David Scott
New member
The thread on military arms got me thinking of a neat little hypothetical question. Here's the deal:
A diplomatic mission comes to your door and informed you that the hereditary King of the Caribbean island nation of Doyawanna has died, and you are his next of kin. You are going to be made King! A nice deal, since you become chief executive of a peaceful, prosperous country, and live in a huge palace with a household budget of about $10 million a year. There is also a Constitutional provision that guarantees every citizen the right to own any and all arms without interference from the government. The only exceptions are the insane and persons convicted of violent crime. For tourists, you honor carry permits from any jurisdiction.
The island is a tourist paradise, has a strong economy and crime is low because law enforcement has been strict but fair. Tourists love the high-visibilty law enforcement presence, and a lone woman can walk down any street at 3AM without fear of being accosted. The main violent crime threats have been outsiders, smugglers and a couple attempted robberies of the casinos. Despite having a 50-50 population mix of Black and White, racial unrest is not an issue because you have fair representative government and standards of living are high.
One of your first jobs as King is to update the small arms used by the National Protective Service, which acts as police, coastguards, and military (though they have not been in a war in years -- they are a neutral nation). Every able-bodied man and woman between the ages of 18 and 40 is part of the reserve, and they keep their duty weapons in the home. There is also a career force of some 20,000 officers and troops. Your force provides casino security, street level enforcement, patrols the beaches and the harbors. You also run a small prison operation where the inmates work chain gangs to clear roads, repair sea walls and such.
They are currently equipped with Llama .38 Special revolvers, surplus M1 Garands, and M3 .45 caliber "grease guns", average age of all about 20 years. The motto of the armoroers is "In Rust We Trust". Concealment is not an issue since they are a 100% uniformed service. Last year they got brand new Jeep Cherokees as patrol vehicles.
You must choose a new suite of small arms. Consider the mission, the tropical climate, and whatever else seems relevant. Full auto arms are OK; hey, you're the King, you can have what you want. You have to pick three manufacturers for each category, to be field tested for accuracy, reliability and ease of maintenance. You will supervise the tests yourself. Once you have your three candidates, you can also predict the winner.
You must also choose ammo. Caliber is up to you; since Doyawanna is not a Geneva signatory and the force's main mission is policing, hollow points or soft points are acceptable.
The state-owned casinos have had a slow year, so you only have $750 million to equip your 20,000 active duty troops and the 230,000 reservists. There are some contractual advantages to getting everything from one manufacturer, but it's not a huge difference. Other than that, you have no restrictions.
What are your choices, Your Royal Highness?
A diplomatic mission comes to your door and informed you that the hereditary King of the Caribbean island nation of Doyawanna has died, and you are his next of kin. You are going to be made King! A nice deal, since you become chief executive of a peaceful, prosperous country, and live in a huge palace with a household budget of about $10 million a year. There is also a Constitutional provision that guarantees every citizen the right to own any and all arms without interference from the government. The only exceptions are the insane and persons convicted of violent crime. For tourists, you honor carry permits from any jurisdiction.
The island is a tourist paradise, has a strong economy and crime is low because law enforcement has been strict but fair. Tourists love the high-visibilty law enforcement presence, and a lone woman can walk down any street at 3AM without fear of being accosted. The main violent crime threats have been outsiders, smugglers and a couple attempted robberies of the casinos. Despite having a 50-50 population mix of Black and White, racial unrest is not an issue because you have fair representative government and standards of living are high.
One of your first jobs as King is to update the small arms used by the National Protective Service, which acts as police, coastguards, and military (though they have not been in a war in years -- they are a neutral nation). Every able-bodied man and woman between the ages of 18 and 40 is part of the reserve, and they keep their duty weapons in the home. There is also a career force of some 20,000 officers and troops. Your force provides casino security, street level enforcement, patrols the beaches and the harbors. You also run a small prison operation where the inmates work chain gangs to clear roads, repair sea walls and such.
They are currently equipped with Llama .38 Special revolvers, surplus M1 Garands, and M3 .45 caliber "grease guns", average age of all about 20 years. The motto of the armoroers is "In Rust We Trust". Concealment is not an issue since they are a 100% uniformed service. Last year they got brand new Jeep Cherokees as patrol vehicles.
You must choose a new suite of small arms. Consider the mission, the tropical climate, and whatever else seems relevant. Full auto arms are OK; hey, you're the King, you can have what you want. You have to pick three manufacturers for each category, to be field tested for accuracy, reliability and ease of maintenance. You will supervise the tests yourself. Once you have your three candidates, you can also predict the winner.
You must also choose ammo. Caliber is up to you; since Doyawanna is not a Geneva signatory and the force's main mission is policing, hollow points or soft points are acceptable.
The state-owned casinos have had a slow year, so you only have $750 million to equip your 20,000 active duty troops and the 230,000 reservists. There are some contractual advantages to getting everything from one manufacturer, but it's not a huge difference. Other than that, you have no restrictions.
What are your choices, Your Royal Highness?
