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Old 05-03-2022, 09:19 PM   #1
Qoltar
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Default Historical Trends and fictional history

This is general question for any of you who know History and historical trends better than I do.

After a major war, around two years after the war are there more 'older' soldiers and sailors in the active military or more 'younger' troops and sailors?

I am attempting to make set of NPCs more believable or plausible for a campaign setting.

-Ed C.
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Old 05-04-2022, 03:52 PM   #2
johndallman
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Default Re: Historical Trends and fictional history

I don't think there's a single answer to that question. The answer for a given situation depends on many things, including:
  • Are you asking about the winning or the loosing side?
  • Was the war ended by negotiation, or surrender? If surrender, what were the terms?
  • Did the war require conscription ("the draft")?
  • Is conscription still happening in peacetime?
  • If the military was cut back after the war, what was the strategy for doing that?
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Old 05-04-2022, 06:02 PM   #3
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Default Re: Historical Trends and fictional history

By older and younger soldiers are you referring to those who participated in the major war and those who didn't?
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Old 05-04-2022, 06:56 PM   #4
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Default Re: Historical Trends and fictional history

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Originally Posted by Qoltar View Post
This is general question for any of you who know History and historical trends better than I do.

After a major war, around two years after the war are there more 'older' soldiers and sailors in the active military or more 'younger' troops and sailors?

I am attempting to make set of NPCs more believable or plausible for a campaign setting.
A lot would depend on cultural factors. For example, does the government use conscription? If so, yeah, the conscripts would probably be sent home once the war was over, and the average age of the people still in would probably go up as a result.
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Old 05-04-2022, 07:26 PM   #5
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Default Re: Historical Trends and fictional history

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A lot would depend on cultural factors. For example,
...does the government use conscription?
... If so, yeah, the conscripts would probably be sent home once the war was over, and the average age of the people still in would probably go up as a result.
Okay, mild Honesty time -

The 'government' is the United Federation of Planets.

The 'War' was the war vs the Klingons seen in the first season of "Star Trek Discovery" - am starting a gaming campaign set 3 years after that and I am trying to figure out the average age of enlisted and officers available for re-assignment in the Spring of 2261.

The war was 2256 into 2257...the game campaign starts in 2261.

- Ed C.
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Old 05-04-2022, 10:09 PM   #6
sjard
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Default Re: Historical Trends and fictional history

<Moderator> Moved to Roleplaying in General as that seems to be more appropriate to the theme of the thread.
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Old 05-04-2022, 10:38 PM   #7
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Default Re: Historical Trends and fictional history

In that context, Starfleet will probably have cut back on recruiting after the war, and will be encouraging a lot of veterans to not reenlist. Assuming that Starfleet's minimum age of recruiting is 18, and that people who went to the Academy as children/teens can enter as officers aged 18-20 (which appears to be consistent with Wesley Crusher's Starfleet career), you're probably going to be seeing a lot of enlisted and possibly noncoms (I don't know if Starfleet really has those in the sense that e.g. the US army does) in their early twenties, with officers mostly a few years older, average age rising rapidly with rank. The high command, for instance, is probably the same people from before the war, as will most capital ship commanders.
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Old 05-04-2022, 11:18 PM   #8
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Default Re: Historical Trends and fictional history

Even with the specific context this is tricky. The thing that occurs to me is that because this was a relatively short war most of the reinforcements StarFleet got were older ships pulled out of mothballs crewed with people rejoining the service (probably voluntarily).

So for a while average age goes up but after the war is when the new construction comes in and new classes from the Academy and specialist schools graduate.

2 plus years after the war StarFleet is younger again with the old ships back in mothballs because older ships always take more maintenance. The older crews mostly go back to being civilians with the new graduates getting the training for the new ships.

Note that the fleet will be relatively deep in command crew and other leadership positions with war experience as the remaining old hands get promoted and the newbies fill in from the bottom up.
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Old 05-05-2022, 03:40 AM   #9
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Default Re: Historical Trends and fictional history

You may also have a lot of career military "acting down" - if your force allows it.
That is people who have held larger commands (and possibly higher ranks) in wartime working at a much lower level of responsibility in a smaller peacetime force.
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Old 05-05-2022, 07:57 AM   #10
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Default Re: Historical Trends and fictional history

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred Brackin View Post
....

2 plus years after the war StarFleet is younger again with the old ships back in mothballs because older ships always take more maintenance. The older crews mostly go back to being civilians with the new graduates getting the training for the new ships.

Note that the fleet will be relatively deep in command crew and other leadership positions with war experience as the remaining old hands get promoted and the newbies fill in from the bottom up.
So, you are saying in general the available crew and officers for a ship just after its refit will be 'younger' on average?

That tidbit will be useful.

Hoping to make many NPCs before our next game session.
Thanks,
-Ed C.
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