Special Forces PC groups and adventures that happen "off the clock"

[Ragitsu]

How realistic is it for this to happen?

[CptPatriot]

Re: Special Forces PC groups and adventures that happen "off the clock"

 

Well, they report to duty daily like any other soldier, though they do generally get days off where they get to relax and/or tend to other duties. Soldiers, of course, are also subject to recall, depending on the circumstances of the day. Generally speaking, unless it happens on a quiet weekend and they have access to their own gear, as weapons are generally locked up and guarded, not likely.

[Wolf]

Re: Special Forces PC groups and adventures that happen "off the clock"

 

Most Special Operational Forces operational tempo is WAY jacked up. on average (when there isn't a mission coming down the pipes, and since the "war on terror" those times don't really exist anymore) they Train for 8 months a year, and then go on deployment for 8 months.... and continue. One of my buddies has a swing shift where they have about a month back where they work on the weekdays (approximately 9-5 type deal) and get weekends off, but trade from South America to Afghanistan, and back... I don't know how long he's gone to either, but you can expect it's almost a year, and then he get's the month free, and back down range.

 

Most of those guys can't even keep a relationship (much less a marriage) because they are gone all the time (either training or on mission). So they do occasionally have days off, it's far from the norm. They say that if you go into SoF your "life" is the unit. Saying that, there are times at which one can get free... Like one of my other buddies had a wedding, and a few of our old platoon mates who had gone into Special Forces were able to make it there, but it was only for the day and half the next day, and back to base it was. So especially now, they are seriously busy.

 

Add to that things like SEALs are usually on a boat, so they ship out with the boat, I'm sure they have allowances to go off boat for missions that they are required for.... But I know less about navy SoF than Army.

 

Not to contrary to Archie, but most SoF units consider their troops as secure a place to keep their gear as the arms room, and though I don't know many guys who keep their weapons out at home, they can (and in fact don't need command signature to take their weapons out of the arms room, any time of day they want. In fact in the early '90's even a group of Rangers were busted for robbing a bank with their own weapons they got out of their arms room only hours before.) keep their gear in the house... Most of my buddies in the SF keep things like their night vision and scopes at home. Most troops keep their web gear at home, same thing with armor.

[Dreamstreamer]

Re: Special Forces PC groups and adventures that happen "off the clock"

 

.... But I know less about navy SoF than Army.

 

Funny, when I read that, I thought of "Soldier of Fortune." Stupid video games...

[Wolf]

Re: Special Forces PC groups and adventures that happen "off the clock"

 

Funny' date=' when I read that, I thought of "Soldier of Fortune." Stupid video games...[/quote']

 

lol, right on. Funny thing is, when people say Special Forces, they really don't understand that the Army Green Berets are who they are talking about, as that is their official name, "Special Forces" (Green Berets are actually their nickname) When you want to refer to the entire special operations community, you should instead say, "Special operational Forces," or SoF.

[Ragitsu]

Re: Special Forces PC groups and adventures that happen "off the clock"

 

I know what I meant. Just be glad "clip" wasn't said .

[Wolf]

Re: Special Forces PC groups and adventures that happen "off the clock"

 

If I were you check out the "Inside Delta Force" book, Sure it's a specialized SF unit run by JSOC, but it'll still give you an idea, or if you want to watch it in "near to Gamer fiction" jump on Amazon Prime and grab a download (or just get it on DVD, via Netflix or something) the first season of The Unit... which is based off the book I mentioned... It's not an end all be all, but the information and feel would work for gaming (for example the show is really bad about gear and weapons, in a figity way). But it shows how bad op. tempo can get. really shows you how much "down time" you should expect, for fiction anyway.

[CptPatriot]

Re: Special Forces PC groups and adventures that happen "off the clock"

 

... Not to contrary to Archie' date=' but most SoF units consider their troops as secure a place to keep their gear as the arms room, and though I don't know many guys who keep their weapons out at home, they can (and in fact don't need command signature to take their weapons out of the arms room, any time of day they want. In fact in the early '90's even a group of Rangers were busted for robbing a bank with their own weapons they got out of their arms room only hours before.) keep their gear in the house... Most of my buddies in the SF keep things like their night vision and scopes at home. Most troops keep their web gear at home, same thing with armor.[/quote']

 

I can only tell by my experience in the Army Reserves where we don't have access. That isn't to say that they would not have access, but they are not likely to keep a weapon out for longer than it would take to go to the range when they are not out on bivouac training.

[Wolf]

Re: Special Forces PC groups and adventures that happen "off the clock"

 

I can only tell by my experience in the Army Reserves where we don't have access. That isn't to say that they would not have access' date=' but they are not likely to keep a weapon out for longer than it would take to go to the range when they are not out on bivouac training.[/quote']

 

Yah, the regular army is like that (so are the Rangers after the above mentioned bank heist) in that you only sign weapons out as a unit/to go to range. SF have open range 24/7 individually or as a group, so they can show up drunk at 0300 and sign out firearms to go down range (note that this would probably cause a call up their chain of command due to a buddy looking out for another buddy when he's drunk) but it's been done before. Most units and guys I know do keep their weapons in the unit arms room, but I know at least one Green Beret who keeps his issue M-4 at the house, mainly because his unit likes "last second" call ups, and most of the unit don't want to have to stop by the arms room.

 

They truly operate by different rules...

 

Note: the quote in Blackhawk Down, where Hooten (Eric Banna) E6, looks at a full bird who has just asked him to safe his weapon, looks back holding his index finger up saying, "this is my safety." actually took place, though I don't think it was Hooten. Their life is in some ways very relaxed compared to regular army/Reserve, a lot less of the BS involved in Rear-D BS.

 

I spent a year in the 82nd ABN (infantry) and have worked beside the SF of a few occasions, as well as have a few buddies who are all in now, not saying I'm the last stop for information, in fact far from it. But with SF it's best to think of it as, if it isn't that way now, it might have been for a while. Especially with the wars going on now (Cambodia, Laos, Iraq, Afghanistan, various "rebelling" Muslim countries) the SF are very busy boys, and they really have a small bit of down-time... not to mention, I'm betting once you get that used to sleeping next to your rifle, then it's going to be more comfortable to just let the guys take their weapons home for a bit, especially if your going back down range in a week, ya know.

[freakboy6117]

Re: Special Forces PC groups and adventures that happen "off the clock"

 

i guess it kind of depends on the game you want to play I can think of a few scenarios.

 

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS

on a weekend furlough after war-games in Nevada the team wake up to find them selfs in really deep trouble with Leavenworth as door number one and shallow graves in the desert as door number two its up to the team to pull together and use all there training to get out of sin city alive.

 

GONE FISHIN'

 

the unit gets soem R&R time and heads off for a little down time in the back woods at one of the boys uncles cabin bit of fishin' and huntin' only theres something odd happening (supernatural forces survivalist militia about to launch an attack or inbred backwoods cannibles the choice is yours) can their survival training and the contents of uncle Bucks gun safe get them through?

 

more super-heroic?

 

WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY

 

They where the top spec ops team in there are until they hit an IED following a successful op they where offered the opportunity to be the test subjects for the very latest in cybernetics now rebuilt stronger and better than they where before they are undergoing testing at a secure Va facility when it is attacked by VIPER and with the base security neutralized its up to them to stop the snakes and save the research