View Single Post
Old 02-18-2020, 09:05 PM   #10
Icelander
 
Icelander's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
Default Proposed NPC Example - USMC Reserve

Consider the following bare bones background, which I'd like input on to make sure it fits with how military regulations and common practices work for a New Orleans police officer and a USMC reservist.

The character should be born around 1970 or so and enlist in the USMC after high school. I gather that 4+4 years is most common and he should do a stretch of active duty, followed by Reserve service. By which I mean that instead of four years on IRR after his active duty ends, he should belong to the Selected Marine Corps Reserve (SMCR) while goes to college and starts a law enforcement career.

Please nitpick the dates and suggest how and why I should adjust the time spent at each part of his career.

1988-1992: Active duty in the USMC.
1993-1997: SMCR service* / College somewhere.
1998: New Orleans PD Training Academy.
1998-2001: SMCR service / NOPD patrol officer.
2002-2004: Called up for his SMCR service for deployment with his Reserve unit/ Takes NOPD Sergeant exam.
2005-2007: SMCR service, probably another call-up and deployment / Sergeant in NOPD Tactical Platoon.
2008-2014: SMCR service / Detective Sergeant in NOPD.
2014: Retires from NOPD to become partner in security company.
2014-2018: SMCR service? / PI and security consultant.

Does the character have to do more than four years for his initial stint on active duty to make it plausible that he would later be assigned to a Reserve Force Reconaissance unit like the 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company?

How much time is he likely to have spent called up for active duty with his Reserve unit between 2002-2010? How many overseas deployments are likely during that time?

And would a 40+ year-old Recon Marine reservist be likely to be called up beyond his regular drill duties after 2010?

How long should he remain a reservist with a recon marine unit? At what age would he have to transition to administrative duties, headquarter or staff assignments or other things that might lead to his occasional military duties starting to resemble his day job too much?

Should the character have been commissioned through the Reserve Enlisted Commissioning Program (RECP) after he graduated university or at some point after that, assuming that he displays good leadership skills, organizational ability and all-around positive attitude?

If the character was commissioned through RECP, what is the most plausible date for that to have happened?

And what is the likely rank of the character in 2018 (or at retirement from the Marine Force Reserve, if earlier)?

If forumites feel that it is more plausible that character should not have been commissioned (and if not, please share what would be the most likely reason he was not, despite having GURPS traits that indicate he'd be an excellent officer), what enlisted rank should he attain by 2018 (or by retirement, if earlier)?

*Much like other service in the Reserve Component of any branch of the US Armed Forces, Selected Marine Corps Reserve service appears to entail the classic one weekend a month + 2 week drill yearly. That being said, I expect specialized Reserve units like FORECON might call for increased time commitments from reservists, if only to keep up necessary skills and to attend various schools, courses and other professional development. This character would have been willing and able to spend any free time he had during his university years becoming a better Recon Marine, as he strongly considered pursuing a military career (as an officer) once he got his degree. And though he ended up in law enforcement, his reserve service was equally important to him as his civilian career.
__________________
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!

Last edited by Icelander; 02-18-2020 at 09:54 PM.
Icelander is offline   Reply With Quote