SharkHunter wrote:Given that another thread on this subject went bad in a hurry, but started with an interesting "Honorverse" question, I'd like to restart the thought processes on training standards with an assertion, and see where it goes.
Given the variability of humans in the HonorVerse, [consider Palane and HH compared to Susan Hibson or Iris Babcock, or Hugh Arai, Tomas Martinez or Mateo Gutierrez compared to just about anybody else], it's obvious that brute strength isn't the comparative limiting factor on who joins, who washes out, an who stays. It's also obvious that "smart and willing to be deadly" are core requirements.
So what creates the "low bar" for entry/washout and what separates the accepted into further training from the wannabees, and thence up to "first tier" level in terms of unit fighting skills?
It depends on what you need, I imagine. Someone you're going to put through the full Marine rigor - all that training, all that specialized equipment, where what you need is a few good bipeds... you'll want people that meet very high standards, whatever the set is. Note both the "few" and the "good" there.
For the Army, where equipment per person is less specialized and maybe less expensive, and where transport per person is not so limited, you won't need "good" nearly so much (and the specific dimensions of "good" will vary, too) and you don't want "few" - you want an ARMY! Chances are you're looking for personnel there less suited to intense, aggressive, small-scale combat and more to long-term, routine-plus-sudden-violence rugged police activities. If you're recruiting for the Solarian Gendarmerie, you've got such a need for bodies and such standards for "ruggedness" that reasonably stable, obedient thugs will do. The low bar there is going to be pretty much obedience, a willingness to get assertive with the target population, and no exceptional health issues. For the Royal Manticoran Army, the low bar is a lot higher - it's going to include having no significant chance of creating incidents while you're doing your police work, and an easy technical competence with the gear you've got as force multipliers.
I figure the high strength of various genies (high grav natives particularly) is regarded as a net nice extra among the Marines more than anything else. When it comes to unassisted melee mayhem or brute-force damage control, they've got an edge - and it will come to that only rarely but not never. (Faster reflexes are likely more useful more often, but I imagine those are more widely shared.) In return, they need to eat, eat, eat more, eat often. Their performance will plunge if they can't get their munchies - something that may happen only rarely but not never.
