Troll-Mounted Weaponry, Thoughts on 2070 Military Recruitment Options

[Gyro the Greek S...]

So, I was thinking about something I have not myself yet seen addressed in SR sourcebooks. Wouldn't the military have a higher ratio of trolls and orcs in it than any civilian agency? Traditionally, the military has been one of the few outlets for the both the poor and the marginalized to make decent money. Orcs and Trolls are amazing recruits for any kind of ground forces due to their strength and stamina, and I would imagine that forces like the U.C.A.S. Army would really roll out the recruiters in Orc and Troll communities, perhaps even trying to get orcs and trolls to have their children in hospitals so that the military can get more recruits with proper SINs.

I wonder if there aren't heavy weapons units almost entirely made up of trolls, as they're the only people who can carry and fire heavy weaponry, making them mobile weapon platforms that can also do other soldier duties, which I would imagine would be quite valuable.

Besides, the thought of an Orc or Troll Marine is just...you know...scary.

Any thoughts?

[hyzmarca]

I'm picturing meta-rights activists speaking out at anti-war rallies about how the pointy-eared man is sending the tusked man off to kill the short-man in southeast Asia and that isn't right.

Recruiting practices? "You can join the army or you can be imprisioned for draft-dodging where we'll pay someone 5 cartons of ciggaretts to shank your pinko hoop."

[Moon-Hawk]

Squads of Trolls? No. Not any more likely that squads of black people, which we wouldn't do (again).
Outfitting the Orks and Trolls that you do have more heavily, as a heavy weapons component of a larger squad? Oh hell yeah.

[Waltermandias]

I was under the impression that Orcs were a higher proportion of high-end armed forces. I imagine lots of them join the military, and I imagine alot get recruited into groups like the Rangers and SEALS and such. They are damn near ideal for that kind of thing. I would imagine trolls are less likely just because the military loves standardization, and there aren't enough trolls to make that efficient. There are enough orcs to mass produce uniforms and such, and they can use normal sized equipment without penalty. A troll in the field might be a pain in the ass to keep equipped.

[Moon-Hawk]

I definitely agree with your thoughts on Orks.
Trolls would probably be a pain in the ass to keep equipped, but then again it might be worth it.

[Deadjester]

I can't see whole teams of trolls running around but I could easily see a swat or special strike team having half its make up being trolls.

Teams built more for firepower then stealth.

[Butterblume]

Trolls? No.
Orks? Sure.

I think this was discussed in the past ;).

[Eryk the Red]

I can imagine they would send trolls into the field much. They're a supply chain catastrophe. They require radically different equipment from their fellow soldiers and huge amounts of food. One troll would count as probably two or three humans in terms of supply cost. Generally, they're probably not worth it. Of course, a handful of carefully selected and trained troll operatives dropped into the right place at the right time could be quite effective.

[Crusher Bob]

Of course, to keep a handfull of death trolls around, you will need a large recruiting group of regular troll soldiers to choose from. So if you want the death trolls, you have to have plenty of troll regulars. It is, of course, much easier with orks.