Interesting little tidbit. Ships with designations like BB and DD and CC are nothing special, really. Up until 1920 they used to be B, C, D (B-1, B-2, C-1, C-2, D-1, D-2, etc). This is because at around 1920, other classifications like Battlecruiser, Escort Cruiser, and Submarine Destroyer all started getting two letter designations. For uniformity's sake, the Designations B, and D were changed to BB, and DD. (Cruisers were a lot more complicated - not getting into that morass.)
Anyhow, freaking the fen with the idea of the US having a strong military presence was never my idea. It's been on my mind lately, occupying a decent share of my mental bandwidth. Thus, I've put some thought into the matter. As always, these are only my thoughts on the matter. Discuss and kibitz as you see fit.
Things wouldn't begin to happen until sometime around 2016. By this time, the USA has been enjoying the perks of open trade with the Fen. The reason for this is because safe healthy food is scarce among the Fen, making them primarily importers. Granted, money is a bit of a problem at first since the Fen economy doesn't play by the same rules most others go by. As a sort of middle grounds, payment is made with various processed metal ingots, such as iron, copper, aluminum, and even silver and gold, based on the market value of said metals. (The reason for the broad range of metals is so as not to drastically upset the values of any one particular metal, precious or otherwise.)
This massive source of export for the US is able to offset the they even more massive trade deficit. Combined with judicious cuts in government spending, the USA is finally able to achieve an economic equilibrium it has not known for many decades.
However, in any case where there is lucrative trade over long distances, there is bound to be piracy. The dregs of the Boskonian Empire, beaten and bushwhacked by the Fen, make a comeback as pirates raiding supply lines cutting through the less civilized areas of the the System, taking both food and metal ingots to feed themselves and rebuild. The first raids in 2016-17 are small and dismissed as being tragic but unavoidable. However, the Boskonians begin to become more brazen as they feed off of the supply lines.
The Fen step up their patrols, but the last straw was when the Roughriders lost two wings of of VF-1S Veritech Fighters and a Peacemaker to a massive Boskonian Assault that captured one cargo ship, disabled two more, and heavily damaged a fourth. Benjamin himself got a few minutes of time with a joint congressional session, during which he verbally beat both the Senate and the House of Representatives for their lack of foresight in the matter. To paraphrase his colorful speech, Ben stated that while he could replace ships quickly, he could not replace the dead among his ranks, and that if the US wanted the Roughriders to continue to assist in protecting their assets then it was time they provided some firepower as well.
To drive the matter home, he went on to illustrate a plan to take destroyer squadron of aging Arleigh Burke-class DDGs and refit them for space flight and combat. His pitch included cost for research and development, cost to lift the hulls into orbit, materials and man-hours for the refit process, and even the ongoing program to man and operate the ships. The over-all cost left heads spinning - not due to the project being too costly, but instead well within the confines of the government's over-all budget. When asked how Ben could substantiate such a small cost, he went on to produce the recent fiscal year's operational costs at 36 Atalante and the next year's projected costs, verified by a reputable 'danelaw auditor.
Additionally, after the Airforce and TSAB's budgetary bungling and the Navy quietly currying favor, the outcome was inevitable.
Two destroyer squadrons and two Ticonderoga-class cruisers are massively refitted. Fen consultants are brought in to ensure not only that the job is done right with as few handwavium quirks as possible. Commander Dodge is instrumental here in liaising between the Fen and the USN, as well in drawing up the standard operating procedures and safety precautions for sailors working in space. Beginning in 2018, the over all construction time takes four years, but this is with crews working in three shifts around the clock. Needless to say that there are some minor, manageable quirks among the fleet.
The two DESRONs (really, Cruiser-Destroyer Squadrons) each consist of one Cruiser, five Destroyers, and two Frigates. Fen technology has permitted a heavy degree of automation, thus reducing the space needed for computers and living spaces. On Cruisers, this extra space is utilized as the living quarters and offices of DESRON staff. For Destoyers, additional weapon systems and ammunition spaces are added, as well as hangar and stores for two F/A-18S Star Hornets. (That part rankled the Airforce to no end.) The Frigates, with new additions to their stripped down weapon systems, now carry a platoon of Marines each and are additionally equipped with breaching airlocks. (The four platoons embarked on the four frigates of the two DESRONs make up a full Company of Marines.)
Because the ventral areas of the ships present a large blind spot for weapon systems of the ships, standard tactics are to have each cover for the other's blind spot where possible. additional armor is also applied and has, thus far, proven nigh invulnerable to all but the most potent weapons. Of course, Navy knows Murphy was a Squid and try not to tempt fate too much.
The first ship to start their space trials was the USS Ticonderoga (CG(S)-47), followed by the USS Yorktown (CG(S)-48), and then the USS Boone (FFG(S)-28), the USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG(S)-29), the USS Crommelin (FFG(S)-37) and the USS Curts (FFG(S)-38). The Destroyers themselves did not come until two years later while awaiting the budgeting for more new ships to replace them.
The destroyers were USS Arleigh Burke (DDG(S)-51), the USS Bary (DDG(D)-52), the USS John Paul Jones (DDG(S)-53), the USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG(S)-54), the USS Stout (DDG(S)-55), the USS John S. McCain (DDG(S)-56), the USS Mitscher (DDG(S)-57), the USSLaboon (DDG(S)-58), the USS Russel (DDG(S)-59), and the USS Paul Hamilton (DDG(S)-60)
The initial home-port is in Wavium-friendly Sasebo, Japan (and moored faaaaaaaaaarrrrrr from the other ships) until their base of operations gets up and running over at L-4. What will be really striking about this facility is that while it is your standard space-rock-turned-space-colony, it's also an orbital resort fit to compete with Stelvia. This not only provides ample R&R for servicemen and civilian contractors, but opens the door a bit wider American enterprise among the Fen as verious commercial establishments open up for business on New Guam.
In 2030 an additional DESRON was assembled to help cover growing trade between NATO allies and the Fen as it began to grow exponentially, and then again in 2035. Having a carrier waved is thought of, but seen as overkill as the total presence required at this time is easily seen to by four DESRONs and four Cruisers. However, one Cruiser, The USS Thomas S. Gates (AX(S)-51) had a badly botched job due to a catastrophic handwavium spill was set aside for use as a training vessel (after the amount of quirks the ship took on, life on the other ships is a breeze by comparison). This resulted in there being one additional Cruiser among the stars, but she's so quirky that she's practically a Fen-ship herself.
How bad is it? All the Gunners Mates have to maintain perpetual five o'clock shadows or else the guns won't work. No one that has shaved that morning may set foot into any of the ship's gun mounts. One gun mount even requires a small blood sacrifice before a live-fire shoot while the other must have a Tiki Mask idol maintained at all times. The engineers must maintain a shrine to Our Blessed Lady of Acceleration or else efficiency drops by ten percent, daily. The Captain must be well versed in either Gilbert and Sullivan or the Horatio Hornblower novels - take your pick. No matter what the ICs do, the General Quarters klaxon sounds just like the one from the Star Trek - The Motion Picture complete with the robotic voice saying "RED ALERT." If duck tape is not used in an electrical repair by an EM, then that repair will fail within 24 hours. Torpedoes must be reminded that you are NOT Lew Zeeland and that you DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT THEM TO COME BACK! (Fortunately, the first time this happened it was with an exercise torpedo.) For some reason, eldritch horrors live in the broom closet on the galley. If you ask nicely, they'll hand you the cleaning supplies and take them back when you're done. Any kind of jam cannot come within thirty feet of the Combat Information Center or else it jams all the equipment, QED. There is an albatross living on the ship. Nobody wants to take the chance of the thing up and dying on them, so they keep the gooney bird alive and in good spirits. The engines will not run unless you dump a bottle of Jim Weed into the fuel header tanks once a week - any other hard liquor will do, but Jim weed has the best effect (think about it - these were originally jet engines... now they're in space). The temperature in the berthing spaces is either a steamy eighty degrees or a chilly fifty degrees. The only way to get it to cool down is by singing a song about penguins once every twelve hours. The showers only give hot water after you knock "Shave And A Haircut" on the pipes. The ships AI demands to have 'A Good Old Smoker' once a week. Curiously enough, no matter how badly one person beats another in a Smoker, all injuries will be minor no matter how bad it looks. The grog ration has been reinstated. You do not have to indulge if you do not wish to, however you do not ask about why it was reinstated or else there will be no grog for anyone for a week. Patriot Day is once a month. The pledge of allegiance must be recited - pick your own deity for THAT part, but you will say it even if it's "One nation under Zule", followed by the Star Spangled Banner, the Sailors Creed, Anchors Away, and then followed by fireworks, a barbeque, dueling guitars, and a war movie. The door to the HAZMAT locker will not open unless you are wearing a radiation hazard suit. Geiger counter not required, but recommended. If someone in the pilot house starts playing a rock song with Hell as a theme (like Highway To Hell or Hell's Bells) the stacks will shoot huge columns of lurid flames that leave trails of malignant looking black smoke. Even though the main guns are now large-caliber coil guns, there will always be a flash of flame whenever they shoot. The folks at Dahlgren have yet to figure this one out.
The list goes on and on.
So, thoughts?
Anyhow, freaking the fen with the idea of the US having a strong military presence was never my idea. It's been on my mind lately, occupying a decent share of my mental bandwidth. Thus, I've put some thought into the matter. As always, these are only my thoughts on the matter. Discuss and kibitz as you see fit.
Things wouldn't begin to happen until sometime around 2016. By this time, the USA has been enjoying the perks of open trade with the Fen. The reason for this is because safe healthy food is scarce among the Fen, making them primarily importers. Granted, money is a bit of a problem at first since the Fen economy doesn't play by the same rules most others go by. As a sort of middle grounds, payment is made with various processed metal ingots, such as iron, copper, aluminum, and even silver and gold, based on the market value of said metals. (The reason for the broad range of metals is so as not to drastically upset the values of any one particular metal, precious or otherwise.)
This massive source of export for the US is able to offset the they even more massive trade deficit. Combined with judicious cuts in government spending, the USA is finally able to achieve an economic equilibrium it has not known for many decades.
However, in any case where there is lucrative trade over long distances, there is bound to be piracy. The dregs of the Boskonian Empire, beaten and bushwhacked by the Fen, make a comeback as pirates raiding supply lines cutting through the less civilized areas of the the System, taking both food and metal ingots to feed themselves and rebuild. The first raids in 2016-17 are small and dismissed as being tragic but unavoidable. However, the Boskonians begin to become more brazen as they feed off of the supply lines.
The Fen step up their patrols, but the last straw was when the Roughriders lost two wings of of VF-1S Veritech Fighters and a Peacemaker to a massive Boskonian Assault that captured one cargo ship, disabled two more, and heavily damaged a fourth. Benjamin himself got a few minutes of time with a joint congressional session, during which he verbally beat both the Senate and the House of Representatives for their lack of foresight in the matter. To paraphrase his colorful speech, Ben stated that while he could replace ships quickly, he could not replace the dead among his ranks, and that if the US wanted the Roughriders to continue to assist in protecting their assets then it was time they provided some firepower as well.
To drive the matter home, he went on to illustrate a plan to take destroyer squadron of aging Arleigh Burke-class DDGs and refit them for space flight and combat. His pitch included cost for research and development, cost to lift the hulls into orbit, materials and man-hours for the refit process, and even the ongoing program to man and operate the ships. The over-all cost left heads spinning - not due to the project being too costly, but instead well within the confines of the government's over-all budget. When asked how Ben could substantiate such a small cost, he went on to produce the recent fiscal year's operational costs at 36 Atalante and the next year's projected costs, verified by a reputable 'danelaw auditor.
Additionally, after the Airforce and TSAB's budgetary bungling and the Navy quietly currying favor, the outcome was inevitable.
Two destroyer squadrons and two Ticonderoga-class cruisers are massively refitted. Fen consultants are brought in to ensure not only that the job is done right with as few handwavium quirks as possible. Commander Dodge is instrumental here in liaising between the Fen and the USN, as well in drawing up the standard operating procedures and safety precautions for sailors working in space. Beginning in 2018, the over all construction time takes four years, but this is with crews working in three shifts around the clock. Needless to say that there are some minor, manageable quirks among the fleet.
The two DESRONs (really, Cruiser-Destroyer Squadrons) each consist of one Cruiser, five Destroyers, and two Frigates. Fen technology has permitted a heavy degree of automation, thus reducing the space needed for computers and living spaces. On Cruisers, this extra space is utilized as the living quarters and offices of DESRON staff. For Destoyers, additional weapon systems and ammunition spaces are added, as well as hangar and stores for two F/A-18S Star Hornets. (That part rankled the Airforce to no end.) The Frigates, with new additions to their stripped down weapon systems, now carry a platoon of Marines each and are additionally equipped with breaching airlocks. (The four platoons embarked on the four frigates of the two DESRONs make up a full Company of Marines.)
Because the ventral areas of the ships present a large blind spot for weapon systems of the ships, standard tactics are to have each cover for the other's blind spot where possible. additional armor is also applied and has, thus far, proven nigh invulnerable to all but the most potent weapons. Of course, Navy knows Murphy was a Squid and try not to tempt fate too much.
The first ship to start their space trials was the USS Ticonderoga (CG(S)-47), followed by the USS Yorktown (CG(S)-48), and then the USS Boone (FFG(S)-28), the USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG(S)-29), the USS Crommelin (FFG(S)-37) and the USS Curts (FFG(S)-38). The Destroyers themselves did not come until two years later while awaiting the budgeting for more new ships to replace them.
The destroyers were USS Arleigh Burke (DDG(S)-51), the USS Bary (DDG(D)-52), the USS John Paul Jones (DDG(S)-53), the USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG(S)-54), the USS Stout (DDG(S)-55), the USS John S. McCain (DDG(S)-56), the USS Mitscher (DDG(S)-57), the USSLaboon (DDG(S)-58), the USS Russel (DDG(S)-59), and the USS Paul Hamilton (DDG(S)-60)
The initial home-port is in Wavium-friendly Sasebo, Japan (and moored faaaaaaaaaarrrrrr from the other ships) until their base of operations gets up and running over at L-4. What will be really striking about this facility is that while it is your standard space-rock-turned-space-colony, it's also an orbital resort fit to compete with Stelvia. This not only provides ample R&R for servicemen and civilian contractors, but opens the door a bit wider American enterprise among the Fen as verious commercial establishments open up for business on New Guam.
In 2030 an additional DESRON was assembled to help cover growing trade between NATO allies and the Fen as it began to grow exponentially, and then again in 2035. Having a carrier waved is thought of, but seen as overkill as the total presence required at this time is easily seen to by four DESRONs and four Cruisers. However, one Cruiser, The USS Thomas S. Gates (AX(S)-51) had a badly botched job due to a catastrophic handwavium spill was set aside for use as a training vessel (after the amount of quirks the ship took on, life on the other ships is a breeze by comparison). This resulted in there being one additional Cruiser among the stars, but she's so quirky that she's practically a Fen-ship herself.
How bad is it? All the Gunners Mates have to maintain perpetual five o'clock shadows or else the guns won't work. No one that has shaved that morning may set foot into any of the ship's gun mounts. One gun mount even requires a small blood sacrifice before a live-fire shoot while the other must have a Tiki Mask idol maintained at all times. The engineers must maintain a shrine to Our Blessed Lady of Acceleration or else efficiency drops by ten percent, daily. The Captain must be well versed in either Gilbert and Sullivan or the Horatio Hornblower novels - take your pick. No matter what the ICs do, the General Quarters klaxon sounds just like the one from the Star Trek - The Motion Picture complete with the robotic voice saying "RED ALERT." If duck tape is not used in an electrical repair by an EM, then that repair will fail within 24 hours. Torpedoes must be reminded that you are NOT Lew Zeeland and that you DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT THEM TO COME BACK! (Fortunately, the first time this happened it was with an exercise torpedo.) For some reason, eldritch horrors live in the broom closet on the galley. If you ask nicely, they'll hand you the cleaning supplies and take them back when you're done. Any kind of jam cannot come within thirty feet of the Combat Information Center or else it jams all the equipment, QED. There is an albatross living on the ship. Nobody wants to take the chance of the thing up and dying on them, so they keep the gooney bird alive and in good spirits. The engines will not run unless you dump a bottle of Jim Weed into the fuel header tanks once a week - any other hard liquor will do, but Jim weed has the best effect (think about it - these were originally jet engines... now they're in space). The temperature in the berthing spaces is either a steamy eighty degrees or a chilly fifty degrees. The only way to get it to cool down is by singing a song about penguins once every twelve hours. The showers only give hot water after you knock "Shave And A Haircut" on the pipes. The ships AI demands to have 'A Good Old Smoker' once a week. Curiously enough, no matter how badly one person beats another in a Smoker, all injuries will be minor no matter how bad it looks. The grog ration has been reinstated. You do not have to indulge if you do not wish to, however you do not ask about why it was reinstated or else there will be no grog for anyone for a week. Patriot Day is once a month. The pledge of allegiance must be recited - pick your own deity for THAT part, but you will say it even if it's "One nation under Zule", followed by the Star Spangled Banner, the Sailors Creed, Anchors Away, and then followed by fireworks, a barbeque, dueling guitars, and a war movie. The door to the HAZMAT locker will not open unless you are wearing a radiation hazard suit. Geiger counter not required, but recommended. If someone in the pilot house starts playing a rock song with Hell as a theme (like Highway To Hell or Hell's Bells) the stacks will shoot huge columns of lurid flames that leave trails of malignant looking black smoke. Even though the main guns are now large-caliber coil guns, there will always be a flash of flame whenever they shoot. The folks at Dahlgren have yet to figure this one out.
The list goes on and on.
So, thoughts?