I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

[Comic]

I know a little bit about the topic of the bootcamp experience, but my knowledge is extremely dated and never was very extensive.

 

I'm looking to develop a 'Bootcamp' module for a future campaign for the superheroic genre.

 

My setup is this: the hero, with a SID (or in need of an SID) has gained a favor from someone with the pull to arrange for the hero to go through boot camp.. undetected as a super. They can fake or fake-out any medical screening for the heroes (they do this for more than one hero, ie all the PCs who accept the offer), and arrange for details of the hero's civilian identity to be established convincingly enough to pass the military bureaucracy.

 

What I'm looking for is more information on what the induction process of today is actually like, what the military might do with its inductees after boot camp today, and what people might think would be interesting in a Champions campaign for a group of heroes who've passed through this process.

 

Thanks.

[Trebuchet]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/armyjoin/l/aaarmybasic1.htm

 

If you have specific questions, I might be able to answer them even though my basic training was 31 years ago.

[Sketchpad]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

Take a look at Avengers: The Initiative for some ideas as well. Basically a boot camp for future superheroes.

[Spence]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

My experience is a bit out of date as well. But I did have the privilege of going through both Army boot and Navy boot :rolleyes:. Feel free to ask questions.

[Comic]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

First question:

 

Overseas service is a) likely, or unlikely, or c) straight to the front line, soldier!?

[Spence]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

First question:

 

Overseas service is a) likely, or unlikely, or c) straight to the front line, soldier!?

 

Need to be more specific. Army Navy etc.

 

And then within each specialty.

 

For Navy most new sailors go to a deployable unit ship/squadron. Though a small number do wind up on an initial shore duty.

 

For army it would depend on MOS. A line infantry or other combat arm is much more likely to be sent to a hot spot than a logistics clerk. But the "overseas" is vague too. Overseas where? More than likely someone in the Army will go overseas. But duty in Germany or Korea isn't what I consider to be difficult and I've been to both.

 

Now if you mean an area that could include combat that is different. Most will go after advanced training, few go straight from boot camp. In fact these days most Army or Navy tend to go to additional training when they leave boot. In the Nav the trend is to eliminate the non-designated and I assume the same is happening in the Army.

[Trebuchet]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

First question:

 

Overseas service is a) likely, or unlikely, or c) straight to the front line, soldier!?

Most Army MOS (Military Occupational Specialty)fields require training beyond what is received in Basic Training, even for infantry soldiers. These schools could be anything from 8 weeks to over a year long (Mine - NIKE-Hercules radar technician - was 38 weeks).

 

Nowadays, even grunts are getting very specialized training beyond MOS training schools, particularly before deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan. (The Army has several mock "Iraqi villages" set up here at Ft. Bliss to train in urban combat and interaction with people from Arabic culture; and I understand the Marines are running something similar on the West Coast)

[Comic]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

Most Army MOS (Military Occupational Specialty)fields require training beyond what is received in Basic Training, even for infantry soldiers. These schools could be anything from 8 weeks to over a year long (Mine - NIKE-Hercules radar technician - was 38 weeks).

 

Nowadays, even grunts are getting very specialized training beyond MOS training schools, particularly before deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan. (The Army has several mock "Iraqi villages" set up here at Ft. Bliss to train in urban combat and interaction with people from Arabic culture; and I understand the Marines are running something similar on the West Coast)

 

Whoa. Niiice.

 

This is pretty much exactly the spark I needed to make a campaign out of the old boot-camp storyline.

 

Anyone can create a campaign for 6-8 weeks of drill. A campaign fleshing out the life of advanced training schools could fill a book or three, and might surprise those players not familiar with the modern military, who are expecting to be dropped into Bagdad on Monday of Week Nine.

 

Which I think will be my working title: Monday, Week Nine.

 

More details about people's experiences with/knowledge of life in advanced training would be great. Particularly items applicable to roleplay for Champions characters.

 

What would a panther-woman or a shrinking man or a mindreader be faced with by way of out-of-combat experiences, and what sort of routines would there be/how much opportunity for a whole secret team of superheroes have to sneak away and do their thing off base, etc?

[Captain Obvious]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

...how much opportunity for a whole secret team of superheroes have to sneak away and do their thing off base' date=' etc?[/quote']

 

For Basic training? Essentially none. They've always got something they're supposed to be doing, and enough supervision that screwing off is usually caught, much less being absent.

 

For advanced training, it depends. Usually it's almost as strict, but there is a little more leeway. You're working 12 or 14 hours a day, but they're not keeping too close a watch on you the rest of the day, or on weekends.

 

As far as events that might come up, well, there are always training accidents. Usually someone falls off of something high, or doesn't drink enough water and gets heat exhaustion. And the way the Army mamas you, you almost have to be trying to get hurt. There's not too, too much in military training for you to get your super on about. That'll probably have to wait until Special Forces training, or actual combat.

 

Now if the military knew they were supers from the get-go, they'd probably up the ante, and make things quite a bit more dangerous in training, and probably also allow them a little more slack in their time off.

[Trebuchet]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

Whoa. Niiice.

 

This is pretty much exactly the spark I needed to make a campaign out of the old boot-camp storyline.

 

Anyone can create a campaign for 6-8 weeks of drill. A campaign fleshing out the life of advanced training schools could fill a book or three, and might surprise those players not familiar with the modern military, who are expecting to be dropped into Bagdad on Monday of Week Nine.

 

Which I think will be my working title: Monday, Week Nine.

 

More details about people's experiences with/knowledge of life in advanced training would be great. Particularly items applicable to roleplay for Champions characters.

 

What would a panther-woman or a shrinking man or a mindreader be faced with by way of out-of-combat experiences, and what sort of routines would there be/how much opportunity for a whole secret team of superheroes have to sneak away and do their thing off base, etc?

Once soldiers are out of Basic Training, getting "offpost" (out of the Army base) to visit local civilian establishments is pretty easy. Most GIs in garrison are still free on evenings and weekends just like civilians. (For me, it was very easy. Most of us even owned cars by the time we completed our schooling.) Some MOS training schools (particularly in combat-related or highly classified fields) are somewhat stricter, so it would be up to you to decide how difficult it would be for your PCs. Since you're going to want all your PCs at one location, you'll probably have to give them all the same MOS.

 

Don't forget to drop some unscheduled inspections on the heroes to disrupt their plans to stop Dr. Evil that evening. Nothing is more frustrating than having to buff barracks floors when you had something more important planned. Also, 3 AM unannounced drug searches are always a good way to liven up the day (especially when the night-crawling heroes just got into bed at 2:30.)

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

(The Army has several mock "Iraqi villages" set up here at Ft. Bliss to train in urban combat and interaction with people from Arabic culture; and I understand the Marines are running something similar on the West Coast)

 

Off topic, saw a show about IIRC the Marine one. Very cool, and glad we're doing that.

[Comic]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

Off topic' date=' saw a show about IIRC the Marine one. Very cool, and glad we're doing that. [/quote']

 

Not off topic at all.

 

More information and people talking up their interests in this area is excellent, and helpful.

 

It's still very early going, but what people have posted has substantially revved up, improved, and changed my concept.

 

I'm looking at what the new thing can be, and see a gleaming machine.

 

I look at what you guys are encouraging me to toss away to make room for the new, just by providing this material, and I'm glad to be unburdened of that scrap heap.

 

More is always better.

 

(One day, I'll have the guts to take on modern youth culture in this manner. Then you guys with decades of experience at being young will be even more useful!)

[Spence]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

Once soldiers are out of Basic Training, getting "offpost" (out of the Army base) to visit local civilian establishments is pretty easy. Most GIs in garrison are still free on evenings and weekends just like civilians. (For me, it was very easy. Most of us even owned cars by the time we completed our schooling.) Some MOS training schools (particularly in combat-related or highly classified fields) are somewhat stricter, so it would be up to you to decide how difficult it would be for your PCs. Since you're going to want all your PCs at one location, you'll probably have to give them all the same MOS.

 

Don't forget to drop some unscheduled inspections on the heroes to disrupt their plans to stop Dr. Evil that evening. Nothing is more frustrating than having to buff barracks floors when you had something more important planned. Also, 3 AM unannounced drug searches are always a good way to liven up the day (especially when the night-crawling heroes just got into bed at 2:30.)

 

Wow! Things have changed. When I was going through down in Ft. Benning the only real change between Basic and AIT was they didn't yell as much and most of the chaff had been kicked out. Sunday was the only day that was really "free" and we still used it to catch up. And getting a car on base was just not going to happen. Of course that was back in '81.

 

Of course we all know that the young pups have it easy these days

 

In my day we walked up hill both ways, barefoot and in the snow

[gojira]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

In my day we walked up hill both ways, barefoot and in the snow

 

What, no combat boots?

[Spence]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

What' date=' no combat boots?[/quote']

 

Naw, we tied them together and wore them around our necks so we wouldn't scuff the polish

[Trebuchet]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

Wow! Things have changed. When I was going through down in Ft. Benning the only real change between Basic and AIT was they didn't yell as much and most of the chaff had been kicked out. Sunday was the only day that was really "free" and we still used it to catch up. And getting a car on base was just not going to happen. Of course that was back in '81.

Dude' date=' I got [i']out[/i] in '81.

 

I suspect the difference was due to both specialty and length of school. My school was 38 weeks long and my class had a large number of NCO's (including several E-5's, 2 E-6's, and an E-7) so we couldn't be collectively treated like a bunch of basic trainees. Our class leader actually outranked our platoon sergeant. Plus, you can't bottle up students for nine months like you can for one or two. I know students in some of the radar operator schools had it much harsher than we technicians did. Of course, their school was only 8 weeks long.

 

Of course we all know that the young pups have it easy these days

 

In my day we walked up hill both ways, barefoot and in the snow

Well, that goes without saying.

[Spence]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

Dude' date=' I got [i']out[/i] in '81.

 

I suspect the difference was due to both specialty and length of school. My school was 38 weeks long and my class had a large number of NCO's (including several E-5's, 2 E-6's, and an E-7) so we couldn't be collectively treated like a bunch of basic trainees. .

 

That is probably it. Our highest ranking recruit was a private

 

I was a 11B, and most of the rest of my boot company were 11B, 11H or 11C IIRC, it's been a while. By the end of boot, what was left either went air mobile (helo's) or airborne.

 

I had pretty nasty problem when my foot decided it couldn't support the weight all my gear plus the Dragon reload and several bones decided to spontaneously break. I had initially joined via an active reserve program so I could get to Germany. Everything healed fine but the consensus was I wouldn’t make a good pack mule.

 

After a little this and a little that I wound up in the Navy and stayed there for 23 years.

 

Go figure

 

I loved the mil when Ronnie was prez

 

President Reagan ruled!

[Comic]

Re: I Need a Bootcamp. A modern one.

 

I've begun working on the central NPC for the module, Major Mesmeric.

 

The good Major is an otherwise ordinary military doctor associated with the advanced training program of "Fort Something". Otherwise than that he secretly has developed hypnotic powers of mental illusions and the ability to make people forget, cooperate and not notice things. And that he's found ways to build miniature devices to extend his abilities, which enhance disguise and concealment of others under limited circumstances.

 

MM's a patriot who has developed several opinions about the politicians and bureaucrats he's seen in his long career, and their impact on the military. He longs for another man like Reagan to return as commander-in-chief. MM rejects forcing supers to serve in the military or forming a military of super elites to "serve at the pleasure of power-grubbing incompetents." But a unit who secretly -- even to their own high command -- have powers and have chosen to serve, MM believes that would shorten conflicts, heal the morale and the morality he has seen break more and more over his career, and not lead to a military too distanced from 'the ordinary American.'

 

MM doesn't go in for all that elitist knights-of-old some-people-are-better-than-others stuff. The military should be of the people, for the people. Where there are superpowered beings, however, well, there's clearly places they could do good.

 

What MM offers the supers in return is enhanced privacy and enhanced training. Through his powers, devices, connections and skills, MM can virtually guarantee the secret identities of people who otherwise would have a hard time maintaining their own private lives. After all, how can you believe that Ken Clark is really Stupendousman, when Ken Clark was in Boot Camp with hundreds of witnesses while Stupendousman was doing his thing in Civvietown?

 

I'm a bit leary of hanging an entire adventure on a single NPC, so will likely restructure MM as MM plus willing accomplice. I'll also need some foils for MM, accomplice, and team.

 

Who, both in Basic and in Advanced, made the biggest impression and played the most pivotal roles in your day-to-day routine? Who would make good foils?