The Morrow Project Agro Team: By: Tim McFadden Author2C@aol.com (authors note: the following is mostly a setup for NPC teams, the other guys that the PC's in Recon and MARS teams are helping. However, running an Agro team in the canon timeline could be an interesting challenge for a group of players, improvising and adapting since many of the resources they have are of little initial value in the +150 years environment of the game). In proposal Alfa, approximately 3/5 of all teams are Agro teams, combining civil affairs and reconstruction duties with the other teams supporting them. Their setup is based on a number of assumptions: 1: They will be awakened 3-5 years after the war. 2: At that point, most of those who were actually farmers will probably be dead. Farmers are a dispersed population in possession of one of the most valuable commodities in a post-holocaust environment- food. This makes them vulnerable to looters, refugees and local power seekers alike. 3-5 years after the war, most farmers will be refugees who undertook farming to survive and are learning as they go. 3: The Crop Gap: Many key seeds and stock animals will have disappeared- either consumed for survival, spoiled by bomb damage or poisoned by radiation. Also, many farmers rely on non- propagating hybrids, which mean that without an outside source of seed, they have no second year crop to plant. 4: Everyone, farmers and non-farmers alike, will have to use methods which are not in general use or general knowledge, because the resources for conventional farming- fertilizer, fuel for agricultural machinery, pesticides and hybrid seeds- are no longer available. Initially, farming will have to be organic, low tech and labor intensive. 5: The locals will have little or no food to spare- all MP teams will need to be able to feed themselves off their own supplies for at least a year. ACTIVATION: Agro Teams will be left in criosleep until their local Recon team has done the initial area survey, locating local communities, resources and possible threats. If possible, teams will be awakened in March, giving them time to contact the locals and distribute the initial resources before spring planting. The Agro team will work with from 1-3 communities, locating itself on neutral ground if working with a number of communities or adjacent to the local community if working with only one. A Dragon individual basic load and a Stinger Individual basic load are included to give the team some antitank and antiair defense, but if attacked, the team is to fort up and radio for help from the Recon and MARS teams. Upon wakeup, the team will set up their initial base with their bolthole supplies, which include mines, barbed wire and other materials for fortifying their base of operations. Their vehicles are designed to be as non- threatening as possible. Their base should be on defensible terrain, preferably with some useful buildings, with it's own source of water and access to roads and, if possible, railroads. STANDARD AGRO TEAM, PROPOSAL ALFA: 6-8 personnel 1 XR-311 w/quarter ton trailer 1 Commando Ranger w/quarter ton trailer 1 Airscout Base Cache Supplies 2 cases- demolition packs, M18a1 claymores 1 mp demolition kit 12 100 meter rolls- agricultural barbed wire. 8 ration packs 1 Dragon IBL 1 Stinger IBL 1 electric chainsaws w/30m ext. cord 1 Type 1 Welding laser 1 fusion pack 5 cases each- M25 toe popper mines, M16a1 bouncing betties. 10 cases- M19 AT mines. 8 2.75 inch rockets PROCEDURE: Prime wakes up the agro teams after the initial survey by the area recon team. Following weapons loadout, the agro team chooses a location for a Base Camp. The Base Camp must be centrally located for as many local communities as possible, be in a defensible location and have its own water source. The Base Camp is then fortified using the base cache supplies. 3 Type Alfa Caches 3 Type Bravo Caches ALFA CACHE: Agro Support- intended as the initial caches opened. 2 multifuel rototillers w/attachments for generating electricity and pumping water. MP bulk ration packages- 5 gallon containers of dehydrated bulk foods- eggs, potatoes, etc- sufficient for 3 months supply for the team. 20 4 gallon containers of the following seeds: (all non-hybrid, useable as seed stock) Corn, beans, peas, wheat, oats, barley and/or rye, soybeans 6 1 gallon containers of each of the following seeds: Carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, turnips, radishes, squash/melons/gourds (various) 1 drug kit 1 large medkit 1 case each: 9mm, 5.56mm, 5.56mm linked, 22 long rifle, 12g, 7.62 NATO, M26 fragmentation grenades, M34 WP grenades, claymores Mixed case: 24 grenades, 6 each- BZ, CN-DM, HE, CS. 2 HAFLA 35L 2 ArmBursts 4 2.75 inch rockets 3 cases- .50 caliber BRAVO CACHE: Only to be opened after shelter and animal fodder sources have been secured. Caches each have their own power supply. Limited resupply of team members and vehicle maintenance is also anticipated. STOCK ANIMALS IN CRIOSLEEP: All animals are of multiuse breeds. Cattle, for instance, are from breeds useable for both meat and milk. Goats are of varieties which can provide wool, milk and meat. Etc. All large stock animals are female and pregnant. 3 each: cows, horses, pigs 5 each- goats, sheep 10 rabbits 100 eggs- chicken (various breeds) 50 eggs- duck (domestic) turkey (wild) Frozen sperm for inseminating large stock animals. Frozen saplings, 30 each, of 5 different types of fruit trees appropriate to the area- apple, pear, peach, plum, cherry, pawpaw, persimmon. 50 cuttings- grape vines, mixed varieties 50 cuttings- strawberries, raspberries. MP Bulk Rations to feed team for 3 months. 1 drug kit 1 large medkit 1 fusion pack w/electric chainsaw 2 tires, 1 vehicle maintenance kit for Commando Ranger/XR-311 1 individual basic load (random) 2 personal loads 8 cases-.50 cal. 1 case each- 5.56, 5.56mm linked, 7.62, 9mm, 12g, M-26 frag grenades, M-34 WP, claymores 4 2.75 inch rockets 2 Hafla 35L 2 ArmBursts 4 rolls- barbed wire, 100m length. TEAM SKILLS AND TRAINING: The teams' abilities go beyond simply planting and harvesting crops. Procedures were worked out, complete with "how-to" guides and manuals, for making various technologies with locally available materials. Team members were also trained in these procedures. They include (but are not limited to-) METHANE POWER SYSTEMS: making methane gas from a variety of sources (decomposing garbage, human and animal waste, etc) then utilizing it to power engines, heat buildings and generate electricity. STEAM POWER: building working steam engines for various functions. WIND POWER SYSTEMS: making windmills and the necessary support machinery for generating electricity, pumping water, grinding grain, etc. HYDRO POWER SYSTEMS: using water power, usually by damming a source of flowing water, tho existing sources of water may also be used. Low to Hi Tech hydro power, for anything from running a sawmill and a grain mill, to generating electricity. BASIC CHEMISTRY: Using locally available plants and materials to make up medicines, explosives, glue, fuel, etc. BASIC MINING: Finding local sources of coal, salt and other minerals and mining them safely. BASIC METALLURGY: making up alloyed metals like brass and bronze, working in those metals as well as steel and iron, casting, forging and hardening procedure. FOOD PRESERVATION: Canning, drying, smoking and salting procedures for most foods. Includes procedures for using locally available jars for canning purposes and for turning the hides of slaughtered animals into useable leather. ORGANIC FARMING: variety of procedures for making and utilizing natural fertilizers, insect control, composting, irrigation and plants which function as natural insect repellants.