What types of weapons and armor were pre-war US soldiers being equipped with?

[ElloinmorninJ]

When I go through the Sierra Army Depot, I found things like Assault Rifles, Desert Eagles and Combat Armor, ie normal ballistic weapons and traditional armor. But I was under the assumption that pre-war US soldiers used power armors and energy weapons ála the Brotherhood of Steel’s founding members.

You’d think by 2077 ever soldier would have standardized equipment, so what’s up with this?

 

[Atomic Postman]

Sierra Army Depot was just that - a depot. In the middle of bumfuck Nevada. I imagine the laser weapons and cutting edge tech was saved for the frontlines. Even then, they weren't all equipped with Power Armor.

National Guard, Riot Control etc etc probably got ballistics.

There's a lot to suggest that the Fallout world was in a stage of technological transition when the bombs fell. Stuff like Energy Weapons, Power Armor, Microfusion etc was present in the cutting edge but not yet widespread by the time the world ended

 

[ThatZenoGuy]

As I understand it, power armor wasn't 100% of the forces, many people still used combat armor (mk1 and mk2 and such) in battle.

Lasers were commonplace but it would seem pre-war weapons like sniper rifles and combat shotguns were still popular.

 

[f2ongheer]

If Operation Anchorage is any guide power armored troops had their own units while regular grunts made do with old fashion ballistic weapons and armor.

 

[ThatZenoGuy]

If Operation Anchorage is any guide power armored troops had their own units while regular grunts made do with old fashion ballistic weapons and armor.

Anchorage is possibly 100% manufactured propaganda, or fairly accurate, sadly we just cannot know for sure.

 

[ElloinmorninJ]

If Anchorage is propaganda why do they show US soldiers committing war crimes like executing unarmed, surrendering soldiers? Shouldnt that have been edited out

 

[Atomic Postman]

If Anchorage is propaganda why do they show US soldiers committing war crimes like executing unarmed, surrendering soldiers? Shouldnt that have been edited out

Considering the first thing we see of the Fallout world is an American soldier executing a surrendered Canadian resistance member on the evening news as propaganda itself, it's safe to say that America's cultural attitudes as of the Resource Wars didn't care much for rules of engagement.

 

[ThatZenoGuy]

If Anchorage is propaganda why do they show US soldiers committing war crimes like executing unarmed, surrendering soldiers? Shouldnt that have been edited out

Considering the first thing we see of the Fallout world is an American soldier executing a surrendered Canadian resistance member on the evening news as propaganda itself, it's safe to say that America's cultural attitudes as of the Resource Wars didn't care much for rules of engagement.

Atomic points it out pretty well.

By the war, Americans don't really care about war crimes.

Strictly speaking in war, most people don't, its kill or be killed, and those guys are the baddies, so kill em however you want.

Especially as the propaganda serves to dehumanize the chinese, their leader in the simulation is a joke. XD

 

[Risewild]

If Anchorage is propaganda why do they show US soldiers committing war crimes like executing unarmed, surrendering soldiers? Shouldnt that have been edited out

Isn't it the opposite, Chinese soldiers executing American soldiers that are tied up?

 

[ElloinmorninJ]

Isn't it the opposite, Chinese soldiers executing American soldiers that are tied up?

That happens, but while playing you're forced to kill a chinese engineer that's unarmed and seemingly trying to surrender

 

[Risewild]

Ah, the chinese technicians.

There's only 2 Chinese Technicians in the DLC. They're located in the comms center (listening post). They're both armed with chinese assault rifles. They will call for reinforcements if they reach ham radios and will not try to surrender. If attacked they will fight back or have a chance of running away.
They're not hostile to the player though, and will continue to work as normal if left alone (still helping the chinese!). So yeah, you have to wipe them out.

 

[Atomic Postman]

Still, wouldn't be uncharacteristic for the Fallout US to openly show and even promote executions of the enemy

 

[ThatZenoGuy]

Still, wouldn't be uncharacteristic for the Fallout US to openly show and even promote executions of the enemy

FO1 intro? Where they execute two surrendered Canadians?

 

[Atomic Postman]

FO1 intro? Where they execute two surrendered Canadians?

That's why I said wouldn't be uncharacteristic

 

[ThatZenoGuy]

That's why I said wouldn't be uncharacteristic

Sorry, I'm retarded, I didn't see the "n't" somehow...I just woke up.

 

[Iprovidelittlepianos]

If Anchorage is propaganda why do they show US soldiers committing war crimes like executing unarmed, surrendering soldiers? Shouldnt that have been edited out

From the Virtual Strategic Solutions Terminal:

“Entry 0540

Sim back up and running after another few days of changes. Chase is running everyone ragged, making tweaks here and there. The sim is, without any shadow of a doubt, divorced from reality. I've never seen the classified military reports, but some of the stuff Chase has added to the sim? There's no way it happened like that. Version 7-36-099 was scrapped after Chase decided his face didn't look just right. I realize progress reports aren't the place for this, but there are concerns that the man is losing it. No one confronts him because everyone is scared. After West-Tek dropped off the grid, there were lots of rumors about the military commandeering private contractors, and no one wants to give Chase a reason to do that here. But really, what's the point in running this sim over and over and over? Any tactical data was mined months ago.”

Operation Anchorage wasn’t necessarily propaganda, just the result of a self-obsessed military general that was slowly losing his sanity being put in charge of creating a combat simulation.

 

[ThatZenoGuy]

IIRC the chinese "tanks" never existed as they exist in the simulation.