Parade-ground drill

Agemegos · 02-19-2011, 07:11 PM

What GURPS skill is taught to soldiers to enable them to execute smart parade-ground drill?

I guess it is probably Soldier/TL at those tech levels at which close formation fighting and unit evolutions are a practical battlefield skill. But what about modern and futuristic settings in which battle is fluid and concealment paramount? Is smart drill still closely associated with battlefield effectiveness? Will it remain so in Ultra-Tech settings? Or will smart ceremonial troops and effective combat troops be merely overlapping categories? How are the character sheets distinct between an excellent ceremonial guardsman and an effective grunt?

Is square-bashing really so useful in recruit training that drill instructors will still be screaming in recruits' ears at TL11? Will marching and wheeling troops still be part of military ceremonial and public spectacle, or will robots do all that?

Gef · 02-19-2011, 07:30 PM

Some of your questions go to culture. That said, I would argue that drill is part of Soldier skill for soldiers to whom it is useful. Remember that Soldier skill implies a specialization, or at least a familiarity: the 300 at Thermopylae and Johnny Reb could both maintain their equipment, but it wasn't the same equipment! That said, I would make the fancy stuff, all that rifle-twirling, a specialization of either Performance or Dancing skill, and perhaps allow a default to an appropriate form of Soldier skill. -GEF

cmdicely · 02-19-2011, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brett

What GURPS skill is taught to soldiers to enable them to execute smart parade-ground drill?

I guess it is probably Soldier/TL at those tech levels at which close formation fighting and unit evolutions are a practical battlefield skill. But what about modern and futuristic settings in which battle is fluid and concealment paramount?

Where its not closely tied to how units work on the battlefield, I'd probably be inclined to treat executing parade-ground drill as a DX-based application of Savoir-Faire (Military).

Langy · 02-19-2011, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmdicely

Where its not closely tied to how units work on the battlefield, I'd probably be inclined to treat executing parade-ground drill as a DX-based application of Savoir-Faire (Military).

This is exactly what I was thinking.

Rocket Man · 02-19-2011, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmdicely

Where its not closely tied to how units work on the battlefield, I'd probably be inclined to treat executing parade-ground drill as a DX-based application of Savoir-Faire (Military).

Good call! I could also see Group Performance (Close-Order Drill), with a default to Savoir-Faire (Military) at a penalty.

jason taylor · 02-19-2011, 08:05 PM

Unless you figure out some kind of handwavium to justify bringing back close order drill(like the silly force-field knife fights of Dune) close order drill is gone as a military tactic(it still has possible uses as an anti-riot tactic). I suppose it could be justified if armor gets to the efficiency level where there is more self protection from ones comrades then from the terrain.

In any case, it is the tendency of ritualism for large institutions like governments to go retro; even Soviets wanted gold lace during WWII, far more then other major belligerents .

sir_pudding · 02-19-2011, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brett

Is square-bashing really so useful in recruit training that drill instructors will still be screaming in recruits' ears at TL11? Will marching and wheeling troops still be part of military ceremonial and public spectacle, or will robots do all that?

Close Order Drill is useful for simply moving troops from place-to-place quickly, making it convenient to address them all at once, and familiarizing junior leaders to command.

Anaraxes · 02-19-2011, 09:24 PM

Not to mention training soldiers simply to obey.

I'd second Performance or Dancing over Savoir-Faire (military). The skill doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the military. Consider marching bands or Drum Corps International. (Close-Order Drill (Sport)?)

sir_pudding · 02-19-2011, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

I'd second Performance or Dancing over Savoir-Faire (military). The skill doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the military. Consider marching bands or Drum Corps International. (Close-Order Drill (Sport)?)

Requiring soldiers trained in close order drill to have a third largely useless skill on top of Soldier and Savior Faire seems to be overkill. Personally I think it's part of Soldier.

Langy · 02-19-2011, 09:43 PM

Now that I think on it more, I think it should actually be a Performance that can default to DX-based Savoir-Faire (Military) - but I don't think it should be at a high penalty. Maybe -2 or so. Either that or a Technique that defaults to Savoir-Faire (Military)-2 and perhaps some Performance skill at +2 or higher.

02-19-2011, 07:11 PM	#1
Agemegos Join Date: May 2005 Location: Oz	Parade-ground drill What GURPS skill is taught to soldiers to enable them to execute smart parade-ground drill? I guess it is probably Soldier/TL at those tech levels at which close formation fighting and unit evolutions are a practical battlefield skill. But what about modern and futuristic settings in which battle is fluid and concealment paramount? Is smart drill still closely associated with battlefield effectiveness? Will it remain so in Ultra-Tech settings? Or will smart ceremonial troops and effective combat troops be merely overlapping categories? How are the character sheets distinct between an excellent ceremonial guardsman and an effective grunt? Is square-bashing really so useful in recruit training that drill instructors will still be screaming in recruits' ears at TL11? Will marching and wheeling troops still be part of military ceremonial and public spectacle, or will robots do all that? __________________ Decay is inherent in all composite things. Nod head. Get treat.

02-19-2011, 07:30 PM	#2
Gef Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Yucca Valley, CA	Re: Parade-ground drill Some of your questions go to culture. That said, I would argue that drill is part of Soldier skill for soldiers to whom it is useful. Remember that Soldier skill implies a specialization, or at least a familiarity: the 300 at Thermopylae and Johnny Reb could both maintain their equipment, but it wasn't the same equipment! That said, I would make the fancy stuff, all that rifle-twirling, a specialization of either Performance or Dancing skill, and perhaps allow a default to an appropriate form of Soldier skill. -GEF

02-19-2011, 08:05 PM	#6
jason taylor Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Portland, Oregon	Re: Parade-ground drill Unless you figure out some kind of handwavium to justify bringing back close order drill(like the silly force-field knife fights of Dune) close order drill is gone as a military tactic(it still has possible uses as an anti-riot tactic). I suppose it could be justified if armor gets to the efficiency level where there is more self protection from ones comrades then from the terrain. In any case, it is the tendency of ritualism for large institutions like governments to go retro; even Soviets wanted gold lace during WWII, far more then other major belligerents . __________________ "The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison

02-19-2011, 09:24 PM	#8
Anaraxes Join Date: Sep 2007	Re: Parade-ground drill Not to mention training soldiers simply to obey. I'd second Performance or Dancing over Savoir-Faire (military). The skill doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the military. Consider marching bands or Drum Corps International. (Close-Order Drill (Sport)?)

02-19-2011, 09:43 PM	#10
Langy Join Date: May 2008 Location: CA	Re: Parade-ground drill Now that I think on it more, I think it should actually be a Performance that can default to DX-based Savoir-Faire (Military) - but I don't think it should be at a high penalty. Maybe -2 or so. Either that or a Technique that defaults to Savoir-Faire (Military)-2 and perhaps some Performance skill at +2 or higher.