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bedlamsbardGod, so much of my research time is spent looking up -- get this -- uniforms. Originally for a sex scene -- would it be so hard, Internet, to tell me if ABU blouses have zippers? We're guessing yes, since ACU blouses do -- but then I start thinking, oh, wait, Drew is a pilot, wouldn't he be in a flight suit, not ABUs? And then I go, huh, I wonder what the Navy personnel onboard a spaceship would be wearing?
Oh, yeah, guess who's also phasing in new uniforms along with the Air Force, the Army, and the Marines? That would be the United States Navy, ladies and gents.
Well, shipboard personnel. Will probably be about the same as what shipboard-at-sea personnel are wearing now, so what's that? Well, right now, utilities/dungarees and working/wash khaki, but they're phasing in Naval Work Uniforms. So. What do sailors onboard the USSS North Carolina (a Washington-class American starcarrier in about, oh, the year 2020 or so) wear? Do I even need to know this? Well, now that I've looked it up, I probably will, because that's always how it works, at least when it comes to military uniforms.
Oh my God, Wikipedia, you don't have a page for U.S. military flightsuits?
What do you mean the Army wants to phase this in by at least the time my novel takes place? I mean, even parts of it. *stares blankly* Okay. This is where the sci-fi part of writing a sci-fi novel comes in. (Man, this would have been a great example of how to use research for actual science for my senior project presentation...oh, wait, they didn't give me enough time to talk about anything I actually did.) Is it even going to be a viable option for soldiers deploying to another galaxy to have given the weapons technology they'll be up against? Maybe. Are the type of soldiers deploying likely to have it? Maybe so, maybe no. Are we going to have that technology within a decade, decade and a half? Maybe some of it; probably not all of it. Is it likely that alien technology will be integrated to make this more quickly a viable option? Yes, but given the type of alien tech that is canonically traded for in my universe -- weapons tech, but specifically limited to spaceships and starfighters -- probably not to the personal soldier extent.
*still on the Future Force Warrior page* God damn it, are we really likely to switch over to different sidearms soon? Sig Sauer P220 or Heckler & Koch USP. Oh, hey, the Heckler & Koch USP has a variant used by U.S. special operations forces -- like my main character. Good to know.
Reading this page is like watching Eureka, but without the snark.
Okay, so, it looks like this program isn't actually going to become a widely available viable possibility for at least the next twenty years -- hello, the Army just switched over to ACUs, I dobut they're planning on switching again anytime soon -- and given the amount of money that will probably be necessary to implement the program, along with the amount of money that's going to go into developing and building the thirteen starcarriers and numerous other spaceships that are canon in my universe, I think this program may take a backburner, although some elements of it will doubtless be available to ground troops within the next fifteen years. However, since the majority of the time my main characters are not going to be ground troops, this will affect them only in part.
Oh, hey, there's a How Stuff Works page. Okay, this is a little clearer. Some elements of it are definitely going to make it into the novel, but because of the limitations of the technology, the characters, and the situations in which they may either encounter or use this technology, some of it's going to be ineffective. The first situation I can think of is an earlier one, a flashback scene from the Rokasa War.
In this scene -- or collection of scenes, rather, the equivalent of an episode -- Drew's team is trapped on Oshain, a Confederate planet that's rapidly being overrun by Imperial troops. Oshain is also the location of Fort Valley Forge, which was commanded by Air Force Brigadier General Omar Jean-Baptiste up until the capital city was overrun. Most American bases are located near major cities (the planet Heriot and Fort Georgia is an exception for a number of reasons), so when the capital was in imminent danger, most of the population fled to the old city, which was a collection of caves (a really beautiful collection of caves, but, well, a collection of caves), along with part of the Fort personnel. I say part because not everyone made it out of the city before it was bombed into oblivion. That would include General Jean-Baptiste and most of the Marines, leaving American forces on Oshain in the hands of Marine Colonel Michael Werksman, along with a flight of Air Force starfighter pilots. (Starfighters are SF-31 Firebirds.) The North Carolina passes by, sends down a landing team to figure out what's going on, and of course Drew's team is immediately under attack. What ends up happening is that the North Carolina sends two companies of Marines down as reinforcements for Werksman, but only one makes it through; the other transport (CS-171 Roc) is shot down, killing everyone onboard. (Hey, want to know the casualty rate on the North Carolina? 57%. Highest for Air Force, then Marines, then civilians, then Navy.)
Okay, I just distracted myself and forgot where I was going. Oh, yes, flight suits.
Oh, God, "Freedom Sage"? Oh, for the love of the Gods, Internet, just give me the damned information without me having to go to shopping sites. *pause* Or I could just make shit up myself. *ponders this strange thought* Huh. I don't think I want one piece flight suits, I want two piece flight suits because it will be more convenient shipside and planetside. Right now I just have all Air Force personnel in ABUs all the time, but pilots don't actually wear ABUs, so, uh, there goes that realism. On the other hand, if they're off-duty, maybe they are in ABUs. Or something. Oh my God, I'm so confused. Why do they even need ABUs if they're on a spaceship?
...wait. This means I have to go look up what Marines wear when they're stationed on Navy ships. GOD DAMN IT.
What, Marines don't wear American flags? God damn it, I'd already established they do that. *considers* Well, this show is being run by the Air Force and the Navy, so I suppose I could alter that so that all personnel wear both American flags and unit patches, but there goes authenticity as far as the Marines go. On the other hand...no, I can change that scene for authenticity.
I mean, it just seems odd to have everyone in ABUs and MCCUUs (and later, ACUs)...oh God, I have to figure out what civilians wear. I know they wear ABUs in the field, the only difference being that they have no rank insignia and rather than saying, "U.S. Air Force," their tapes say, "U.S. NASA." (All civilians, except for the embedded journalists -- yes, I have embedded journalists on my spaceships! -- are scientists employed by NASA. There is backstory here; I don't know it.)
Oh my God, military forums. *two hours later* Oh my God, everyone hates the ACUs and I guess they have a point -- that pattern is really dumb for use anywhere except, oh, Iraq. Now I know why the Stargate military teams have their own uniforms. Well, I mean, aside from the fact that they don't know what kind of environment they're going to be going to when they step through the gate (although there's a pretty good chance it will look like Vancouver). I think MARPAT's best for my characters. *stares*
...I just remembered that a lot of the time, service members who are working joint will wear the same uniforms. Navy corpsmen with the Marines, or Air Force working with Army. Thank you God, that just gave me an excuse to put the Air Force in MARPAT, although I just relaized it doesn't matter anyway because there's a pretty good chance I won't have to describe the actual camouflage pattern when I'm writing. If I have to, I can probably make a pretty good case for any airmen on the ground -- mostly pilots as part of landing teams -- to wear MARPAT, as well as my Rangers.
What was my original point? Oh, yes, do ABU blouses have zippers or not. ABU blouses are still patterned after BDU blouses...and no one wants to tell me if BDU blouses have zippers since they're being phased out by everyone. And then I went...oh, yes, Air Force flight suits. Something that...no one wants to tell me anything about. EVER. MY GOD WIKIPEDIA AND GOOGLE, YOU HAVE FAILED ME MISERABLY.
Okay, we're going with helicopter pilot flight uniforms here. Which would be nice if somebody could tell me anything. Okay: two piece uniforms. There. Said it. That said, Drew and Colby are both ASPC pilots, not fighter pilots, although they're both qualified to fly Firebirds, which makes them a lot more similar to Army helo pilots (which makes sense, considering the fact I kept reading and reading about the Night Stalkers). And they're landing team pilots, which means after they set their planes down, they get out and crawl around on the ground with the Marines and the Army, respectively. So it makes sense for them to wear ABUs or MCCUUs or ACUs...oh my God, this is the horror of joint missions. *weeps*
Well, there went six hours of my life. What was my point again?
Oh, yeah, guess who's also phasing in new uniforms along with the Air Force, the Army, and the Marines? That would be the United States Navy, ladies and gents.
Well, shipboard personnel. Will probably be about the same as what shipboard-at-sea personnel are wearing now, so what's that? Well, right now, utilities/dungarees and working/wash khaki, but they're phasing in Naval Work Uniforms. So. What do sailors onboard the USSS North Carolina (a Washington-class American starcarrier in about, oh, the year 2020 or so) wear? Do I even need to know this? Well, now that I've looked it up, I probably will, because that's always how it works, at least when it comes to military uniforms.
Oh my God, Wikipedia, you don't have a page for U.S. military flightsuits?
What do you mean the Army wants to phase this in by at least the time my novel takes place? I mean, even parts of it. *stares blankly* Okay. This is where the sci-fi part of writing a sci-fi novel comes in. (Man, this would have been a great example of how to use research for actual science for my senior project presentation...oh, wait, they didn't give me enough time to talk about anything I actually did.) Is it even going to be a viable option for soldiers deploying to another galaxy to have given the weapons technology they'll be up against? Maybe. Are the type of soldiers deploying likely to have it? Maybe so, maybe no. Are we going to have that technology within a decade, decade and a half? Maybe some of it; probably not all of it. Is it likely that alien technology will be integrated to make this more quickly a viable option? Yes, but given the type of alien tech that is canonically traded for in my universe -- weapons tech, but specifically limited to spaceships and starfighters -- probably not to the personal soldier extent.
*still on the Future Force Warrior page* God damn it, are we really likely to switch over to different sidearms soon? Sig Sauer P220 or Heckler & Koch USP. Oh, hey, the Heckler & Koch USP has a variant used by U.S. special operations forces -- like my main character. Good to know.
Reading this page is like watching Eureka, but without the snark.
Okay, so, it looks like this program isn't actually going to become a widely available viable possibility for at least the next twenty years -- hello, the Army just switched over to ACUs, I dobut they're planning on switching again anytime soon -- and given the amount of money that will probably be necessary to implement the program, along with the amount of money that's going to go into developing and building the thirteen starcarriers and numerous other spaceships that are canon in my universe, I think this program may take a backburner, although some elements of it will doubtless be available to ground troops within the next fifteen years. However, since the majority of the time my main characters are not going to be ground troops, this will affect them only in part.
Oh, hey, there's a How Stuff Works page. Okay, this is a little clearer. Some elements of it are definitely going to make it into the novel, but because of the limitations of the technology, the characters, and the situations in which they may either encounter or use this technology, some of it's going to be ineffective. The first situation I can think of is an earlier one, a flashback scene from the Rokasa War.
In this scene -- or collection of scenes, rather, the equivalent of an episode -- Drew's team is trapped on Oshain, a Confederate planet that's rapidly being overrun by Imperial troops. Oshain is also the location of Fort Valley Forge, which was commanded by Air Force Brigadier General Omar Jean-Baptiste up until the capital city was overrun. Most American bases are located near major cities (the planet Heriot and Fort Georgia is an exception for a number of reasons), so when the capital was in imminent danger, most of the population fled to the old city, which was a collection of caves (a really beautiful collection of caves, but, well, a collection of caves), along with part of the Fort personnel. I say part because not everyone made it out of the city before it was bombed into oblivion. That would include General Jean-Baptiste and most of the Marines, leaving American forces on Oshain in the hands of Marine Colonel Michael Werksman, along with a flight of Air Force starfighter pilots. (Starfighters are SF-31 Firebirds.) The North Carolina passes by, sends down a landing team to figure out what's going on, and of course Drew's team is immediately under attack. What ends up happening is that the North Carolina sends two companies of Marines down as reinforcements for Werksman, but only one makes it through; the other transport (CS-171 Roc) is shot down, killing everyone onboard. (Hey, want to know the casualty rate on the North Carolina? 57%. Highest for Air Force, then Marines, then civilians, then Navy.)
Okay, I just distracted myself and forgot where I was going. Oh, yes, flight suits.
Oh, God, "Freedom Sage"? Oh, for the love of the Gods, Internet, just give me the damned information without me having to go to shopping sites. *pause* Or I could just make shit up myself. *ponders this strange thought* Huh. I don't think I want one piece flight suits, I want two piece flight suits because it will be more convenient shipside and planetside. Right now I just have all Air Force personnel in ABUs all the time, but pilots don't actually wear ABUs, so, uh, there goes that realism. On the other hand, if they're off-duty, maybe they are in ABUs. Or something. Oh my God, I'm so confused. Why do they even need ABUs if they're on a spaceship?
...wait. This means I have to go look up what Marines wear when they're stationed on Navy ships. GOD DAMN IT.
What, Marines don't wear American flags? God damn it, I'd already established they do that. *considers* Well, this show is being run by the Air Force and the Navy, so I suppose I could alter that so that all personnel wear both American flags and unit patches, but there goes authenticity as far as the Marines go. On the other hand...no, I can change that scene for authenticity.
I mean, it just seems odd to have everyone in ABUs and MCCUUs (and later, ACUs)...oh God, I have to figure out what civilians wear. I know they wear ABUs in the field, the only difference being that they have no rank insignia and rather than saying, "U.S. Air Force," their tapes say, "U.S. NASA." (All civilians, except for the embedded journalists -- yes, I have embedded journalists on my spaceships! -- are scientists employed by NASA. There is backstory here; I don't know it.)
Oh my God, military forums. *two hours later* Oh my God, everyone hates the ACUs and I guess they have a point -- that pattern is really dumb for use anywhere except, oh, Iraq. Now I know why the Stargate military teams have their own uniforms. Well, I mean, aside from the fact that they don't know what kind of environment they're going to be going to when they step through the gate (although there's a pretty good chance it will look like Vancouver). I think MARPAT's best for my characters. *stares*
...I just remembered that a lot of the time, service members who are working joint will wear the same uniforms. Navy corpsmen with the Marines, or Air Force working with Army. Thank you God, that just gave me an excuse to put the Air Force in MARPAT, although I just relaized it doesn't matter anyway because there's a pretty good chance I won't have to describe the actual camouflage pattern when I'm writing. If I have to, I can probably make a pretty good case for any airmen on the ground -- mostly pilots as part of landing teams -- to wear MARPAT, as well as my Rangers.
What was my original point? Oh, yes, do ABU blouses have zippers or not. ABU blouses are still patterned after BDU blouses...and no one wants to tell me if BDU blouses have zippers since they're being phased out by everyone. And then I went...oh, yes, Air Force flight suits. Something that...no one wants to tell me anything about. EVER. MY GOD WIKIPEDIA AND GOOGLE, YOU HAVE FAILED ME MISERABLY.
Okay, we're going with helicopter pilot flight uniforms here. Which would be nice if somebody could tell me anything. Okay: two piece uniforms. There. Said it. That said, Drew and Colby are both ASPC pilots, not fighter pilots, although they're both qualified to fly Firebirds, which makes them a lot more similar to Army helo pilots (which makes sense, considering the fact I kept reading and reading about the Night Stalkers). And they're landing team pilots, which means after they set their planes down, they get out and crawl around on the ground with the Marines and the Army, respectively. So it makes sense for them to wear ABUs or MCCUUs or ACUs...oh my God, this is the horror of joint missions. *weeps*
Well, there went six hours of my life. What was my point again?