Most serious battles do not result in a state of Total War wherein commerce stops.
RevWarI and RevWarII both took place with stores open, trade happening, and factories producing.
Dio has a piece about skill-sets and their value, here.
Consider: RevWarIII goes hot. The entire country is not hot, at once, perpetually. How do you feed your guys, buy replacement gear, fuel for rigs, supplies for welding gear, and all the miscellaneous stuff you will need, that today you'd simply go to the plumbing supply or Home Depot to get, with your FRN's or Debit Cards?
You'll be in a situation where day jobs are not practical for your guys, but enough infrastructure remains intact that you can't just squat at night in a patch of woods in the City Park until you hit the next OpFor T.
Do you plan to operate purely on the supplies of the enemy? That sets your Tribe in a Plunder mode. That works for some things, like food and even fuel. Please do not turn this into a moral discussion about putting poor Mrs. OpFor out of home & hearth.
What about money to buy what you can't plunder? Most OpFor do not have safes in their homes with FRN's. How does a Tribe convert enemy digital dollars into tangible assets? How does one even convince the Bad Person that he should surrender his digital dollars? Convincing is easier than collecting, especially when you are trying to remain anonymous at the end of the transaction.
Moving plundered merchandise will remain problematic, as you can expect the system to be rife with parasites that will rat your guy at the counter who is trying to fence a hot diamond necklace that you acquisitioned from a Loyalist.
Fighting takes supplies, and even in a Hot Zone, supplies often require money.
You will remember that even though a moderate portion of the Founding Generation supported General Washington and his troops in the field, the people who were warm and fed let the soldiers shiver and starve.
That's just the way it is...
Have you considered such things?
Kerodin
III
A few of us will be in a position to assist some of the more active participants. I imagine there was some of this going on in RevWarI and II as well.
ReplyDeleteHave I considered such as you express in your essay ? Yes. For me the answers are not clear. However, reading your piece let's me know others are concerned for the same circumstances you wrote of.
ReplyDeleteDAN III
Pennsylvania
Well...if Mrs. OpFor has the "milf" thing going...she can stay!
ReplyDeleteKey tools are not easy to find 'after the fact', especially when the doors are still open for business. I don't expect full on collapse, but more like what Argentina has gone through on occasion. Thing are 'worse' for some, 'same' for others, and 'better' for a handful. Expendables in many cases are time sensitive materials. Epoxies have expiration dates, some gases decay over time (or like helium, leak) Storage of such can be problematic in a prep environment. Know alternatives is essential. In my case, knowing how to 'generate' Acetylene is essential. Finding an oxygen generator is one of my next steps. Fluxes for the most part are also detergents and the like, knowing how to make them is part of my learning curve. Weldable materials can be used for their own filler rod (and usually a better choice).
ReplyDeleteKnowledge is truly the most important prep. I hear so many talk a good game of putting things aside, but have zero clue on how to produce anything. Is that really the safest route?
I wonder.
"Please do not turn this into a moral discussion about putting poor Mrs. OpFor out of home & hearth."
ReplyDeleteThat's not the moral part. Who gives a hoot about Mrs. OpFor anyway? The moral part is this---Do you want to live as a plunderer?
Jim: It's not a matter of wanting to plunder, but a necessity if festivities reach a particular pitch or duration.
DeleteEven if it is merely taking a mag of ammo from a fallen enemy, feeding from the enemy is a given.
K