I did the thing. OOC guidelines are at the bottom; as far as I'm aware sense this is a freeform RP we can't put it in the 18+ section, which concerns me to a degree since the level of violence as a GM I'd feel appropriate probably isn't okay for general forum posting.
Local Situation
As it stands today, most of Northwest Iowa and western Minnesota is in open rebellion. While it started as a rural, populist campaign in Iowa it quickly took a turn for the worst when they began hanging judges and murdered several Deputy Sheriffs. When the National Guard was called to duty by Governor Herring the 3rd Battalion of the 133rd Infantry Regiment did not report to Des Moines.
What exists now in western Iowa is essentially a free state, run by the Farmers' Holiday Association, supported by Farmer Militias organized around the former National Guard companies in the region. Their effect on the rest of the state is mostly the fear of what they might do. Most of the Army forces in the state have been tied down securing major population centers and lines of communication. Widespread unrest has prevented the states from combining their forces against the centers of rebellion thus far, with offensive action nonexistent. There have been raids on Mason City, but most of the trouble in the cities come from the criminal elements taking advantage of the unrest to make money off anyone that has it.
The Army has finally had the time to organize, equip, and train enough troops to send in to take offensive action against the rebels in Plymouth County and the surrounding area.
Elsewhere
In New England, labor and "anarchist" trouble keeps the situation troubled. Without the central organization, however, no real safe areas have emerged outside of some neighborhoods in the city.
California and the Pacific Northwest are largely dominated by labor strife, though calling what has essentially become a running guerrilla war in the interior "strife" is definitely understating the matter. However, the situation isn't nearly as dire as it seems. A large part of the Regular Army is concentrated on the west coast, plus the entire United States Navy's Pacific Fleet.
Throughout the Midwest, farmers' feelings towards an often corrupt and ineffectual government have only solidified during the hard years of Depression, followed by drought and crop failure. In Minnesota, Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Wisconsin Communists have emerged to lead many beneath the Red Flag. The Farmers' Holiday Association that leads the fight in Iowa, supporting other agrarian efforts throughout the midwest as well. News of many "Farmer's and Worker's Republics" that were declared months ago on the remote plains are only now reaching state capitals.
Metro Chicago and Minneapolis are the seats of power for not only influential organized crime families, but more important to the day to day life of the average citizen they provide home bases to the numerous robbers and thieves that roam the highways in these troubled times. Corrupt police forces and state governments paralyzed by too many crisis (plus a healthy dose of cronyism) have failed to stop the use of their cities as criminal dens.
While not friends, the President has advised Senator Long of Lousiana that his continued empire building will run him into trouble before too long if unchecked.... While the Texas state government is hitting the airwaves with a recruitment campaign for the National Guard.
Sources for Officers
The National Guard has, practically, no barrier to entrance as an officer other then showing up for drill most of the time. More likely some sort of state or local stature plays a part in the high ranks, but the company grades (Captains and Lieutenants) are usually middle-class business men, clerks, or farmers. Many Captains and Majors are World War I veterans. In the 1930s, Guard units drilled one day a week and one week of maneuvers at "summer camp" a year. Weekly drill usually focused, or was supposed to focus, on individual marksmanship, classroom instruction, and tactical theory. Officers had many of the same educational opportunities as Organized Reserve Corps officers to attend Regular Army courses and instructional programs.
The Organized Reserve Corps members are mainly graduates of the various ROTC programs across the country, or WWI veteran officers not needed in the smaller peacetime army. Typically they are, in theory, assigned a post in one of the ORC Divisions that are regionally located across multiple states. There are almost no enlisted men in Organized Reserve Corps formations, although their officer positions are often full, meaning most of their field training is performed with the Regular Army or National Guard, or as command post exercise teams.
The Citizens' Military Training Camps, while not a separate component themselves, do provide another method of entry into the Organized Reserves. After a successful completion of four summers of instruction (Basic, White, Red and Blue), candidates may be offered a commission in the Reserve branch they have received instruction in (typically Infantry or Field Artillery). With the sudden surge in demand for officers, almost all of the potential candidates in the 1933 CMTC "Blue" final year course were offered commissions while Red and the top White course attendees have been made NCOs.
Sources for Enlisted Men
Unsurprisingly, in the Depression blighted 1930s most National Guard units were under strength, usually only 1/4 or 1/2, also lacking material and practical training. There was no real stigma attached to Guard enlistment, and many enlistees were middle or working class youths without much in the way of employment prospect, or merely looking for a fun place to hang out every week with friends and sometimes do some target shooting.
As mentioned above, the Organized Reserve Corps has practically no enlisted men. There may be a few dozen in a supposed Division, mainly NCOs with World War I experience, the intent being to form a cadre for a wartime formation. While the US Army is partly following this strategy, at the moment the ORC has received a massive influx of enlisted personnel thanks to the extension of enlistments to CMTC camp attendees.
The Unit(s)
In the early 1930s, the US Army was in the midst of reinventing itself following the Great War. Lacking budget, but not brainpower or time, many ideas were bandied about in service schools and journals. The organization the Army has decided to field as their offensive force in Iowa closely follows some of those new ideas recently formulated at the Infantry School for a more flexible, adaptable, and capable field formation.
The 183rd Regimental Combat Team is not solely an infantry, artillery, or cavalry unit. According to the latest thinking from the Army's best brains, rather then large infantry formations supported by heavy artillery concentrations, each regiment should be able to function as a separate unit with all the necessities of combat in one flexible formation. Ideally, it should have an infantry regiment, supported by attached engineers, artillery, cavalry (or "scout cars"), tanks, and perhaps even aviation. The 183rd RCT falls short of that ideal.
At the "core" is the 1st Battalion, 183rd Infantry Regiment. Technically a National Guard unit, it is a product of a compromise wherein the President agreed to not (as of yet) call existing National Guard units on state duty into Federal service. Instead, units that either existed in paper or allocation rolls would be called up to add manpower to the Army. The 183rd Infantry was allocated to Virginia, active in the 1920s, then re-flagged to be the 1st Virginia Infantry. The new 183rd is being recruited in all corners of that state, but the 1st Battalion comes mostly from the western and northern parts of the state. Quite a few of the officers are National Guard, but some, especially junior officers, are Organized Reserve Corps. CMTC or ROTC graduates caught up in the demand for personnel. Enlisted men are mostly new enlistees with some CMTC Infantry course attendees, and a strong force of CMTC senior course NCOs.
Also hailing from Virginia is the 3rd Squadron, 118th Cavalry Regiment, providing the reconnaissance and mounted component of the RCT. Mostly recruited among the rural farm populations of Southside Virginia, many of its officers are CMTC graduates that trained with the 308th Cavalry of the ORC at Ft. Meyers this past summer and only recently received commissions. The balance of enlisted and NCO personnel are from the lower level courses at the Ft. Meyers Cavalry CMTC camp.
Rounding out the combat power of the Regimental Combat Team is the 1st Battalion, 571st Field Artillery Regiment (Portee). An ORC unit based in Kentucky and West Virginia, most of its officer corps were part of the pre-activation cadre and are graduates of Eastern Kentucky State Teacher's College. Enlisted personnel come predominantly from the CMTC Field Artillery course at Fort Knox, which also provided a few Lieutenants. The battalion's main weapon is the 75mm M1916 gun, transported en portee, or in the back of trucks. Usually White or Federals with the bare minimum of modifications.
Basic Equipment Load
Infantry
Issued Per Enlisted Character
-1x Pair Shoes
-2x Pairs canvas leggings
-2x Uniforms, shirts, trousers, undergarments, tie, belt, insignia
-1x Overcoat
-1x Campaign hat
-1x M1917 helmet
-1x M1923 Dismounted Cartridge Belt (100 rounds of ammunition)
-1z M1910 canteen and carrier
-1x M1928 Haversack
-1x Set pack straps
-1x Shelter half
-1x Entrenching Tool
-1x M1905 Bayonet and scabbard
-1x
M1933 White rifle (10 rounds, semi-automatic)
Issued Per Officer Character
-1x web pistol belt
-1x M1911/M1911A1 Colt Automatic OR M1917 Smith & Wesson revolver
-1x M1910 canteen and carrier
-1x Magazine Pouch OR clip pouch
-Uniform private purchase to Army standards
Optional Per Character
-1x Extra M1910 canteen
-1x M1908/M1913 Warner & Swasey Telescopic Sight (GM Permission)
-Replace M1933 White rifle with M1918 BAR (GM Permission)
-Replace M1933 White rifle with M1928 Thompson (GM Permission)
-Add pistol or revolver (GM Permission)
Platoon Organization
1 Platoon Leader (Lieutenant)
1 Platoon Sergeant
4 Runners
2x Sections
-Section Leader (Sergeant)
-Section Guide (Corporal)
--3x Squads
--1 Squad Leader (Corporal)
--4x Riflemen
--1x Automatic Rifle Gunner
--1x Automatic Rifle Assistant Gunner
--1x Rifle Grenadier
Artillery
Issued Per Enlisted Character
-1x Pair Shoes
-2x Pairs canvas leggings
-2x Uniforms, shirts, trousers, undergarments, tie, belt, insignia
-1x Overcoat
-1x Campaign hat
-1x M1917 helmet
-1x M1923 Mounted Cartridge Belt (90 rounds of ammunition)
-1x Magazine Pouch (two magazines)
-1z M1910 canteen and carrier
-1x M1928 Haversack
-1x Set pack straps
-1x Shelter half
-1x Entrenching Tool
-1x M1905 Bayonet and scabbard
-1x
M1933 White rifle (10 rounds, semi-automatic)
-1x M1911A1
Issued Per Officer Character
-1x web pistol belt
-1x M1911/M1911A1 Colt Automatic OR M1917 Smith & Wesson revolver
-1x M1910 canteen and carrier
-1x Magazine Pouch (two magazines) OR clip pouch
-Uniform private purchase to Army standards
Optional Per Character
-1x Extra M1910 canteen
-Replace M1933 White rifle with M1928 Thompson (GM Permission)
-Replace M1933 White rifle with private purchase rifle (GM Permission)
Cavalry
-1x Pair Shoes
-2x Pairs canvas leggings
-2x Uniforms, shirts, trousers, undergarments, tie, belt, insignia
-1x Overcoat
-1x Campaign hat
-1x M1917 helmet
-1x M1923 Mounted Cartridge Belt (90 rounds of ammunition)
-1x Magazine Pouch (two magazines)
-1z M1910 canteen and carrier
-1x M1928 Haversack
-1x Set pack straps
-1x Shelter half
-1x Entrenching Tool
-1x M1905 Bayonet and scabbard
-1x
M1933 White rifle (10 rounds, semi-automatic)
-1x M1911A1
OOC Guidelines
-This is alternate history; I don't care if you make a male or female character for any particular role.
-Use a format that makes sense to present your character outline. Shouldn't be on the wiki for a freeform RP. It should outline your character's history, how they entered the Army, and something on their personality.
-You're free to make infantry, cavalry, or artillery characters. Don't worry about how you'll get together, that's my job. Keep in mind that at this time tanks are the responsibility of the infantry, while the Cavalry experiments with armored cars and other workarounds. Infantry also includes machine guns and "howitzers", in reality 37mm anti-tank guns used as close support weapons.
-Feel free to message or hit me up on chat if you need/want help.