Jonathan_S wrote:Ah, if only it was just the last couple years. Some form of this reuse of captured ships discussion has been going on for 10 years now with occasional input from David Weber. The limitations, drawbacks, (and inferiority to ships the Alliance already has in its reserves) have been well established over those years.
Now none of that means that it's impossible for a for someone to come up with some idea that overcomes or addresses all those known limitations and drawbacks. It just hasn't happened much in the 10 years we've been trying.
(Though to be fair it did take a surprisingly long time, in retrospect, for someone (forget who now; sorry) to point out that the SDs captured at Spindle should have had armories full of small arms and armor compatible with, or even somewhat superior to, that used by most planetary ground forces within the Talbott Quadrent. Making that a ready short term source of additional arms for any expanded Talbott Guard - not to mention pinnaces and assault shuttles to use to support those same forces)
That was me actually; I proposed it for the PRH SD(p)s captured in the Battle of Manticore in giving the armories, pinnances, remaining pods, drones, LACS, and the contents of the hospitals and repair shops to Torch to equip it's growing army and navy in a way that wouldn't become a logistical burden on Manticore - and actually would burden Haven. I (and others who remembered it from the original post) later suggested it for the SDs captured in the Talbot quadrant.
Red Baron, I realize I am probably one of those who your sharp posts are aimed at; You must realize you are jumping into the middle of a nearly 10 year discussion on this topic, and myself and others have tried to bring this to your attention and point you at some of those earlier post threads so you can learn what we have learned over the years through discussion, analysis, and authorial input. And like all lengthy discussions, when one jumps in at the end, one will not always get the full benefit of the conversation, as the other participants are tired of rehashing the conversation, as has happened nearly every month or 2 for the last 10 years.
As far as the forum goes, most of us try to be realistic and logical in our conversations here, and not take personal sides. Many of us are professional engineers and scientists who are quite knowledgeable in our fields, and bring our experience working in business, education, and government to the forums, despite this being a discussion about fiction. It is SCIENCE Fiction after all, and the author has created this universe with a realistic set of rules which are consistent and based on historical examples and generally follow known science.
That being said, you are welcome to - and encouraged - to express your thoughts, but be advised that us veterans will point out any issues, especially on any dead horse subject such as this.
