the hills north of Atalaya Mountain. The cache's location is marked by a couple of metal bollards about 10 meters away to the south, protecting a (fake) pipeline valve. 

 

Radio Frequencies

 

     The team is assigned ten FM voice communication frequencies:

 

  • channel 1:  32.0 MHz - Zone 1 common tactical channel

  • channel 2:  32.6 MHz - team primary channel

  • channel 3:  32.2 MHz

  • channel 4:  32.4 MHz

  • channel 5:  32.8 MHz

  • channel 6:  33.0 MHz - also MARS general

  • channel 7:  33.2 MHz

  • channel 8:  33.4 MHz

  • channel 9:  33.6 MHz

  • channel 10:  33.8 MHz

 

 

A couple of other important FM channels:

 

  • 34.0 MHz - Recon common channel

  • 31.0 MHz - Science common channel

 

     Note that changing these frequencies on their PRC-68 radios will require a successful Electronics skill roll if your skill is less than 40%; a failed roll (especially a fumbled roll) will result in channels not being usable. The PRC-70 vehicle/backpack radio is much more flexible; the HF band covers a lot of aircraft and marine channels, though it requires a long antenna to be really useful. 

     HF channels to watch:

 

  • 2.182 MHz:  international distress and emergency

  • 7.0 to 7.3 MHz:  the "long range" channels for the Project (one for each Zone, plus a couple of general purpose channels)

  • 14.06 MHz:  a common amateur radio channel

  • 26.617 MHz:  Civil Air Patrol common channel

  • 26.96 to 27.41 MHz:  CB radios on 40 channels. CB channel 11 (general calls) is 27.085 MHz; channel 9 (emergencies) is 27.065 MHz

  • 27.87, 27.92, 27.97 MHz:  US Navy-MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System)

 

Immediate Instructions

 

The equipment preparation checklist for Team R54 is as follows. At minimum expect to take 3 hours to prepare to move out:

 

  • inspect Auto-Nav and computer in vehicle; both should already be on and will have received data from the bolthole monitor

  • any changes to team location, equipment, personnel, etc. will be described on a sheet of paper on the driver's seat, or (if confidential) on the computer

  • remove and install the single camera battery and radio battery from the recharger into the radiation survey meter and one of the team's M1 CBR kits; spare (discharged) batteries should be placed in the recharger every 15 minutes until all the team's batteries are charged

  • log into the computer to view any high-priority messages or information

  • vehicle preparation

    • inspect portable and fixed fire extinguishers for pressure

    • visually inspect vehicle for damage or corrosion

    • fill tires to 45 psi. 20 minutes 

    • bring the following up to full with gear oil:  front differential (10 liters), rear differential (10 liters), transfer case (7 liters), transmission (10 liters). 30 minutes

      • WARNING:  if these components are run without oil, or with insufficient oil, damage can result from as little as 10 minutes of driving

    • apply lube oil to the winch cable; door hinges; control clevises, cables and pins; seat moving parts; winch barrel and cable; turret rings, elevation and traverse gearboxes, etc. 90 minutes

    • apply chassis grease to winch drum; hull drain plugs, suspension spring bushings; steering tie rod, bearings, kingpin and knuckles; wheel bearings; universal joints; drive shafts; towing pintle. 90 minutes

    • check steering, brakes and parking brake for proper action

    • remove vehicle from jackstands, using the vehicle jack. 20 minutes

    • inspect hull drain plugs

    • test bilge pumps for operation

    • check engine cooling fan for proper operation

    • check all doors and hatches for proper opening, closing, and seals

    • ensure vehicle NBC system has its filter installed, and provides air to each crew member

    • rotate turret, elevate weapons, apply necessary lubricant to weapons, load ready ammunition for turret and pintle weapons. 30 minutes

    • check headlights, tail and brake lights for function

  • check bolthole monitor and radio for status - they should have self-destructed after initiating team wakeup

  • load the vehicle with team and personal equipment. 30 minutes 

  • insert batteries into radios and other electronic equipment

  • test vehicle and personal radios for power and function. Before the main door is open, it is not likely that they can be detected outside the bolthole

  • remember to move your personal effects boxes into the vehicle

  • when the vehicle is ready to move and team members are fully equipped, raise the periscope and inspect the vicinity

  • after visual inspection, team members should don SCALP suits or AUIB protective clothing before opening the door. 10 minutes

  • with the driver in the vehicle, engage the hydraulic rams to open the main door. Note that the rams are chemically-powered, and will only operate once

  • if the main door will not or should not be opened, the emergency exits may be used. Each has an operating bar with two shackles; one person should be able to pull the bar to empty the shaft, but ropes or winch cable can be attached to the shackles if required

  • once the main door or the emergency exits are open, team members should closely observe environmental conditions, and the gauges on their M1 CBR Kits

     

Comments (4)

Michael said

at 12:49 pm on Aug 31, 2012

Kevin McHale said

at 2:50 pm on Aug 15, 2012

What about for cleaning, lubeing, and loading all the weapons?

Michael said

at 3:08 pm on Aug 15, 2012

The "survival gear" each character receives has a weapons cleaning kit for rifles and pistols. A few weapons (Stoner system, M21) also come with cleaning rods and jags, etc. stored in them.

Michael said

at 5:52 am on Aug 14, 2012

I don't know that your team is big enough to need a "radiotelephone operator" guy, Jesse! It's basically a guy with a radio and a pistol, heh. Keep in mind that (a) most folk in the Project aren't gonna be "unaffected" if they have their field gear+role kit aboard, and (b) you aren't required to haul around the whole shebang once you're out and about. Specifically, a lot of the kits come with more hand grenades than you're likely to carry all at once! ... Michael is also pushing sniper, HK69A1 grenadier, and Stoner LMG support gunner kits because we've got props for all of those!

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