I'm trying to come up with the background for a character I'm building. I'm using the modern-day phenomenon of gang members joining the military as a basis. He's an ork ganger who volunteered to join a national government in order to bring back the training and skills to help his gang survive a bloody three-way turf war. When he comes back four years later, he discovers his gang is completely gone... they've all been killed, and he is the sole surviving member of it.

That said, I'm trying to keep it fairly street level and urban. I'm trying to think of any armed conflicts that have gone on concerning the CAS or UCAS within the timeline (2065-2070 or so), so he could have seen some action while he was enlisted. I'd like for him to have been involved in a few harrowing gun battles so that he has character justification for a decent amount of weapons training.

Also, I was chatting with some people about the concept, and one person in particular mentioned that it would be hard for him to get into and out of the armed services with visible gang tattoos. I'm trying to think of a way he could have come out of those four years with them intact, as when he returns I want him to be the last surviving member of his gang. I also want them to be a constant danger to himself, as the gang that won figures out there's one left and they start to hunt him. That said, he needs to come out of enlistment with them intact so it makes for a better story.

Can anybody help me out here?

Well, can't help with the tatties bit.

As for combat experience... DESERT WARS!

Sure, it's a contest, but it's actual Military Manouvers! With live fire in the finals! A few bouts of that, and he'll have learned open field and urban combat techniques!

And, of course, my obligatory, GO BLACK DEVILS!

As for the Tatts could use nanotatts just changed em for service time and changed em back when when going home.

Thanks for the replies.

Concerning the Desert Wars option: I thought of that, and it was also suggested to me. But I was having a hard time accepting that a national government's standing army would send their troops into that. The Desert Wars seemed to me to be something that the megacorps took part in, in order to field their best weapons and technology, and test prototypes out. Would national governments really be a part of that? If so, how? I'm not challenging you, I'm just trying to make sure his backstory makes sense in the world of Shadowrun.

As for the nanotattoos -- That was also brought up. However, aren't nanites absorbed by the body after some time? I'm not sure that he could get into and out of his service with the nanotattoos intact. They would have eventually been flushed out.

Thanks for the responses, though. I welcome more.

The Government would be involved with it. Publicity if nothing else.

Actually, the way I see Desert Wars is a method of waging war without the waste. Two countries have an issue they can't settle on the diplomatic table, they decide to have a "War Game" between two units in the middle of a desert.

Winner take all.

You don't have to have massive standing armies (Unless you need to keep the massive rabble under wraps), don't need to ruin the area/reason your fighting over wasted by troops and bombs, and, finally, there's all that money to be made from publicity!

Not to mention "War Bonds" that could be sold. Legallized Gambling!!!

Finally, and most importantly, it's a major thing for the Megacorporations to show their military might. And the last thing any of the Governments want to do is let it be known that they ARE lackies to the Megas (Even if it's true.). So getting in on this is a way of gaining some national pride back, which has a value you can't measure in Nuyen or Dollars!

So, just like I say...

GO BLACK DEVILS!!!

That's an interesting take on it. I like it and I might work that into the background.

Also, I was looking at nanotattoos, and I think I found a workaround for his gang tats. He joins the UCAS Marine Corps, and they say they'll take him but he has to lose his tattoos (the modern-day Marines are becoming hard-asses about letting in members with gang tats.) He agrees to undergo painful procedures to remove them. Meanwhile, they also give him full-body nanotattoo treatments at Rating 3 along with a nanohive to keep them going... Nanotattoos can give penalties to Perception tests to find people if they are using the proper camouflage. I figure that would be a good reason for the army to give those to somebody.

After he gets back out, he puts his tattoos back using the preset configuation in his commlink and wears them that way most of the time, unless he needs to adopt a different configuration for stealth purposes.

I figure I could grab a rating 3 or 4 nanohive in chargen if I take Restricted Gear, which would allow me to keep the nanotattoos going, and maybe grab another nanite system while I'm there. I figure it'd make sense given he just got out the military, especially if he was in a big publicity event like the Desert Wars.

Given the nature of the Sixth World I have trouble believing that the recruitment standards are nearly as strict as they are in modern First World militaries. I'd imagine that he would have to deal with more drek because of his race then his origins.

Also remember "training" a soldier can be as simple as installing a set of skillwires.

Might also be some recognition, as lots of folks watch Desert Wars, and soldiers are big business!

"When I want to kill every mother-fragger in the room, I turn to my Ares Alpha!"

And don't forget the SINner bit! You just got out of the military, and getting a SIN is one of the main reasons to join in Shadowrun!

I don't believe after 2064 either the UCAS or the CAS have been involved in any open conflicts. You could always have your gang member serve with the Aztlan army in the ongoing Yucatan fight then cross the border after going AWOL or some such.

CalFree saw some action didn't they?

Also don't discount signing up with a corp. Most of them run something very much like the military. That's what they send to Desert wars, and some of them may very well not care about tats.

Also there is more internal action in recent years.

For example the fight for the SCIRE occured within your timeframe.

Military assets are also have to spend more time engaging things like smugglers, runners, organized crime, and magic threats as they are capable of simply being more powerful than local authorities can deal with. I mean in cannon smugglers have Panzers and military grade subs. So maybe you're character could have had some action clearing out bug hives, or some boarding action by the Carrib league border. Or maybe they were guarding a shipment when some Yakuzaa decided to aquire it.

Also on joining corp forces. While UCAS/CAS forces are likely staying closer to home. The corps are not. It would be very reasonable that some recruiter for an Ares subsidiary would have been cruising around gang territory looking for recruits offering cash, skills, ware, and sin sponsership.

Two months of being called a maggot later your character could have a Cantonese linguasoft loaded and be on their way into one of the Chinese warzones or something like that.

On skillwires.
1. While most people don't understand edge, it is shown in the fluff that people know skillwires just aren't as good.
2. If I'm budgeting I think I'd rather have a trooper with wired 1 and musle replacement 2 than skillwires and a couple softs. Especially since VR training should have brought costs for that way down.

was gonna add, but i think someone already did; the renraku archology is still not totally cleared, if i remember correctly, and the whole reason it is owned by the UCAS government now is because the UCAS government is the one clearing it out. there is still supposed to be some fighting going on in the upper levels iirc, so he could have picked up some combat experience there.

Actually that gives me an idea I may very well use in the future as it has the flavor I like.

Alright so a programmer and an ex Drill Sargent hatch a new business model and get some Ares investment to kick start it.

So they roll into some rough spots like the barrens with holoprojectors showing awsome military stuff, music, the hottest babes you can rent and free flowing kegs. (And probably plenty of military types to show off and to keep this from turning into a disaster)

The next morning enough gangers to make a Company are waking up in a warehouse near Shanghai with hangovers and comlinks that will play back the terms of what they signed last night. They can either stick around for the training or they can walk out anytime and see how they fare in a barrens where they have no friends and don't even speak the language.

They spend the next month plugged into hot sim VR training with the Drill Sargent and unknown to them a little psychotropic friend that programs them to want to be better soldiers, loyal, obedient, and to spend all their pay on more ware and equipment.

The business model being they almost don't have to pay the soldiers as they reinvest in themselves, and their "leave no-one behind policy combined with a reluctance to give out cultured bioware means means when the soldier finally kicks it most of the resources are recovered. Also start up costs are low as they only have to pay up front for the facility, the recruiting drive, and some basic equipment of camo armor+helmet, decent assault rifle, some other regular kit and a smattering of heavier weaponry.

Soon they're light infantry that's up to their eyeballs in drek as the many Chinese warlords fight it out and over time the company gets whittled down into some very hard, low essence platoons and then grows again as the next batch comes down the line.

Unfortunitly the owners made some bad investments and their training facility got bombed killing a group of recruits, the staff, and the Sargent, causing the company to fold. The remaining gangers are shipped back home and simply dumped without a pension or anything but the clothes on their back, the skills and ware they carry with them, and some residual effects from the psychotropic IC.

(As a GM I'd give the player some flaws to represent that last bit. They'd have a flaw making them prone to becoming loyal to groups and people. Prone to taking orders A hard time when not being a soldier. And still the tendency to reinvest (which most runners have anyway I might just give one BP for that one). And maybe some fun battle related isssues. Maybe some PTSD, or other psychological issues, or perhaps they're missing an internal organ that got blown out with some game effect.

Also some flaw BP for my amusement later when they find they're still totally loyal to old commanders who are still around even now that the company is disolved.

And I'd probably fill up the negative quality allotment if loyalty turns out to be tied to some control words. Finally a dark secret the player would actually be worried about the rest of the team learning.

The last time CalFree saw true open conflict was the Tir Tairngire invasion of 2036-2037 and (I believe) the Aztlan invasion of San Diego in 2036. The Japanese occupation of San Francisco was by misguided invitation.

Yeah but somehow they lost significant turf to the PCC. Could have been bloodless, but I don't see them losing LA lightly.

Actually checking the sixth world wiki it looks like CalFree saw some serious action.
http://wiki.dumpshock.com/index.php/California_Free_State

Though again with the Corp army thing it seems that Ares forces were taking point in fighting the Japanese Imperial Marines.

Which book has that action?

Year of the Comet I believe.

On the subject of armed forces:

A) The army is unlikely - VERY unlikely - to stick cyberware into grunts. No reason and it's not cost effective. 'Ware is for special forces. Grunts get gear, though I could accept it is likely access to ware would be made available if the solider wants to pay for it. Of course, you still need permits for the Restricted stuff, so I assume there would be procedure and stuff. The crazy ones don't get to have wired reflexes, ya know.

B) IMO they army wouldn't even blink at recruiting gangers. Though it would be careful about putting them all in the same company (or whatever). Don't want too many assault rifles being 'misplaced'.

C) As to actual conflict zones, you don't have to go far. Shooting skirmishes involving casualties on both sides happen frequently, even along 'tame' borders like between the UCAS and the NAN. Otherwise, UCAS-wise, there is probably a lot of action in the Pacific. As everyone else said, Corp military recruitement makes sense too. In that case, deployment could literaly be anywhere.

Does it have to be a North American national military? As people have already said North America has been fairly quiet since the Salish-Shidhe/Tsimshian war between 2062 and 2067 when the Salish finally annexed them. Likewise South America has been pretty much quiet apart from around Caracas on occassion.

The Chinese successor states and South-East Asia though are suitably fucked up however. If his entire gang has been murdered and he thinks he might be next maybe he scraps up what cash he has and anything of the gangs he can sell and decides to jump on a freighter out of town (I'm automatically assuming Seattle is where playing) either stowing away or paying a bribe to get a berth as a worker during the voyage no questions asked. Once there he signs on with some fourth rate mercenary crew and somehow manages to survive whilst learning on the job and working his way up to better and better organisations - maybe saving up for the hive himself, getting the organisation to pay for part of it and he pays the majority as a way to increase his efficiency or getting it as payment for a job from a corp client they work for. This also allows devious GMs to possibly have some fun if it's from and implanted by a corp but you probably don't want to be giving them suggestions. Or if it's a French vessel and eventually making it's way back to mainland France there's always the French Foreign Legion although I think you need a valid passport/SIN for that.

Actually, you don't have to go that far.
Rating 2 is enough for the tats and another nanite system :



Emphasis mine.
Systems, not ratings.

Even higher ratings of nanotats only count as 1 system.
And while you're at it, get a cyberlimb for the thing, even a full arm doesn't cost more Essence than a rating 2 nanohive and it only takes up 2 points of capacity, regardles of rating.

Other fun things

2061
Ibn Eisa rises from the dead, proclaims a New Islamic Jihad.
SURGE causes all sorts of mayhem globally. Military certainly involved in riot control at the least.
CalFree fights Jpanese Imperial Marines and PCC to some degree

2062 Combat in Denver with Ghostwalker and then CAS taking Azzies turf.
Phillipiens enter open rebelion against the Japanese
Aztlan/Aztechnology military forces start a slash and burn of the Yucatan.
Armed combat erupts on the Salish-Shidhe/Tsimshian border

Note that things probably kept up kinda like that afterwards. They jumped forward in time to get to 4th edition. So some stuff isn't spelled out. And every war isn't mentioned.

From the sounds of things much of Africa, middle east, probably the Balkains and Caucus regions, China, and the Phillipines are sort of ongoing warzones.


You know if you really want to be CAS or UCAS it is quite possible that both run special forces units and some navy actions abroad. Especially UCAS as they aren't fighting a war. Protecting specific interests here and there. Engaging groups that start threatening them.

While I wanted to stick with CAS or UCAS, I can't help but think that if he were to enlist with a corp for military service, he would've had access to better gear, implants, and training. Reading one of the earlier posts in the thread, one person said that it's unlikely they would've given him implants, even though I would like for him to start with some. I figure a mega like Ares, who specializes in making military weapons, would allow him to walk out of chargen a little tougher than if he'd gone to a more budget-strapped military like one of the nationals.

Well Obviously I like my above idea with the corp and the psychotropic IC.

But that said there isn't any reason at all a ganger looking to be respected and deadly when he gets out wouldn't just sink the bulk of his paycheck into mods. The rest going towards having a good time.

However at standard payscales that means it'd take a good 12-15 years to put together the full 250,000 chargen alotment. Though I could see them subsidizing the costs some.

Of course corp pay might get higher. Being in the "regular" army means you would likely spend much of your career sitting around. A corp force however might be near nonstop action, and pay accordingly. That actually might be survivable especially for an Orc. You could be running around in a good 16 points of armor on the field between heavy armor, helmet, and cyber/bioware. Stay away from anti vehicle weapons and snipers and even if you do get mowed down or blown up it'd probably be mostly stun. And there are always trauma patches and pretty impressive first aid kits when it isn't.

Heh. I hadn't thought about that. But it's possible, especially with corp or mercenary forces that it might be more like the old shieldwall mercenary army battles of Greece where the saying was "Great battle, but nobody died" (Both sides fought conservatively and so on the charge spears would deflect up over the shieldwall and heavy helmets of the other side, at which point a shoving match would ensue along with some conetsting of flanks. Eventually somebody breaks and the beaten group would surrender if they fell or drop gear and run to fight another day. Though generally at least some people would get killed in the process.)

The analagy on the SR4 battlefield would be if everyone was running around with at least a respectable armor 10 and people are using cheap regular ammo people would tend to get knocked out, surrender if they're hurt, or trauma patched and eventually one side would retreat if the tide turns against them but few might die. The next day money is paid to get POWs back, new trauma patches are bought, and this continues until one sides employer goes broke.

\

Upper levels are still sealed off to the public and not sure if it said there was still a military presence but I seem to remember it just stateing that some levels were still sealed off, the rest being a self contained public houseing project irc.

I would think they'd have cleared out the place before opening it up again wouldn't they? Though they might very well not allow access to a number of rooms to the public.

Per the now outdated Shadows of North America, the CAS and Aztlan are in a low-intensity shooting war out in western Texas, sponsoring and initiating insurgencies left and right, when they aren't getting into minor cross border skirmishes. Also, per the same section, the CAS military is massive in terms of manpower, but tends to focus on training rather than technology, while the UCAS military has gone in the opposite direction, bolstering its' smaller numbers of less competent soldiers with the cool new toys from Ares.

I like that actually. I think SR could use more differentiation. I try to make the corps different, so it's nice to see military forces different.

By the way what do people think soldier grunts should be statted as? I don't think they've done that in 4th anywhere. And I don't know if I remember in in third or even second beyond stats for a metroplex guard grunt.

I'd say rathing 3 for Reserves or green units. Rating 4 for typical professional soldiers that have been around for a while.

Like the examples they have except obviously a tendancy towards using assault rifles and helmets resulting in penalties.
Plus at least some beyond leiutenants who would have some heavy weapon skill.

Why?

Why keep sections closed after they'd been cleared or why wouldn't they open the place up for general use when active muderbots that the military can't seem to defeat are hanging out above them?

The latter, after all why would the powers that be care about the lives of a bunch of bums?

Maybe I got the wrong impression. I thought they were opening it up to a wealthier clientel.

Oh and just because it's semi relevant. The current force organization of US army Platoons.

http://orbat.com/site/toe/toe/usa/platoontoe.html

What surprised me was the number of LMGs. About 1 out of every 5 guys is carrying one.

On page 117 of New Hong Kong it describes the ACHE as a massive wellfare state whose "residents" are kept there by armed guards.

So ACHE = Cabrini Green a la Frank Miller's Martha Washington?

1. On the subject of gang tattoos and enlisting - depends on how you want to write the military. Right now, the US Army will waiver just about anything from a criminal record. Gang tats are not, inherently, illegal - seriously stupid sometimes, but not illegal.

If your PC hadn't been busted for anything serious prior to his enlisting, it probably wouldn't be a major issue. It could be a problem if his tats annoy some other gangers in the Service.

2. Cyberware for grunts - this is a matter of some debate and entire threads have been devoted to it. Personally, I suspect a basic cyberware package would be made available to most Soldiers, particularly if current trends continue.

Example: Estimated hearing loss from explosions and repeated exposure to gunfire - hearing dampers.
Night Vision Goggles (NVG) - low light mod/ flare comp mod.
Smartlinks - greatly reduce the chance of civilian casualties.

The cost of implanting troops versus the logistical costs of purchasing, storing, issuing and maintaining "auxiliary" equipment like NVGs, binoculars and similar gear. Consider the costs of medical treatment for hearing loss and so on. The PR campaign for "innocent civilians" killed by stray gunfire.

I also think, much like the Army's use of Physician's Assistants, they would mainstream and facilitate the overall cost of implants. Naturally, this means Skilcraft^tm brand 'ware, proudly made by UCASians with disabilities.

Of course, your mileage will vary based on how you interpret the UCAS military.

3. Extensive weapons experience - what with simsense and virtual trainers, Soldiers are more likely than ever to have access to training resources between bouts of raking lines in sand and manicuring the same damned patch of grass for a week straight.

Also, an "open conflict" isn't exactly essential for a Soldier to acquire combat experience - sometimes you see a helluva lot more action in peace-keeping missions (or so I'm told). Factor in humanitarian missions to nasty, squalid 3rd-world countries and you have a lot of potential for things to go wrong in a big, big way.

Maybe humanitarian missions in the wake of natural disasters in North America? Gangs might be awfully motivated to acquire the supplies your poor PC is protecting.

-Siege

As far as cyberware in grunts, I think it is actually quite believable. From my experience, the government will get low bid contracts for all sorts of equipment. I am sure they get a nice discount on cyberware.

Additionally, right now, the government has spent at least several hundred thousand dollars on me between equipment, pay, training, support facilities, and so on. Each grunt (like me) needs support personal who get us food, fix our vehicles, issue us equipment, and handle administrative tasks. Those costs add up.

Give someone Wired Reflexes I and that person is now 2X as fast. That Grunt is now 2X more effective in his combat roll. That means they can get less grunts now as long as they all have Wired Reflexes I. I could even see Squad Leaders getting more ware.

Then in Unwired there was some sort of sensor-ware tactical stuff. That would definitely be on everyone, so that generals could look down on the troops and get a 'battle field picture.'

The second someone's little Johnny gets hurt and dies, congress will push through an initiative to put Dermal Plating on troops. When the CNN special airs about how dermal plating disfigured poor little Johnny Jr, Dermal Sheathing would be pushed through.

Ares has a new line of Smart Links that is SOTA, and gives UCAS Marines a big discount on it so they can say the Marines use it. (underarmour anyone?)

I can come up with a million reasons why the grunts would have cyberware. It boils down to effectiveness, politics, and even business strategies.

Gotta love the USA Military-Industrial Complex, and it fueling Ares!

Remember, for Ares, War Is Good!

...

GO BLACK DEVILS!

Actually, the "Future Warrior" concept almost screams Implant Me!

If you read "In Fury Born" by David Weber, the descriptions mirror a number of the concepts of the Future Warrior system.

Future Warrior dreams.

Another example of mass surgical augmentation - the Army (and other branches, I believe) offer laser eye correction surgery for free.

-Siege

That's interesting and I didn't know that, but that is really, REALLY not the same as putting 50k$ of combat cyberware into someone, knowing you're going to have to take it out when the soldier leaves the army.

my personal opinion is that the most likely solution at all is military PMVs (probably actually power armor/exoskeletons).

why, you ask? because the vehicle rules are amazing in terms of what they do.

consider, for example, the fact that if you give someone 'pilot anthroform 3(bipeds +2)'. that basically covers the entire athletics group right there... that's one skill instead of several. and then let's consider gunnery... that covers every single type of gun out there, as long as it's vehicle mounted, and you can specialise in something nice and generic, like 'ballistic'. oh, and did i mention you don't need recoil compensation? but hey, i'm not finished yet. the vehicle comes with an integrated sensor package. if you stick smartgun systems into the vehicles, that's one more piece of 'ware you don't have to worry about making it into the private sector. you don't have to worry about their armor slowing them down. you can give them 3 IPs, +2 bonus dice to all their actions, and -1 threshold to most tests for peanuts. you can buy a response chip for substantially cheaper than any sort of wired reflexes. a control rig is a perfectly legal piece of 'ware that makes your soldiers substantially more useful, without turning them into killing machines that you have to worry about going AWOL. it's cheaper to replace a vehicle than it is to replace a soldier. you can boost response for a VR user easily.

seriously, the benefits just keep adding up. it's just too powerful and inexpensive a method to be totally ignored, imo.

Hmmmm. The having to pull the cyberware out again is an interesting point. Though one that may have been discussed at length. I kinda wish summaries of the good points on issues like this were laid out in some locked sticky somewhere.

But something else with grunts is that they pay soldiers fairly poorly. Well, that's not entirely fair since I suppose a soldier may not have living expenses. But they only make a little more money than burger flippers at first. By which I mean they aren't flush with cash and spreading it around.

Also much of what they need infantry for is the boots on the ground angle. In that sense one wired reflexed soldier isn't remotely worth 2 regular ones.

Assuming they take it out - and what cyberware? Datajack, retinal display, subvocal mic, subdermal speakers, lowlight, sound damp, flare comps and a smartlink.

The only really questionable bit of 'ware is the smartlink and even that isn't outright illegal. Hell, most of that package could be found in most corp offices. The rest is cheap, easily accessible and, without digging out a sourcebook, under 10k.

In all seriousness, it's the little things that make Soldiers more effective - a hard on tac comp probably wouldn't be an implant for anything sort of a SEAL team, but a datajack link is a helluva lot more effective than almost any other form of connection. You can make the same argument for just about any electronic device, especially if the "Future Warrior" issue ever becomes reality.

I suppose the question becomes - what kind of cyberware implants are you picturing?

-Siege

PS - I'll comment more on the pay subject after formation.

Actually since soldiers tend to wear helmets anyway instead of giving soldiers cybereyes, datajacks and ears, it would seem reasonable to go with the much cheaper Trodes, subvocal mic, and non cyberware visual and audio ehancements. Also no down time from surgery and you can just take the helmet and give it to the next guy if the soldier quits or gets killed.

Actually if your GM forgets that people don't sleep in contacts, that they fall out, and that after a while you get nasty scratchy eyes its debatable if players would be picking cybereyes up anymore for the basic functions.

There used to be an old sr2 'most realistic' write-up of the military in the old dumpshock archive. As mentioned above focussing on gear over cyber. Is there anybody outthere that could mirror the link/site?

Anyhow, if the UCAS/CAS military isn't for you, there's the Corporate Militaries!

Ares has minor wars going on to control their African Holdings. S-K for their Middle-East. The Japana-Corps have lost a lot of holdings in the Pacific, but I'm sure they still have a good number here and there that need "Pacifying".

Horizon needs extras for the Trids they shoot.

NeoNet needs people to dig through the rubble to find Dankwater's corpse. After all, if there's no corpse, he's not dead... Even if you did drop a Thor Shot on him!

On the surface, lower-enlisted take-home pay doesn't seem like much. If you live in the barracks and eat at the dining facility (DFAC), you don't have to spend any of that paycheck. Healthcare, while arguably spotty, is free.

If you have a spouse or dependents, you can get your full Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), but you have to live off-post. Which, depending on the area and living arrangements, can be more or less expensive.

You can and often do get a ridiculous number of days off, but your employer is far more intrusive in your overall life and lifestyle.

The upshot is, Soldiers may not get as much pay upfront as civilians, but their general cost of living can be much cheaper, allowing the Soldier to pay for more luxury items. Some of us even invest in our own gear, which in 2070 could extend to cyberware.

Hell, I'd invest in some key pieces here and there - even without Army funding or encouragement.

-Siege

Of course, you have to figure in maintenance, storage, issuing/returning - there is a massive supply chain that goes into supporting military personnel. And even now, we don't have enough supplies to go around.

In the field, your "gear up" time is cut in half, at least, instead of screwing around with adjusting trodes, testing connections and fitting your helmet. Those damn NVGs are bloody uncomfortable, awkward as hell and cut your overall field of vision to a narrow tunnel.

Encumbrance is another major factor - anything that cuts down on the practical carry load greatly reduces the chance of heat casualties, improves Soldier mobility and overall effectiveness and permits more mission-essential gear, if so desired. The helmet will never entirely go away, but a retinal mod is harder to lose, less likely to break down because of exposure to the elements, won't get snagged on branches (or so we hope - yowch) and is one less piece of gear you have to try and keep track of and account for. And you don't have to worry about Soldiers forgetting or neglecting to wear issued gear because it's hot, heavy or awkward.

Of course, your own experience may vary significantly.

-Siege

To be fair the NVGs of SR4 wouldn't be a problem at all. It wouldn't cut your field of vision at all. I guess there could be a little fiddling with trodes.

I could totally see some things being used.

Think cybereyes. When you check out, they replace your cyber eyes and refurbish the old pair for a new guy.

Radios. Internal commlink, and just replace the commlink with a cheaper one when the soldier checks out (and take out the milspec software).

Smartlink would totally be implanted. Commanders would want to make sure soldiers ALWAYS have it on. Why? Due to that safety thing in it where if you point it at a friendly, it won't hit them. Cutting down on friendly fire incidents is huge. Also a soldier won't be able to 'forget' or lose it. Thus if there is ever a need to review a military action that might be an illegal act of war, they'd just 'rewind' the smartgun camera and see if you indeed did something illegal.

As far as rehabilitative things go, we do have an excellent medical plan. I am sure cyberlimb replacement would be included (especially since we do provide a prosthetic for those who are injured). In fact once you have a cyberlimb, it is relatively cheap to upgrade it and add additional capabilities. A gyroscopic stabilizer for a machine gunner who has a cyberarm. Sure why not! Just take it out of him when he leaves the service.

Lots of possibility.

Well, to be completely honest, the technology curve will probably produce options not covered or even considered in the source books. For a tech level capable of producing cyberware, I suspect the next generation of combat gear will not resemble the old-tech goggles shown in SR1.

As much a fan as I am of trodes, I recall something about bad connections, being uncomfortable to wear for long periods, issues with sweat and so forth, which is why I'm a fan of simple implant options. I don't remember if it was fluff in a source book or a discussion point on Dumpshock. The other question being, how secure are these things when attached? What's the "strap in" time to pull a set on?

Ultimately, you can make a case either way and it depends on how the GM wants to define his (or her) UCAS military.

-Siege

This is another classic example of a character concept that's developed beyond how I originally envisioned him. I'm still working on him, but I ultimately went with him enlisting with Ares instead of the UCAS or CAS. I figured with a mega like Ares, he would have greater access to better gear, cyberware, and training.

I'm probably going to avoid the Desert Wars angle, but I liked what CanRay mentioned about the megas having small-scale wars protecting their holdings out on other continents. I could definitely see my ork fighting in some hot skirmishes to protect a corporate facility from raiders or anti-corporate, back-to-nature activists.

As a curious side note, since I made him go with Ares, I figure one of the first things that the corp would do is drill the Ares brand into his head. I know the modern military does something similar to this, where they instill discipline and loyalty to the country in basic, trying to mold the soldier into the kind of dedicated combatant they want. However, I figure Ares, being a runaway capitalistic behemoth, would've taken it a step further, possibly even into the realm of psychotropic programming. Therefore, all the firearms I've purchased in chargen for him so far have been Ares weapons: Ares Predator IV, Ares Slivergun, Ares Alpha, and a few others. I figure a nice quirk for him would be to have him stick with Ares brand items due to that programming (and it might even be easier to get them, since I'll probably have him in some sort of military reserves after his four years, and at that point he'll have a legal Ares SIN.)

On a side note any item in the BBB and arsenal can and will have a version made by any mega corp even if its a shameless rip off.

That's an interesting idea - would a corp military go to extended lengths to program their soldiers?

Compulsion: Cannot act against parent company (Willpower test, TN 4/6/8)
Compulsion: Killing Machine (Willpower test, TN 4/6/8) to avoid attempting to kill something when surprised or threatened.
Compulsion: Obedience (Willpower test, TN 4/6/8) to disobey orders given by designated superior

Hmmm...

-Siege

It might seem hard to motivate someone to fight for a corp compared to a country. And it probably is.

But something studies have found is that the primary motivator when the chips are down is a desire to not let the rest of the team down, or to show cowerdace in front of them.

Especially since that's the American model I would expect Ares to run with that.

So if you're looking for flavor there are probably 3 other guys in your fireteam and another 5 or 6 in the squad that you've worked really closely with and would feel quite some loyalty too, assuming they survived. I suppose in game terms maybe take one very high loyalty but probably not so connected soldier contact.