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Vern_S

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Everything posted by Vern_S

  1. I Have an ASUS A7T Laptop with an AMD Turion TL56 Dual Core Processor and NVidia Go 7600 Graphics card running Vista 32 Bit. All drivers are the latest from ASUS. CMSF is running very smooth at 1440x900 with 3D Model and Texture quality set to "Better" and Anti-aliasing turned on. Shadows kinda suck but I'm not bitching... By the way RPG's suck!!! 3 squads pommeled by them in the first 3 turns, I am playing the Ambush Tutorial on the basic training setting and the insurgents are kicking my ass. Granted I have no clue what I am doing yet other then sending my troops blindly forward to their deaths... They are pushing forward like there is no tomorrow. I think Tom Chick needs to re-evaluate the situation...
  2. Hey Rick, Glad to see a fellow Fast Attack Submariner playing ground pounder... I was on the USS Sunfish SSN649 and the USS Phoenix SSN702 with a little USS Hunley AS-31 shoved in between for good measure. I have a AMD Dual Core Laptop with NVidia 7600 Go on board that I plan to run CM:SF, I'll let ya know how it runs.. Best of luck with your surgery and have a speedy recovery... Vern
  3. Bump.... Ya know this should get transfered to the up and coming discussion forum on scenario creation and then get a big fat sticky... Just a thought...
  4. Thx Moon for setting things straight... How far has your hair line receded with this release? I'm sure that between TOW and CM:SF it's got to be getting pretty shiny up there...
  5. I recently discovered Battlefront and the CM series when I saw a preview of TOW and came here. TOW is fun but somewhat disappointing when it comes to performance but I still have not given up hope for it. I picked up the CM Anthology and have messed around with it a bit. Love the game mechanics but just can't get heavily into it due to the dated graphics and clunky interface. CM:SF probably has a lot to do with it. I lurk these forums numerous times a day looking for more tidbits of info. 2 more days..... Just 2 more days..
  6. AMD now owns ATI... Give it a little time and maybe they can get ATI's after market support where it should be like Nvidia.
  7. As civilians the UCMJ is not applicable. They are not on US soil and as you mentioned the host state is incapable. I have watched Shadow Company on You Tube as well as many other tidbits from journalists to congressman concerned with the issue. I've read a multitude of info for and against the use of PMC's. It all boils down to accountability... At the moment there does not appear to be any and that is a scary situation.
  8. Wow, I guess I fit the bill for these forums.. Ex-Navy Nuke, 13yrs service, and I am 43...
  9. "Coffins" Who died??? Don't you mean "Coffers"?
  10. Hi Chad, I believe the Mercenary thread I started has become more about the emergence of a new type of pseudo military class of soldier and where it fit's into today's world then current events, but I understand where your concern is with the forums. Most of us here are probably Military, ex-Military or at the very least military enthusiasts and not your average "youthful" gamer. CM-SF does mirror to a some degree current events and I feel that as long as discussions are productive, meaningful and debate military/war related issues then that is fine. I certainly do not want to see political rants take over. Just my thoughts...
  11. Yes, I did not want to get into a long dissertation on this subject and I posted what the Geneva Convention dictates as "Food for Thought". Obviously a lot of people have thought about this issue and have opinions they wanted to voice. Debate is healthy and thus far this has been a civil meaningful discussion and since we still have 5 more days until release of SF what the hell. There is a big difference between providing security in peacetime and providing security in a war zone. In a peacetime setting a security guard is bound by the Rule of Law set forth by the established government and he is accountable for his actions. If his actions are unjustified then he/she is prosecuted in accordance with local Laws. In a war zone martial law is in force and in the past Military Police were used in a security function to do what Blackwater and many other PMC's are doing right now. The MP's were protected under the Geneva Convention as lawful combatants and were held accountable under their countries military code of conduct for their actions, the UCMJ for US Forces. At some point these duties are slowly transfered to the local provisional government and there law enforcement personnel who are in turn accountable to the provisional government for there actions. The big question concerning a PMC is who are they accountable to for their actions? The UCMJ? The Laws of Iraq's newly established government? If they wound or kill someone what oversight is there for that action. If the incident is in question who investigates and holds the contractor accountable or prosecutes in the case of an unjustified action? Can they take any action with impunity? Mercenaries have a bad reputation due to the fact that they can act with relative impunity in a conflict as long as the enemy doesn't capture them, in which case the Geneva Convention deals with the issue by not protecting mercenaries under it's rules for the conduct of war, considering them unlawful combatants. PMC's are here to stay and as more and more militaries around the world downsize they are going to take up more functions then just security in the future. Maybe even offensive actions. They need to be accountable to some authority for their actions. There has to be some kind of oversight for their use. More food for thought...
  12. Would it be possible make a scenario that re-creates the type of fighting that took place in the Wadi-us-Salaam Cemetery during the battle of Najaf? Could the game engine handle such a closed in area?
  13. It's late, I'm tired. Mute is now Moot...
  14. In order to gain protection under the Geneva Convention civilians must remain unarmed and take no hostile action, period. As soon as they pick up a weapon they lose that protection. Not all employee's of these companies would be considered Mercenaries, i.e. the unarmed truck drivers. Only those that take arm's and go hostile with them. The whole conflict in Iraq is one big gray zone and much of this discussion is "moot" to a large degree given the fact that if a PMC contractor is captured by the enemy they would not be treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention anyway, unless someone slipped in a clause that allows Islamic Extremist the right to torture and behead at will. [ July 21, 2007, 07:09 PM: Message edited by: Vern_S ]
  15. More interesting info. From " Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol 1)" Article 47.-Mercenaries 1. A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war. 2. A mercenary is any person who: ( a ) Is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict; ( b ) Does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities; ( c ) Is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party; ( d ) Is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict; ( e ) Is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and ( f ) Has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces. The Geneva Convention appears to not distinguish between Offensive and Defensive roles. If the PMC personnel partake in hostilities, even in a defensive posture, then they are Mercenaries.
  16. Ok, this is real easy, as I said on the first page; "The 1949 Third Geneva Convention (GCIII) does not recognize the difference between defense contractors and PMCs; it defines a category called supply contractors. If the supply contractor has been issued with a valid identity card from the armed forces which they accompany, they are entitled to be treated as prisoners of war upon capture (GCIII Article 4.1.4). If, however, the contractor engages in combat, he/she can be classified as a mercenary by the captors under the 1997 Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions (Protocol I) Article 47.c, unless falling under an exemption to this clause in Article 47. If captured contractors are found to be mercenaries, they are unlawful combatants and lose the right to prisoner of war status." The important line is this, "If, however, the contractor engages in combat, he/she can be classified as a mercenary by the captors under the 1997 Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions (Protocol I) Article 47.c". It doesn't say "Offensive Combat" it just says "Combat". Unless there is some "Exemption" in Article 47, which I am trying to research, then as soon as they fire a weapon, even in self-defense, they are Mercenaries.
  17. In an age of political correctness the term "Mercenary" has an ugly stigma associated with it so they need to project a gentler, kinder vision of themselves so now we have "Security Consultants", "Private Military Company" or whatever. They are gun's for hire either way you look at it.
  18. MikeyD, Thank you for your input to my oiginal question. Looks like the editor is going to be interesting to work with. Wisbech, I never said there was anything wrong with being a Merc. Merc's have been around since the dawn of warfare. Merc's will always be involved in any conflict where money is to be made and there is a need for them. It is a dangerous profession that normally stay's in the background doing it's job and loathes publicity. Especially when things go wrong since it is subject to extremely adverse criticism thus the attempt to "Mask" what they truly are in Iraq by calling them Security Contractors or whatever. fytinghellfish, there are a number of examples that have made there way to the internet such as the Blackwater Sniper and the Blackwater in Najaf videos on YouTube which clearly show highly armed non-military forces, aka Merc's, in Iraq taking "Offensive" action, some alongside US Military.
  19. Well since it seems that I have smacked the proverbial bees nest I might as well put my 2 cents in. "Private Military Company" is a politically-correct euphemism for Mercenary. They do provide mainly security related functions as well as training support but they do occasionally get involved in offensive military actions which makes them Merc's pure and simple.
  20. There is another video of Blackwater fighting side by side with US troops in Najaf. Interesting....
  21. Dogface, I did a search for Mercenary, as well as Blackwater, and read all of the post's and this question was not answered.
  22. Well call them a "Security Force" if you will, I'm not wanting to get into a dissertation on the definition of "Mercenary" and what entities should be classified as such. My question still stands, can "Security Forces" such as Blackwater USA be incorporate/Mod'ed into Shock Force. By the way, according to the Geneva Convention a contractor from a "Private Military Company", which Blackwater is, who engages in combat is classified as a Mercanary. "The 1949 Third Geneva Convention (GCIII) does not recognize the difference between defense contractors and PMCs; it defines a category called supply contractors. If the supply contractor has been issued with a valid identity card from the armed forces which they accompany, they are entitled to be treated as prisoners of war upon capture (GCIII Article 4.1.4). If, however, the contractor engages in combat, he/she can be classified as a mercenary by the captors under the 1997 Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions (Protocol I) Article 47.c, unless falling under an exemption to this clause in Article 47. If captured contractors are found to be mercenaries, they are unlawful combatants and lose the right to prisoner of war status." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_USA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_military_company There sure is a lot of Blackwater USA Combat footage on YouTube. Just some food for thought.
  23. Is it possible to mod Shock Force to incorporate mercenary elements such as Blackwater USA as a fighting element and create scenarios for the mercenary forces?
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