Archive through March 16, 2026
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Prime Directive RPG: Background: Star Fleet Medical Corps:
Archive through March 16, 2026
Don't forget the Search and Rescue and Medical skids available.
From R11:
(R1.68I) SEARCH AND RESCUE SKID: Most colonial system governments eventually obtained one of these SAR (Search and Rescue) skids. Sometimes it was combined with a police skid (and sometimes an additional skid) on a podless freighter to produce a “space guard” ship (very common in systems with dozens of mining stations and plenty of money), but most SAR skids were kept in storage to avoid the cost of continuous operations. The Federation Police Service kept several pod-less freighters in storage (one per province) with a combination of SAR, medical, and other skids for emergency operations.
(R1.68K) MEDICAL SKID: Skids of this type were maintained mostly by governments. Some were stored so they could be quickly added to any available freighter, while a few were kept as part of pod-less freighters (combined with SAR and other skids) as regional emergency ships. Wealthier colonial systems (with mining stations on a hundred moons and asteroids) might have a skid of this type in storage for emergencies, such as an outbreak of some disease, natural disaster, or engineering catastrophe. This could be used to minimize the risk of further contagion by keeping the medical personnel and patients isolated. In any case, the medical personnel were not kept on board waiting for an emergency, but were borrowed from local hospitals when needed.
Mike Grafton:
The trucks (50 of them) was in the source data and is the estimate of weight for all of the things a MASH. Unit needed to function.
First, not all worlds a Federation Star Fleet MASH unit might get sent to will gave a breathable atmosphere. So what ever tent/shelters need to be able supply life support for a variety of conditions.
Plus, you might have overlooked a few items.
With up to 157 personnel assigned, they will need 157 cots or beds or pallets etc. then the sixty patients each need a bed.
The staff include a mechanized dept. actually, a rather versatile one, as trucks, tanks APC command vehicles might be present from time to time during operations, as well as at least one landing area for shuttles or skiffs, landing boats etc. just about any thing in the Federation inventory of equipment. So, we will need to check with SVC, but it is possible that we might need a deck crew or two to staff the motor pool.
There needs to be a mess hall and a mobile kitchen to feed the 157+60=217 bodies that a MASH is. Yeah, you might try MRE(meals ready to eat) but what about the injured patients who may/probably will require individual meals depending on their injuries.
There are laboratory requirements that do not just disappear because you forgot to list them…we have staff assigned to conduct such research… perhaps you can talk SVC out of having a requirement for such… but that has not happened yet.
What about an armorer or weapons specialist?
Some patients (particularly in a combat situation) might be brought into the MASH still armed. Having a person trained and able to receive, document and (assuming the patient can be healed and returned to their combat unit) repair such equipment would be a requirement.
Some personnel might be granted private quarter. The Officer in command, a chaplain might need a private tent to hear confidential conversations with patients or service personnel.
Might need a quarter master stores place. Wounded people may require a new or at least a clean uniform. Might need replacement for lost equipment .
Lots of thing you didn’t mention in your post.
And we haven’t even talked about possible restrictions on National Guard unit deployments. Is it legal for the Federation to deploy a MASH unit to a human populated colony in the Romulan neutral zone? What if its only in wartime? Does that mean in peace time that a MASH type unit is barred from helping accident victims in a large scale mining accident on a neutral zone world?
I hope you will continue to help with the process, I know you have knowledge and some great ideas, but we haven’t even defined all of the attributes of these SFU MASH units yet.
"...trucks... in the source data " which assumes transporters are present?
"a breathable atmosphere. " and why exactly can[t patients be transported indoors. One assumes that the Guard would have thought about that in advance and had inflatable buildings that just needed utilities. They come with atmospheric handlers, lights, etc. built in.
"cots or beds or pallets " 3 d printers are mentioned in my post.
"the motor pool." nah. You just have the marines drive any needed ground vehicles. Repair aboard ship by the engineering department.
"a mess hall and a mobile kitchen" why exactly would you not just transporter down hot chow from the ships?
"laboratory requirements" I talk about "a half dozen big ole diagnostic scanners" What else you want?
>armorer or weapons specialist" you have a bunch of Marines who can do that. Confiscate and transport them to a ship who can stare them,
"private quarter..." Nah. I put up an entire USMC battalion in a "Circus tent" with the bunks 18" apart in Khandahar 2004 literally 25 yaRDS INSIDE THE WIRE.. The CO slept along side his men. As did the Sergeant Major, Chaplain and the rest. Did have a screened off area for the women. Basically a tarp airlock so the lance corporals wouldn't ogle the women folk getting changed. Field built potties held one "customer" per stall. 1 stall per 30 Marines. Separate showers were shower tent things that came in a container and just needed a level place to erect, electric, diesel for the water heaters, water supply and a way to cache the 'Grey water.'
"quarter master stores " In orbit.
Deployment re3strictions? SVC call. I can tell you in Bagram 2005 we had a bitter NG unit as our MASH. In tents. The chief nurse was a LTC (I called her Peach Blossom) of the NJ National Guard and she was a treat. "What you'se doing in my F***ing hospital? "Won't be mobilized unless tanks are rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue my sweet rosy A%%,,,"
True story" winter 2005/2006 i get this terrible head cold where I am completely blocked up.. So my boss (Retired AUSA LTC "Rip A) says why don't you go to sick call? I;m kinda foggy so I say OK and my TCN "Kushi Mohammed" drives me over. Go into the clinic and get in line (No TCNs allowed inside unless seriously hurt). LTC "Peach blossom" Comes out of her spot doing triage and walks to me at the end of the line and says, "Honey, you having trouble breathing? why don't you comes inside?" NO ONE says anything about me cutting ahead of 30+ servicemen. We go inside and Dr Ngyen (A chubby Irish looking girl) says OK Lets lay him out and "irrigate him with a sinus lavage." I'm pretty foggy so I don't pick up on the team that grabs me by the arms, legs, hips, shoulders and holds my head still so they can tilt the cot so I am head down. just before they shove tube up in my head and basically waterboard me. Mass quantities of nasty solidified "stuff" is flushed out, All over my face and into my hair. Then they sit me up and I honk out the rest of the stuff. Not 5 minutes later I'm feeling 500%better. I ask "why did you come get me?" LTC P says "Your lips were blue..." And I ask Dr Nygun why she didn't look Vietnamese adn she yolf me her husband did...
Ah.., ya.
No.
About the only thing we agree on, is it is SVC call to make.
Mike, most of your points assume that there is a ship or ships in continuous orbit of what ever planet a MASH might get deployed to.
Point #1. MASH units need to be able to function independently of ships from time to time, perhaps for days or a week or more. This is for a variety of reasons including enemy attack. the ships are needed to fight, and the battle location does not have to be at the same place the MASH is deployed to. Oh, sure, there might be a garrison ship assigned, but again, it might be called on to respond to something in the same star system.
Point #2. You assume soldiers (marines were mentioned by you…) will be present to attend to transportation needs (aka motor pool),
Normally I would defer to your judgement, but it should be pointed out that for cases where the MASH is deployed in coordination with FEM (Federation Emergency Management) there likely will not be any soldiers, marines, police, or national guard present.
In fact, if the emergency is dealing with infectious disease, the fewer personnel deployed would be better than large numbers of people with guns.
Unless the plague is a Zombie incident… 
I will try to put this delicately, a MASH motor pool will be needed to service, repair and maintain far more than the single truck that you imply might be present.
Patients will be brought to the MASH in any vehicles available, that includes tanks, APC, command vehicles, modular couriers, skiffs, security skiffs, admin shuttles, GAS, yachts (presumably federalized for military service) bus shuttles, free traders, prime traders as well as those individuals transported by ships or (assuming something equipped with a transporter) and assuming there are self defense sats in orbit with functioning transporter repeaters.
These vehicles might have battle damage, and if there are no ground bases on the planet, the only place where emergency repairs could be made is the MASH.
That was why I mentioned the possibility that the assigned personnel in the MASH might have a deck crew or two assigned.
Same logic pertains to security. The MASH should have some, if only to provide sentries and to maintain order. Could one or more individuals act as an armorer? Certainly, but the idea that any random soldier from a different unit should be responsible for any weapons brought in with wounded patients is ridiculous. There is no formal assigned responsibility that could be in place for bystanders, no chain of custody if any tom, dick or harry randomly gets tasked, and there for, no way to hold individuals accountable for mistakes or failures.
So, as for cots or beds, your solution is to require an industrial replicator or 3 d printer able to fabricate objects over 6 feet long, perhaps 24 inches tall, and may be 24 inches wide? No doubt larger to make tables, chairs and other necessary objects?
We have not decided about how power is to be generated to support a MASH, and now you want to nonchalantly assign a manufacturing capacity to the MASH? I am sure some energy will needed, but how much, what types? Electricity, almost certainly. Other types of anergy might be needed? What kindsAnd why? Hasn’t been discussed yet.
Point#3. Mess hall, mobile kitchen.
Sigh. Again, the ships move, might not be back for days. So your solution is for the personnel to eat MRE or starve?
Again, MASH units could be deployed in places other than combat zones. There might not be other military units on the planet. Having an ability to survive is required, and yes, if ships are present, they could support the MASH…. But there is no guarantee. Besides, even if a ship is in orbit, it does not mean it can, by itself, feed an infinite number of people. Where in STAR TREK canon does it say any ship can feed a planetary population? Or any sufficient amount? Sure, I could see ten or a dozen meals, perhaps even a hundred, but can it feed a thousand people a day three meals a day? For how long? A week? A month? A year?
Point#4 quarter master stores. Same as above, might have to deal with refugees, who will need all sorts of things, blankets and shoes etc. if the ship is not there, is major problem.
It should also be pointed out that there is no promise that the MASH would only serve the needs of injured Humans. There are eleven other major races in the federation, and I forget how many minor races. It can get complicated.
But that is why we have this topic, to provide the background information for fiction writers.
On the food front, IF "rely on ships for critical stores" was put in place during a period of cost cutting, it would go away the first time an ion storm forced the ship to leave orbit, a not uncommon problem in TOS.
1) You ARE going to have a ship there. At least at first. How else will the darn MASH get there? Also modern MASh and the equivalent are tied to a military logistic system that brings their stuff... And unless they are "Red Cross brassard medic they have sidearms.
2) Power? Mr Fusion. (tm)
3) NG MASH units can drag along some NG infantry if you can't depend on the POL or Starfleet to provide Marines.
4) I'd like to hear SVC opine on how long it takes to set a "Small ground base" into place. IIRC it has to be "tractor landed?
5) If you need to dispense with the ships in orbit, you can posit some darn DefSats, Heck, I'd bet there are transporter relay defsat replacements that are a lot cheaper & easier to emplace/ use than defsats. Not least because they don't have to support weapons, EW and stealth. Every colony planet is going to have some of these.
6) MREs? Yeah. Or food replicators. I've lived on austere bases where we got one hot meal a day (SSG Matthewson in his tiny little mobile kitchen.) Breakfast was basically famopus amos muffins or MRE stuff if you didn't want any marmite can scrambled eggs (make your own toast & Coffee). Lunch was lukewarm bulk chow (like spaghetti or chili mac) while supper was served assembly line style. Khilleghai didn't even have bunks or tents with floors when I was there setting up the repair shop (3 Indian mechanics & an American one out of a FRSH) along with the POL & Hazmat facilities. 2 weeks. Did have a cool roommate though, retired Gunny Sge "Elmer" of USMC force recon was the guy who went out and trained the ANP and ANA.
7) Supplies? Dunno what you want that can't be replicated. Shuttle down a few connex with a standard load of supplies. Maybe 1 guy has the keys. It's sealed in a warehouse somewhere (kind of like what we have a Diego Garcia or APS/ POMCUS) it gets audited when it it gets turned back in.
8) If this is a serious disaster/ scene you are going to have a parade of civilian ships coming and going... MV Dumpster brings a small ground base. FT Itchy Maru brings along connexes of stuff, any needed vehicles, etc.
9) You seem to be assuming the high tech just ain't there.
10) As for Mass feeding of the locals you are now in the realm of needing a Large free trader delivering a load of chow daily. And I'm going to say that if there is mass famine you are going to be grateful to get a MRE once a day.
true story. Khandahar was being guarded by Marines who lived in perimeter foxholes when I arrived. The outer wire was a single roll of concertina with foxholes every couple hundred meters. One day a USAF Security Force unit is assigned to take over perimeter duties. So Barry (my superintendent) and I wander over to see the handover at the foxhole about 50 yards from our trailer. USAF guys get out of their HMMWV and say we got it. "Man this is a nice foxhole, it has range markers, fields of fire stakes, the step, grenade sumps, hardwires for your radios,..." 3 Marines says, "yeah, it's all yours. We'll even leave our sleeping bag since we are getting on a plane this evening." "Wait, where are are your airconditioned tents?" "Tents? We sleep in the hole." "We don't sleep in holes. Well, where are the other sleeping bags?" LCPL says "We don't have our OWN sleeping bags; we hot bunk." USAF do not like this.
MASH implies Mobile. You are3 going to want the smallest compliment and amount of stuff to get started. USS Snuggle Bunk is the regional Hospital ship and will be there soonish. The Mash is supposed to be there asap, get working ASAP, and be replaced ASAP. Even on the TriVee show patients mostly got stabilized and shipped off to higher tier medical
My basic point is that you are working to get UP fast and dirty.
Just like when I was a firefighter; whoo woo to the scene, bust down any doors in our way (by the way, some rich people have incredibly strong doors) Crewl around doing our search; sorry about your furniture that get damaged by my pike pole or axe, etc. Later we'd use wetvacs to get the worst of the water out if we saVed the house INSTEAD OF JUST THE FOUNDATION). Tarps over stuff, fans to bloe out the smoke Board up windows with plastic sheeting. You have three basic phases, Supression(emergency actions to save lives and stop the fire), Salvage & Overhaul, and recovery (roll up he hoses, wash the trucks, refill the SCBA cylinders, clean the masks, refuel & restock the apparatus.
Same as paramedic work. If grandma isn't breathing like I want she gets intubated; nasally if she was conscious; then she gets bag valve ventilated with 100%O2 ss fast as needed to get her sat up. IVs hurt, especially the big 12 or 14 gauge ones for serious fluid flow. It ain't pretty, but it is an emergency and speed is crucial. I am proud to have never lost a patient (Some were dead dead when I arrived, some were dead, resuscitated and died later at the hospital) under my care.
Mike, this is all wonderful information, and no doubt much of it will be used.
Your problem here is your scope is too small.
Yes, the discussion has focused on MASH units, but the subject matter is “Star Fleet Medical Corps.” Not MASH units.
The original premise (at least in my case) was to identify areas where Star Fleet Medical Corps personnel fit into the whole United Federation of Planets>StarFleet>Major,Minor,Colony planets>Bases(Star Bases, Battlestations,Base Stations,SAMs,Compl) and both Police and Merchant Marine assignments.
We started talking about MASH units because it is not necessarily as simple as you seem to think it is.
Yes, there is the nature of emergency response, but there is also how it interacts with the bureaucracy (which is why there is such a thing as FEM(Federation Emergency Management).
And while I know you have years of experience under your belt, the major point of the exercise is to develop a narrative for aspiring writers to use so they “are on the same page” as the rest of Star Fleet Battles universe.
Oh, and to your point about having the MASH “drag along some NG infantry”… on the face of it, does not seem workable or plausible.
That would put NG infantry (definitely some enlisted soldiers, likely a few NCO’s and a very junior officer) under the direct command of the MASH Commanding Officer.
We haven’t actually talked about the criteria used in officer selection, but if you are suggesting that combat troops should be assigned to the MASH, that is a VERY different thing to my understanding of how a MASH in Star Fleet operates.
No doubt SVC will decide.
I can tell you in the real world (today in the US), Military Medical Officers (Doctors, Nurses, Medical Service Corps, etc) can and will give orders to "Combat branch" troops of lower rank. Major Doctor Susie isn't going to be out by the gate saying "put the barriers like so, and a crew weapon there... She is going to say "Secure the gate." The infantry/ Marines will figure out the details.
You think the Local Hospital CO has his own Medical Security Police? Nope, they get assigned MPs from the local MP unit. And yeah, a LTC Nurse is going to be able to tell Sergeant Snuffy to secure those weapons, have his squad guard the perimeter, put that guy in irons so we can get to work..."
True story, I was having lunch with LTC Peach Blossom and I said something like "I bet you wish you could be armed all the time back in Jersey." And she said she couldn't wait to get rid of the motherf***ing thing. But within the barriers (her hospital was basically everything inside a square made out of "Texas barriers") with a front gate for ambulances and a back gate to the helipad what she said goes.
She was the queen of her hospital; even the doctors let her run the "show" making sure the Vets had their operation squared away, the medevac people were alert and had a crew ready to pile on a chopper at 6 minutes notice, the supply dinks had inventory all 5 by 5... Military doctors do NOT want to be in charge of auditing supplies, "shelf life" programs for meds, making sure the local base has the place on backup power, the roads get de-iced, garbage goes away in the right way (it's more complicated than you think), the chow hall has food stored properly...
By the way you know vets are still a thing in the Military? And they do a lot more than just make sure Fido has his shots. And there are Military Industrial Hygienists?
And barriers? Jersey barriers are the crotch/ waist high ones you see along the freeway; Texas barriers are 12 foot tall ones used as perimeters with concertina on top. Alaska barriers (aka Bremer walls) are something like 20 feet high. You aren't going to climb over these things with a ordinary ladder or bust trough it with a pickup truck.
Since I was the HSE guy for AECOM for the entirety of Afghanistan for a while I had to be in on all kinds of random stuff. Which was perfect for nosy ole me. My "program directors" & military people were overjoyed to assign me to make stuff happen. It's called delegation.
True story LTC F was XO of the 401st ASFB (the largest in the US Military at the time) and she was an Engineering Corps reserve officer. And she would routinely order me to represent her at meetings. one day she says, "Go to the base facility board meeting and veto that Sewage treatment plant proposal because..." So i go and tell a Brigader General she is vetoing his siting plan. General is irked and orders me to get in his HMMWV with his aide to see the site. I am NOT allowed to explain why. So we get there and it's dusty plot with a single strand of barbed wire, shin high" around it. gust wind blows the aides cap off into the area. So he hops the fence to chase it down. i am STUNNED andit takes a few seconds before i shout MINEFIELD. aide freezes. General says how do I know this? I say, minefields are marked with barb wire. Where are the little triangle signs? People steal them for souvenirs.
So I call the mine clearance & UXO office and speak to USMC Sgt Thibedeaux (voted 2nd best looking woman in Bagram after Tiffany the ATC girl)... She yells at "That F***ing Major" that another idiot has wandered out into a minefield. 20 minutes later "That f***ing Major" (Australian UXO guy) arrived in his beat up generic highlux with no doors and the glass busted out. He is wearing shorts, a tee with the sleeves torn off, a non standard "Aussie" hat with a comically wide brim, camel back, and boots sans socks. He says 'What a dumb C***' General is irked. "Mate, I'm going to go get his f***ing dumb C*** A**, I can call him whatever I want. Jet me get my equipment." Which is a pointy stick and a can of spray paint. He crawls out there probing every inch of his path marking every suspicious hard lump under the surface. and then brings that poor aide gfuy back still probing every inch. Something like an hour and a half in blazing afghan heat. Aide has no water or hat is done for..
I'll reserve my story about ':minefield proofing" for another day..
I think we have talked enough about MASH units for now.
Just to remind everyone (and to let Mike Grafton know about it be cause he usually doesn’t read the archives… (Just a little fun, Mike! )
Quote: “ 4. Transitional hospitals, used to house wounded personnel too seriously wounded personnel unable to be healed by MASH units soon enough to be returned to combat assignments. Said wounded soldiers have to be billeted somewhere while waiting transport. ”
So, how does the Federation (and particularly Star Fleet Medical) handle rehabilitation services, and this is assuming that transportation for wounded soldiers, crewmen, and flight personnel (National Guard, Star Fleet and Star Fleet Marine pilots/deck crews) injured in combat where there is not an adjacent facility (say in the star system) to where the injury occurred and where an emergency medical provider (MASH, Police Cutter, FEM or civilian ship or base) provided immediate medical care, but cannot provide rehabilitation services for the volume of injured patients.
In WW2 and Korea, these sort of support services were not located in the area of combat such as after D-Day, 6/6/1944, wounded patients were evacuated The United Kingdom, and scheduled for transportation back to the United States (or Canada for Canadian soldiers.). Transportation often was converted cruise ships (Cunard lines Queen Mary or Queen Elizabeth, for example).
In Korea, it could have been troop ships, routed from Japan to Pearl Harbor or a west Coast facility, Bremerton,WA. Or San Fransisco
To be honest, my first thought was these transitional bases just might be provisional Planetary Defense Battalion clones where in stead of three ground base phaser four stations, substitute three science ground modules configured to act as patient wards… each with some stated capacity of beds for patients waiting for transportation.
Does anyone have a suggestion about bed capacity? Staffing?
The reason I am leaning towards using a PDU battalion template is it is already in the game. Why invent something new, when SVC has already given us the basic structure?
One bonus, if we use a PDB structure, all we need to do is swap out the fighters in the hangers for admin shuttles/ shuttle ambulances to handle the transfer to whatever ship gets assigned to carry the patients back to civilization.
The military garrison ground base would be retained for housing staff.
Not sure why a Ground warning ground station would be rtained, unless the location is beyond the boundaries of the Federation, such as happened during the Alliance invasions of the Klingon and Romulan home worlds during the General War. The reason for keeping it, is the special sensor would allow extended range for subspace communications back to Federation territory.
Any other ideas?
From CL54:
In orbit around Vega IX is the Star Fleet Recovery Hospital, the premier medical facility of the Federation military, specializing in the most difficult rehabilitation cases using special null-gravity wards.
The planet is located in the Federation Capital sector.
Thanks Ryan, that answers the question about the more difficult rehabilitation cases.
I will have to look again at prime directive Federation… IIRC in the Federation express article, there was a part based on population distribution,
It would seem to me that there are all kinds of populated planets, (Major & Minor) as well as all sorts of bases, and PDU’s spread around that could be used to provide “normal” rehabilitation for wounded or injured federation personnel.
Its not a perfect database, but might be enough to “WAG” as to the Federations ability to care for and support their injured members.
Infact, thinking about that, it would make some sense if there were a rotation effect at play.
Lets say that in (fill in the blank) operation, 1,000 federation soldiers or marines were injured, seriously enough to warrant transfer to a rehab facility. (In other words, the local MASH, hospital ship, FLG or police ships were unable to heal these people to the point they could be returned to service immediately.)
What happens at that point, is these patients would be sent to a “transitional facility” to await transport to an appropriate hospital.
A (hopefully) small percentage of the more severe cases would end up at the Vega IX Recovery Hospital (see captains log#54 ).(no idea what this percentage is, could be on the order of 1%, so out of the 1,000 patients mentioned above, 1% of 1,000 or 10 soldiers win an all expense paid vacation to Vega IX.) just a little humor to lighten up the mood. I hope no one is offended.
The rest would be sent to other federation facilities that had appropriate medical staff and facilities to heal the injuries.
This gives two benefits.
One, the injured receive the necessary medical care required,
Two, as the injured personnel recover, they could get light duty assignment replacing star fleet personnel of similar rank/experience /qualifications who are ordered to the units the injured personnel came from.
It ensures the units in the field remain at full strength and the bases that receive the injured troops still have full ranks.
The next point in the original post for this thread was:
Quite: “ 5. How would Star Fleet Medical Corps personnel be handled when seconded to FEM operations? (Federation Emergency Management) such as happens when disaster occurs on populated worlds in Federation territory. ”
I suspect that there are people here with real world experience better able to address this, than I. But just to get the ball rolling, I guess I will just lay it out, and if any one has any suggestions, corrections, opinions, just trot it out and that way it will be in the folder.
In general, any FEM (Federation Emergency Management) assignment will generally have three or four phases.
Phase 1. The initial precipitating event.
A. Natural disaster. Many things, earthquakes, tsunami, meteors/comet strike, sudden onset global warming or coolong etc.
B. Unnatural disasters. Artificial in nature, enemy star ship tows a large asteroid and positions it in a intercept course to impact a populated planet, monster encounter (planet eater like in scenario the creature that ate Sheboygan 3, hostile lifeform(s) that kill sentient beings (such as humans)
C. Pandemic.
Phase 2. First responders arrive. Generally, this will most likely be in the form of the local police ship assigned to the F&E sector (aka hex) and a small and variable number of civilian ships (large and small frieghters, free traders, Armed Priority transports and depending on various circumstances a variable number of skiffs (and note: depending on how far these skiffs are from their normal operations base, there very well might not be any skiffs present.)
The officer in charge depends on who arrives during the #1 phase. In general, if no other Federation officer (star fleet or police) then the Commanding Officer of the POL is the command officer for FEM operations.
Note: the odds that a FLG will arrive during the first phase are very poor. There are 34 provinces in the Federation (not counting any activated during the General War years in the off map area.) the chances that the event occurs in a hex with a FLG would be on the order of 34 / 250 ish (depends on how many hexes in the off map area have been economically activated. It also depends on the number of FLGs are in service at the time of the event. The ship registry does not list 34 FLGs in service, in spite of the standard of one FLG assigned per province. Less any FLGs out of service (at a ship yard being refitted, modernized or overhauled.)
If no federation or police ship responds (which may be the case) then either a planetary official (governor, for example) or a retired Star Fleet or retired Police officer might be appointed.
The rarest FEM commander could, in theory, be elected by vote of the first responding civilian captains.
Phase 3, tends to begin when specialists vessels arrive. The includes, but is not limited to Hospital ship(s) (and yes, while rare, more than one hospital ship could be assigned.)FEM command ship, a MASH unit, prepositioned at the nearest Star Base, along with a personnel transport loaded with the 13 to 16 crew units of MASH personnel, and most likely, the local province FLG.
Command of the FEM operation will shift to (normally) the commander of (in order of likelihood) the CO of the FLG, the hospital ship(s), the FEM command ship, and if none of the aforementioned ships are present, the CO of the MASH unit.
Phase 4. Stand down.
FEM operations are by definition, temporary. Once all of the wounded and injured have been treated, survivors rescued, repairs or remedial efforts completed, the second response ships and assets are to be returned to their original duty assignments.
Phase 5 (if necessary) is for those cases where a permanent presence is required. In the history of the Federation, this has never been implemented as of 1/1/168.
An example of what this might entail, is a permanent quarantine, and assignment of a blockade/patrol force to enforce the quarantine.
I know there is a lot here, but it is a first draft.
Comments?
MEDICAL QUARNTNE
Valentina III is contaimated by a bio war centuries ago and has been under a quarntine since discovery (Y149). The planet was sterlized by Star Fleet in the early weeks of the war (Y171). Gurps Fed 4e pg 100.
Ah, thank you.
I can’t imagine why I forgot that.
Iwould posit the steps are:
1) Event. Locals do what they can & call for assistance.
2) Local POL responds along with other locals (in the same hex). I thought there were 1 POl per province. Maybe civilian ships close by respond.
3) NG UNITS units nearby get movement orders and arrange transportation. Depending on what the disaster these may include NG units as AR asset, MASH equivalents, etc.
4) Starfleet assets may be responding at high warp.
5) Command staff mobilize. This might be a NG or Starfleet Engineering Captain/ Colonel/ General.
A lot depends on what exactly is the problem. Plague gets a very different response than a asteroid or other "natural" disaster.
Once you are past the " find and treat the survivors stage" you would have a rebuild effort. I've done this (Roosevelt Roads post hurricane). At this stage it's military and civilian builders.
Good points Mike!
#1. Sounds fair, others may disagree, but I thinkit is a good place to start.
#2. Nope, we got that cleared with SVC in the proposals board when he changed the number Police Cutter names from “…about fifty others.” To “over a hundred…” and added the upgraded police ships and tossed in the auxiliary police ships including the Free trader variant.
No way to quantify how many civilian ships might respond. It seem likely that the closer to the capital hex, more ships would be close by, out near the the various neutral zones, comparatively fewer ships, and out in the off map area (f&e map), very few…although during the later General War years, more ships will be in the area, I suspect the number of ships responding to an emergency in an off f&e map hex will not be close to the number in the Capital hex.
#3. We will have to appeal to SVC on that: IMO, Star Fleet is more likely to respond faster being a military / exploration mission oriented effort. The National Guard, in spite of lofty aspiration and decades(centuries) of history, has a spotted record. Some states excel and do a fine job running their National Guard establishments.
Some do not.
As to MASH equivalents, we can only guess. IIRC, there were three MASH units in Korea towards the end of the war, i forget how many army corps were deployed, though I do know it was more than one. Wouldn’t be surprised if the ratio turns out to be one MASH per Corps.
Just a guess, and I could very well be wrong, but that might work out to be one MASH for every 16 battalions (think PDU(planetary Defense battalions)).
If that is right or even just close to right, then Ryans estimate of one MASH set of equipment stock piled at Federation Star Bases would be spot on.
If you do the math, that would mean roughly 208 active duty battalions (on F&e map) for13 star bases and therefore, 13 sets of MASH units.
Going back to JGA and his opinion that every FLG in service would have MASH equipment set (potentially) up to 34 sets, even if there are not 34 FLG’s in service at any given time period.
But you could talk SVC. He very well could tell us if there is a MASH prepositioned in every province of the Federation. If he does, then staffing 100% of that number of MASH units would be the problem.
#4. Agreed. Certainly the military hulled old light cruiser hospital snips could, the freighter hulled hospital ships, not so much. Depends on availability and readiness status. If I recall, the published rules for ships responding to a Pirate attack is limited. IIRC, it was like six or seven ships in the whole fleet during peace time. (War time is better, more ships are active and conducting operations.). To put it into numbers, if there were 100 federation ships at the start of the General War, and only 6 active to respond to a pirate emergency, then (just a guess) that might convert to a 6% chance that any given ship in or near the area could respond to a FEM level event.
Not great odds.
#5. Isn’t that what the FEM class ships were supposed to do?
Don't forget the National Guard ships. They have cruisers, destroyers, and frigates.
While the ones for the outer members are more likely to stay near home the core worlds spend most of thier time visiting their planets colony worlds or looking for new colony sites. If they are in the area they will respond.
MASH is a "just behind the front line" thing, so there is not one in every province, even in war.
No doubt there are chains of hospitals from the front back to the core.
1. On the ship or in the ground unit or base: The stabilize the patients, keep the lightly wounded who can return to duty in a set time, sent the rest to MASH or FIELD.
2. The MASH units near the front: Patients are sent here if they need urgent high-end surgery or other treatment. Each one holds the patient for a certain time and then either he is released, passes away, or it sent to rear. Only one or two per fleet existing in peacetime.
3. the FIELD units are the next ones back, temporary (but some last years) wartime things, they hold patients who need extended care but can be expected to return to duty. They take everything MASH sends back and sort them into hold or send to a specialized hospital in the rear. Only one or two per fleet exist in peacetime.
4. The MAIN hospitals are in the core, where the most people are and the highest end medical staff and with billions of civilians there are plenty of civilian doctors available to reinforce. They hold people who will take longer to recover (either to heal or to learn to use replacement parts) or who cannot be returned to duty but need rehabilitation or long-term care. These are often but not always specialized units (burns, amputations, brain trauma). There are dozens of these in peacetime, a couple of hundred in wartime.
SVC:
Thank you.
One clarification.
There is a difference between active fully staffed and equipped MASH, and a MASH prepositioned equipment set stored in shipping containers and zero assigned personnel.
We have one participant who wants every FLG to have a MASH equipment set in their cargo bay.
A FLG will have a stock of medical supplies, disaster food supplies, and rescue equipment.
But definitely not an entire MASH.
A Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is a wartime asset, part of the fleet war plan, and you would have a dozen or so stored prefab sets in the whole Federation. Not one per province. No way.
Part of the FLG "stock of medical supplies" would be some surgical equipment but you aren't going to carry around a dozen specialist surgeons and their whole support staff. So if you're having to "fly in" surgeons they can bring with them equipment taken at the time needed out of normal civilian warehouses.
Let me give you a real world example. Someone learned the lessons of that play about Gander and when 9/11 happens again the president turns to his Air Force Aide and says:
"Chuck, get out to the lawn and take one of the helos to Dover. Gather up a bunch of doctors and staff and loot the nearest medical warehouse and commandeer a plane and fly all of that to Gander to provide medical support for a few thousand civilians who are going to be stranded there for a week or two. While you're at it, call the Walmart warehouse and have them send over a dozen pallets of food, anything random, and load that on the plane. And take a veterinarian as there will be animals being transported in cargo holds. Call PetSmart and tell them to bring you a pallet of pet food of all kinds and vet medical supplies. Call the Army Reserve. They have a few hundred veterinarians on staff to serve as meat inspectors in a major war. They'll send you a reserve major or a colonel; tell him to bring his staff."
Thanks, one follow up MASH question:
Assuming wartime, what is the ratio of Offensive Battalions to MASH units?
In other words, is a MASH a support unit for a division of 8 divisions, or is it something else?
Okay, every ground force brigade has (in wartime) mobilized its own mash unit from the reserves, but that is part of the ground forces.
The one or two MASH per fleet is navy types.
The police are a whole different kettle of fish. They don't use MASH at all, but can create something similar out of thin air when needed. It makes more sense for them to go to the nearest civilized planet with a population of a few million and grab civilian staff and supplies. The police as an organization would not have a prefab mash-set on Earth to send when something happens somewhere; it would be faster and easier to call up the "how to build a MASH" file out of the computer and tell the nearest planet (as above) to spin it up.
Now, there might be a private NGO "Doctors Without Planets" organization but they're going to do exactly the same thing, pull people out of hospitals and supplies out of warehouses.
Thanks Steve!