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Why A Call To Duty is about a USCG acquisition debacle

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Why A Call To Duty is about a USCG acquisition debacle
Post by Walker1790   » Wed Mar 11, 2015 4:18 pm

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Alternatively titled: Why I read 10 pages of this book an almost cried.

So, I'm in the Coast Guard and any time I see a Coast Guard-esque organization appear in a sci fi novel I flip a shit.

This book starts off pretty early bringing in the... MRAPS? I think that's the name, as a political tool being used by the Chancellor of the Exchequer against the Navy. Which seems like something that might have happened in real life, only the US Coast Guard (or rather the Revenue Marine) was founded before the US Navy and still somehow got the short end of the stick.

But anyway! First 10 pages or so we get some politicians talking about chopping up battlecruisers to build light insystem patrol ships.

The Coast Guard tried something similar (only, you know, not similar at all) in 2002, cutting 110' patrol boats in half and welding on an extra 13' to make 123' patrol boats. It... ended poorly.

Anyway, I'm excited to see the Coast Guard in sci-fi and I can't wait to see how this turns out, even though I'm only ten pages in.

Plus, Timothy Zahn and David Weber together! That is awesome!
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Re: Why A Call To Duty is about a USCG acquisition debacle
Post by Dca   » Wed Mar 11, 2015 9:01 pm

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This seems like a new variant of "tum te tum Tum". From the reader's side.
And welcome aboard! First drink of your choice on the virtual house. Cheers!

Please do tell us how it compares with your USCG experience. That perspective seems apropos.
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Re: Why A Call To Duty is about a USCG acquisition debacle
Post by crewdude48   » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:32 am

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It is great having a Coastie on board. Most of the military here seem to be Army or Navy, and the RMN in the Manticore Ascendant time period was definitely a lot more like a Coast Guard. It will be nice to have your input.

As a side note; Why do you have to be at least six foot tall to join the Coast Guard? So that if your ship sinks, you can walk home. :D
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Re: Why A Call To Duty is about a USCG acquisition debacle
Post by Walker1790   » Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:06 am

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Don't be ridiculous crewdude, they issue us all official USCG water wings for that purpose. (I think it's cause they started letting short people join in the '70s.)

I'm a recent boot camp grad (only been out of there a year) and I'm only 40 pages in. All I'm thinking right now is that everyone involved in the food-stealing plot would have been in a world of hurt.

Forget stealing food! Talking to another recruit in the galley? Without maintaining rigid military bearing? Not maintaining positive control of your tray? Madness!

But I'm loving it so far!

I'll have to keep an eye out for Coastieness when I get to parts involving things that actually matter.

Edit: And also, what is tum te Tum tum, hmmm?
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Re: Why A Call To Duty is about a USCG acquisition debacle
Post by Theemile   » Thu Mar 12, 2015 11:19 am

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Walker1790 wrote:<snip>
Edit: And also, what is tum te Tum tum, hmmm?



"Tum te Tum te Tum" is our beloved author's frequent saying when he's attempting to be coy and NOT telling us something (but hinting that there is more there he deliberately NOT telling us.)
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RFC said "refitting a Beowulfan SD to Manticoran standards would be just as difficult as refitting a standard SLN SD to those standards. In other words, it would be cheaper and faster to build new ships."
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Re: Why A Call To Duty is about a USCG acquisition debacle
Post by SharkHunter   » Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:10 pm

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Theemile wrote:
Walker1790 wrote:<snip>
Edit: And also, what is tum te Tum tum, hmmm?



"Tum te Tum te Tum" is our beloved author's frequent saying when he's attempting to be coy and NOT telling us something (but hinting that there is more there he deliberately NOT telling us.)
Music from the old TV show Dragnet, which was of course, "serial" and broken into nice size chunks where they could fit the commercials in. Something like this:

(horns) tum tee tum tum! tum tee tum tum taah!
(narrator) The story you are about to see...

AKA the first maybe six seconds of...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDVVplAweZw
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Re: Why A Call To Duty is about a USCG acquisition debacle
Post by saber964   » Thu Mar 12, 2015 5:53 pm

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Walker1790 wrote:Don't be ridiculous crewdude, they issue us all official USCG water wings for that purpose. (I think it's cause they started letting short people join in the '70s.)

I'm a recent boot camp grad (only been out of there a year) and I'm only 40 pages in. All I'm thinking right now is that everyone involved in the food-stealing plot would have been in a world of hurt.

Forget stealing food! Talking to another recruit in the galley? Without maintaining rigid military bearing? Not maintaining positive control of your tray? Madness!

But I'm loving it so far!

I'll have to keep an eye out for Coastieness when I get to parts involving things that actually matter.

Edit: And also, what is tum te Tum tum, hmmm?



You have to remember, A lot of people who live on Sphinx are Genies and have enhanced metabolisms. The need to eat a lot of food just to stay healthy. HH probably eats double a normal persons calorie intake on a daily basis with her metabolism and workout routine. Also try reading up on what a NFL lineman eats during the season or what a NASCAR driver goes through during a race. NASCAR drivers will in the course of a race, sweat of upwards of 20lbs every race
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Re: Why A Call To Duty is about a USCG acquisition debacle
Post by tpope   » Sat May 30, 2015 10:42 pm

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Walker1790 wrote:Anyway, I'm excited to see the Coast Guard in sci-fi and I can't wait to see how this turns out, even though I'm only ten pages in.


I hope it met your expectations. :-)

The USCG model was very intentional once we started working out the details for how MPARS was organized and operated.

This was the first time I experienced something David's described where a character he's writing about will "surprise him" by doing something unexpected but perfectly reasonable in retrospect.

MPARS started off kind of as a joke (especially given the guy running the show) but over time as we were working through their operational model we realized that they were actually a dedicated, professional organization, hampered by a lot of political grandstanding from the top and a basically nonexistent budget.

They get a few chances to shine in the next book, but I'm afraid the stories are going to remain pretty RMN-centric.

That said, they remain a favorite of mine, and not just because my father was a Coastie.
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