Fallout's Depiction of the Military

[RetroAmerica]

Though Fallout (1,2, Fallout 3: Van Buren, FNV and Tactics) does a decent job of depicting a wide variety of firearms, it falls down heavily when making reference to the military(structure, organization and operations).

The first big thing I've noticed is that the Fallout series tend to have a very poor understanding of the roles of Officers, NCOs and Enlisted, and their relationship to each other and the chain of command. For instance often times NCO's are referred to as officers(in the case of the Communication's Officer) or when Dead Sea at Nelson gives you the mission to take out the "Officers" and lists both the Communications Corporal and the Supply Sergeant.

Secondly, confusion of services and terminology tends to be common. For example, Army installations are referred to as Bases, rather than the appropriate term "Post". Also, Cannibal Johnson refers to Dornan(who we assume to either be a SFC, a MSG or a 1SG) as a Drill Instructor which is rather confusing as he's never indicated as being a Marine.

Finally, the relationship between different units, corps and commands seems to be totally odd and just sometimes unintelligible. The oddest examples are the Recon and Ranger elements who seem to lack any sort of actual sense of military bearing and discipline. The Rangers are also especially confusing as they started out in Fallout 2 as being something akin to the old British South Africa Police, however they seem to have changed into more of a special forces style unit within the Army, though they at the same time seem to be a distinct service based on certain dialogue.

There are many more examples, but overall I find that Fallout tends to be lacking quite severely when it comes to the military at large and I do hope in future installments that they rectify some of these issues.

 

[DarkCorp]

I always thought is was Army Fort, Airforce Base, Naval Station, and Marine Camp. Camp Lejune, Fort Bragg, etc.

In regards to Rangers (assuming Army Rangers) and Recon, (Marine Force Recon), I think its to demonstrate the NCRs clumsy attempts to adopt and rebuild the old world style. But yea, the light infantry/special forces designations in the game are nowhere near their counterparts in regards to training or discipline.

I will assume the same thing for the old world rank structures that the NCR is trying to adopt. Folks only have a rudimentary understanding of something that, to them, is very ancient.

 

[RetroAmerica]

You're correct that the Army does call them Fort's but Soldiers will say "On Post", "Off Post" etc.

 

[Yamu]

I always just assumed that, since none of the wasteland's military forces are direct descendents of the American military, they had their own jargon, nomenclature, and org charts that were similar to (but distinct from) those of old world America, just as such differences exist today between branches (and, sometimes especially noticeably, between different countries that happen to have descended from a similar military tradition).

It's a little more problematic in the case of The Enclave, as they are the living torchbearers of America's military legacy, but as they were a technically unconstitutional (unless it was amended heavily sometime before 2077) military-industrial cabal and had to adapt to radically different methods of living and operating after the war, it's possible that certain changes were made and/or certain forces consolidated.

 

[naossano]

Not only the war but everything that happens after 1950 is different in the Fallout world and in our world. Even USA aren't composed of states any more.
You can't base yourself on the real-world to expect the same technical word in the Fallout world.

 

[Gizmojunk]

...

I wasn't aware that there was any military at all in Fallout. Everything that I've seen in the series has seemed paramilitary, and in some cases, not better than a gang. These people might have the concept of the army that the kids from Southpark might have had ~there has been no army since 2077 [afaik]; and all their ancestors are mostly deceased.

Not only the war but everything that happens after 1950 is different in the Fallout world and in our world. Even USA aren't composed of states any more. You can't base yourself on the real-world to expect the same technical word in the Fallout world.

This fall-back excuse is not one that I've ever liked or agree with. Everything that happens is not different, a few things that happened are different; and it would seem that some of the known physical laws are slightly irregular in the setting. Fallout made a point of explaining FEV pretty decently ~as sci-fi goes. And aside from a few altered constants in their reality, it mostly conforms to our own; (except culturally).

 

[naossano]

I am not talking about physical laws, but society, regulations.

As far as i know, the laws, brands, models of weapons, artists, presidents, etc... could be very different.
I have zero doubt it could be the same with militaries. Not the same world means not the same world.
At the opposite, i am really bothered when people forget about this and start mentioning real time even, nations or organisations that aren't confirmed to exist in the Fallout world.

 

[DarkCorp]

Well, it could kind of be both in regards to nao and gizmo. The pre-war United States of the Fallout world might have had drastic population differences, which, would affect the amount of soldiers in the military. This in turn would change the composition of our worlds definitions for fireteam/squad/platoon/company/battalion/regiment/brigade. Other things might be effected as well.

For example: A corporal and SGT in the Army AND Marine Corp are considered non-commissioned officers. The officer definition could be very loosely used. They both are able to lead men but due to the branch size, they might also have other responsibilities (reduced if the branch is small or vice versa if the branch is much larger). This would effect the officer class as well I would assume.


It really is a toss-up.

 

[Tagaziel]

Though Fallout (1,2, Fallout 3: Van Buren, FNV and Tactics) does a decent job of depicting a wide variety of firearms, it falls down heavily when making reference to the military(structure, organization and operations).

The first big thing I've noticed is that the Fallout series tend to have a very poor understanding of the roles of Officers, NCOs and Enlisted, and their relationship to each other and the chain of command. For instance often times NCO's are referred to as officers(in the case of the Communication's Officer) or when Dead Sea at Nelson gives you the mission to take out the "Officers" and lists both the Communications Corporal and the Supply Sergeant.

Secondly, confusion of services and terminology tends to be common. For example, Army installations are referred to as Bases, rather than the appropriate term "Post". Also, Cannibal Johnson refers to Dornan(who we assume to either be a SFC, a MSG or a 1SG) as a Drill Instructor which is rather confusing as he's never indicated as being a Marine.

Finally, the relationship between different units, corps and commands seems to be totally odd and just sometimes unintelligible. The oddest examples are the Recon and Ranger elements who seem to lack any sort of actual sense of military bearing and discipline. The Rangers are also especially confusing as they started out in Fallout 2 as being something akin to the old British South Africa Police, however they seem to have changed into more of a special forces style unit within the Army, though they at the same time seem to be a distinct service based on certain dialogue.

There are many more examples, but overall I find that Fallout tends to be lacking quite severely when it comes to the military at large and I do hope in future installments that they rectify some of these issues.

As Yamu points out, the military of the wasteland is not modern U.S. military, so it's completely and utterly irrelevant as to what jargon modern-day U.S. Armed Forces use. Zero. Nada. Zilch. If the NCR Army has less formal relationships between the officers, NCOs, and enlisted personnel, that's because it has less formal relationships, not as a function of a lack of research. If they call supply sergeants and corporal techies officers, that means in the context of the NCRA, the term is used in its more general meaning (person in a position of authority), rather than the narrow military definition of the term.

Furthermore, there is no confusion of services. The NCRA uses its own nomenclature. If a military base under the control of the NCRA is called a Camp, then it's called a Camp. Whatever terms the defunct U.S. Army used well over two centuries ago are completely irrelevant. You might as well argue that modern day U.S. Army has a poor grasp of military affairs, because the Continental Army did things differently.

The same applies to the Enclave as well. The Enclave is not the United States and it's not the United States Armed Forces. If Dornan is a drill instructor, that means he is a drill instructor. Some elements of military culture may have survived in the Enclave's military, but we're talking 160 years of divergent development by a nation state whose Atomic Energy Commission is just a glorified team of engineers handling the oil rig's nuclear reactor.

Finally, the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion and the Rangers have military bearing and discipline, but not of our modern militaries, but of the NCR military, which simply does things differently. The NCR Rangers developed into the special forces (sensu largo) branch of the NCR military and while they remain separate from the Army, they are folded under its tactical command in the theater (formally most of the time, as the Rangers act independently outside major battles). Things evolve.

Bottom line: Don't try to draw parallels between modern militaries and a post-nuclear army that developed in different, unique circumstances out of a grass-roots Republic.