Reserve Duty

[Spartan159]

How many terms is reserve duty? Life Stage 9 age 66?

 

[Reban]

I posted about this in the errata discussion thread the other day:

Okay this version of the rules is clearer on the matter of Reserves than the last with one major exception.

When a character leaves a military career he is in the Reserves.

What is not explicitly stated anywhere that I can see is that the character remains with the reserves until Life Stage 9 (inferred from the table on p.48) when they retire from the reserves and start receiving a Reserve Pension.

It's important to understand that a character remains in the Reserves for this period because at anytime "characters in the Reserves (from participation in OTC/NOTC, or Service Academy) who roll an unmodified 2 exactly do not continue in the current career, but return to their military career for the next term, at their previous rank."

Somewhere in the text it should say "a character who leaves a military career is automatically in the reserves until retirement at Life Stage 9 when he/she receives a Reserve Pension".

Which brings up another question. Can you resign from (or be cashiered from) the Reserves?

If so this would explain how "Cashing out" on p.51 applies to a Reserve pension. It would also avoid the possibility of being reactivated in a military career if they player wants to avoid that possibility.

(Probably a lot of the above applies to other pensions and careers but I'm specifically interested in the Reserves).

So yes I think it's supposed to be until Life Stage 9 from comparison with other pensionable activities.

But it needs to be stated in the text.

 

[Spartan159]

I posted about this in the errata discussion thread the other day:



So yes I think it's supposed to be until Life Stage 9 from comparison with other pensionable activities.

But it needs to be stated in the text.

I missed that, thanks for the heads up. And I agree that it needs to be stated, although can you see Captain Jamieson being recalled 2 days before his 66th birthday? Could a player retiring from a service state that they are joining the reserves and be eligible for the pension at 66 on top of retirement?

 

[Reban]

Based on the real world it should probably work out as:

For each term served in the Military serve one (or two or three whatever is appropriate to the OTU) in the Reserves.



Can I see a 66 year old being recalled two days before his birthday?

Maybe....

If the Military was more bureaucratic than sensible.

If the individual had some special skill or knoweledge.

If the GN has a plan :devil:

But in game? There wouldn't be a practical effect because retirement would kick in wouldn't it?



I like the idea that "if you serve a term with the Colours you must serve X terms with the Reserves".

Training troops is slow and expensive, you don't want to let that trained article (the soldier/sailor) go.

In game I like the simplicity of staying in the Reserves till retrirement, it fits well with my idea of a Georgian or Victorian military mindset in Traveller.

I like the idea of being able to resign and cash out with five years pension too.

I can explain away the long commitment to the Reserves using real world example where a newly demobbed soldier might spend two terms with the Class A Reserve, doing perhaps a week or a month a year training and keeping skills refreshed, then going to the Class B and having a lesser commitment of perhap one kit parade a year, then on to the Class C or the Inactive list, liable to be called out for home defense in case of war.