Uroboros wrote:Jeroswen wrote:I can understand your point but even if I guess wrong 20% of the time 4 systems out of 5 will be protected from another Warnecke. Those odds I like. Its easy to sit on your hands and do nothing. It takes risks to get things done.
The argument you make falls flat when you call the ships junk on one hand and not worth anything, and then worry about what harm they could do in the wrong hands. You can't have it both ways.
The ships are junk. While the idea of handing off an old-fashioned SD that you are handing off an old-fashioned SD. The SDs are completely worthless except as scrap. While the lighter units might be able to be repurposed, it's a bit doubtful weather or not they will since the Manticore is sort of lacking any yard space. Haven would have that space, but it is the only industrial power in the GA right now and it's going to have better things to do with its time and energy than convert a bunch of old-style light units.
For one, while you could probably scare up a crew in nearly every system that you could potentially put them in, you have to find people to train a crew to actually use the equipment, and use it effectively. That requires a large pool of people who are trained in now-obsolete technology and willing to train the people going to use it.
You not only have to turn them into competent spacers, but you have to train them individually for each job the ship needs doing. If we are to use the Manticoran standard, an officer takes at least four years of training, while an enlisted officer takes around two. If you were going to use conscripts, your officers would actually take longer to train, due to the fact that they now have to do everything that enlisted personnel would have been trained to be doing. Even with accelerated program, the time to train people is going to be lengthy.
Nor is any of this really necessary in Talbott or Silesia. A spread of missile pods and some new-style LACs are really all that's needed to defend systems against local pirates and any raid the Sollys could put together. Nor would it really be a priority in Silesia, as Sarnow has a well-equipped fleet and no enemy at the doorstep to fight.
I pretty much agree with you on the SDs. I will comment though, that training spacers for naval service is probably going to be a sellers market as more and more systems find themselves without SLN protection and needing navies of their own. Manticore could set up an academy separate from its own service academy and advertise. I bet they'd get all sorts of takers.
Don