Sparta Command HQ

[Jamski]

Are we planning then to equate millitary rank with political clout?

I thought that we were vaguely democratic, and that officer's rank would only be a condidition that allowed someone to run for a government post

I'm still not clear on the contradictions of the Spartans...

Millitaristic, but not a police state.
Liberal, but not free.

I'm really imagining something less formal than ministers and presidents. More like the Wild West, where we have sheffifs and town elders, strong personal leaders backed up by respected members of the community. (Santiago backed up by the leading officers of the Spartan Millita)

Its a Power SE setting. The officers back someone to be "leader" because then that leader confirms them in their rank and position. The people support that leader, either by threat of the millitary, or by propaganda to make that leader very popular.

-Jam

[Kassiopeia]

Ah but Jamski, this is still a democracy game. We need to strike a balance between dull bureaucracy and the Wild West, as you fittingly put it.

I thought that we were vaguely democratic, and that officer's rank would only be a condidition that allowed someone to run for a government post

(I'm assuming your beef is with the President official.) What would stop the SiC from being a military officer? The fact that his duties are more politically oriented does not make automatically make him a pencil pusher or anything. The SiC would certainly have his own unit to command, and he'd be like your average General of the JCS but more concentrated on the political side of things.

I do think that the JCS at least would operate on a Power kind of system, one you described. I don't think Sparta would work solely on a system of back-rubbing and exchanging favours, however, since that'd be prone to corruption.

[Jamski]

It would be prone to corruption, were it not for the iron dicipline of the trained Spartan warrior. Why do we only let soldiers vote and hold power? Because they are incorruptible. After 5 or more years defending your buddies against mindworms, you tend to trust each other a bit more

-Jam

[Kassiopeia]

Point taken. Actually, I think that's the whole point of the system I described in a previous post, the one by Heinlein. Does the Spartan doctrine have any fail-safe mechanisms for rotten apples though? Or is that dealt with by a simple shift of the chain of command when the lower ranks decide that their commander's gone bonkers?

By the way, I was thinking that we could try to borrow something from the Klingons in Star Trek too. The foremost idea I had in mind was solving internal disputes through a dueling system of sorts, however that'd be rather wasteful talent-wise if we have two good warriors fighting for a conflict of interest... or is the Spartan dogma so strong that such conflicts will not even surface? Certainly Spartan strategists and commanders ought to have somewhat differing views on how to do things to add flexibility?

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Drogue
I'd go for Field Marshall (top rating in UK army, but not CiC)

The problem with that is that AFAIK the Field Marshall is only the supreme commander of the land army, and that there are also the Admiral of the Fleet and the Marshal of the Air Force, who I assume should have equal status.

Originally posted by Kassiopeia
Instead of "President", we could call the more politically inclined leader the Second in Command or Secretary General or somesuch.

I quite like "Secretary General" as 'general' has a double meaning there.

[Jamski]

I like "Director of Domestic Operations" for the presidential rolé.

Its kind of "not so important as the real fighting"

Oh, I played a Spartan game today on the settings we seem to be using for the DG, and found exactly how much butt the Spartans can kick.

Lal was gone by 2117, Mim submissive by 2135, closely followed by the capture of all Zak's bases.

Then I got the CN and switched to PoliceState/Power and spammed Elite Gatling Infantry all over the map, smashing Yang by 2170, who then submitted to join me in a war vs Dee and Morgan, the leading factions. They lasted but few turns and the game was in the bag by 2200.

GREAT FUN!

The real powers of the Spartans are the easy elite infantry, which cancels the IND penalty, because they are so much cheaper than rovers, and have the +25% against bases... well they PWN basically. Wave assaults with elite troops is such FUN!

Oh and running PS and FM together is a nice combination

-Jam

[GeoModder]

Damn, now I have to come up with a story on how I mindprobed half the Spartan Army in 10 turns and used it to take their own bases...

[GeneralTacticus]

Mindprobing is kind of useless when the Spartans come in stacks and are thus rendered invulnerable to it...

[GeoModder]

It's not like the AI uses that trick all the time

[Illuminatus]

Is this a place for a Gaian story about four factions conquered (made submissive) by 2150?

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Are you submitting?

[Illuminatus]

No. I must edit that typo.

[Drogue]

Originally posted by Ogie Oglethorpe
Are you submitting?

They will be

[Jamski]

Aren't we just assuming that all the other factions START as our submissives anyway? I thought that was the general idea...

-Jam

[GeoModder]

"Simply seem to give the opponent what he wants, and he will leave you alone..."

-- Excerpt from Sinder Roze's ings, datalinks