Preface and Scenario
Welcome back to another installment of my first Bag the Hun campaign. If this is the first time you’re reading about it, I recommend going back and catching up here if you want the full story.
Today’s report will be a bit different because there actually won’t be any flying, shooting or Bag the Hun!. Instead, I am taking an interlude moment to give the pilots some rest and recuperation before we move on. My reasoning is that Squadron Forward, the campaign supplement we are using, tends to operate on the premise that the pilots are on an air base somewhere, not on a carrier. Functionally this means I am a bit behind on some things I couldn’t quite fit in the narrative between sorties on a busy day at Midway. We have to catch up with some NPCs among other tasks. Narratively speaking the USS Lake Erie needs repairs, and Honolulu is the spot early in the war. Historically speaking there’s a lull in the action between Midway on June 3-7, 1942 and the start of Operation Watchtower/ the Guadalcanal Campaign on August 7, 1942. If we allow a few weeks for movement of ships VF2 should have about one month of free time for some well-earned R&R.
One month is four weeks, and so I will be running through the post-game actions in Squadron Forward four times in a row to determine what happens. I’m going to sprinkle in extra events here and there for flavor because I can. If this isn’t to your tastes I won’t be offended if you skip and wait for the next action-packed segment of the campaign.
WEEK ONE
Four weeks of rest in Honolulu goes by quickly for the tired pilots of VF-2.
On the voyage to Hawaii the pilots of VF-2 have an opportunity to acquaint themselves better with their Commander, Joseph May. He takes a liking to the pilots and talks with many of them. Surprisingly he shares a bottle on an outsider railing with Bastard one night, bolstering his opinion of the pilots further. The pilots also have encounters with Jacob Reid, the ship’s chaplain who checks up on the pilots and their faith in light of the victory at Midway. Upon arrival and before being released ashore they are introduced to Casey Palmer, a replacement pilot for the late Paul Paulson. Casey proves a quick fit and is visibly eager to get back in the action, impatient with the coming month long rest. In the days following their arrival Ben and Dan are summoned to Joseph May’s office where they are informed they have been awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses. This is followed by a day of media circus where the “Aces of Midway” are paraded and interviewed at length. In the party that follows Dan loses a bet to Priest and unfortunately will have to pull Priest’s duty on the ship for an upcoming mission. Towards the end of the first week Lt. Richards receives paperwork that two new F4F-4s have been allocated to VF-2, along with a third transferred in by Commander May and that work continues on their damaged plane.
Meet NPCs: The squadron is due to meet a few NPCs, and are able to acquaint themselves on the voyage back to Honolulu.
Group Commander – Commander Joseph May
Personality-Meek
Motivation-Position
Background- Military Family
Disposition to VF-2: +1
Joseph Alphonse May comes from a proud military family, his father having been a Navy man. Growing up under a strong figurehead left Joseph meek but that hasn’t stopped him from trying to climb the ladder of the US Navy. Enamored with Naval Aviation he was one of the early Naval Aviators and has his sight on commanding a carrier someday.
Chaplain – Lieutenant Commander Jacob Reid
Personality-Aggressive
Motivation-Religion
Background- Average Joe
Disposition to VF-2: +0
Jacob Reid is the eldest son of a Baptist pastor and grew up in rural Arkansas. Religion is paramount for Reid, and he joined the Navy as a Chaplain to provide spiritual guidance to wayward sailors… even if they aren’t interested. Reid is a hard-charger and won’t give up his proselytizing easily.
Repairs: Two of VF-2’s Wildcats are down for repairs, the damage proves to be more serious than initially thought and they wont be ready this week. They advance to 3+ and 4+ repair rolls respectively.
Replacements: VF-2 is short one pilot (RIP Paul), and two F4F-4 Wildcats. First for the pilot the roll is similar to a repair/healing roll. On a 5+ or 6+ the replacement arrives. This time however we get modifiers for Group Commander attitude (+1), Admin Officer attitude (+0 haven’t met them yet), last mission results (+1 for victory, taking Midway as a whole), and how many missions the pilot was gone for (+0, again taking Midway as a whole). 1D6+2 gets a 4+2 for a modified result of 6. VF-2 has a new pilot waiting by the time they arrive in Hawaii.
Ensign Casey Palmer
Pilot Skill-Average
Personality-Aggressive (Unreliable Wingman)
Motivation-Family
Background- Privileged
Casey Palmer is a Texan whose family has been involved in Texas politics for generations. Casey is seeking to bring further relevance to his family through his military service. Palmer is upset he missed the show at Midway and eager to get into the action himself. His aggressive flying was noted during his training and he should be an excellent asset to a fighter squadron.
As for replacing the missing F4F-4s it is the same as above except that the Admin Officer would be replaced with a Maintenance Officer if we had met them. The two modified rolls are a 6 and 8, so VF-2 has received the much needed plane replacements.
Promotions: I deemed it ‘Very Likely’ that in the face of their heroic efforts and becoming aces both Dan and Ben would be up for promotion. Both passed their roll and advanced to Lieutenant Junior Grade.
Medals: Additionally both Ben and Dan were “Very Likely” to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their actions at Midway and both were. Congrats to Ben and Dan for their rising status as “The Aces of Midway”, a moniker which has gained some traction with the press.
Character Action (x2):
1. Dan Fletcher: Duties Not Involving Flying- miss next generic mission
2. Dick Blanchard: Character Noticed by Group Commander- positive encounter, Group Commander now +2 to Squadron.
NPC Action:
Group Commander Joseph May: Offers favor- new plane to replace one of the damaged Wildcats.
WEEK TWO
The second week ashore takes a slower pace than the first. Evan’s continued check-ups on the repair status of his last damaged aircraft develops a rapport with the Maintenance Officer Lt. Reece West on the USS Lake Erie. By week’s end the Wildcat is ready to fly again bringing the squadron back to full strength. Lt. Richards calls a squadron meeting late in the week where he announces the new that everyone has a plane again, as well as that they will likely be back under way in a few weeks to the South Pacific. He also shares that the Squadron has been scheduled some reinforcements soon, four more planes and four more pilots. The news is met with approval and the morale of VF-2 is visibly on the rise.
Repairs: The last remaining damaged Wildcat is repaired.
Meet NPC: Maintenance Officer
Lieutenant Reece West
Personality-Cultured
Motivation-Position
Background- Military Family
Disposition to VF-2: +0
Reece West is the youngest son of a Spanish-American War veteran. Growing up he dreamed of serving in the military and sought appointment to the Naval Academy. There he became enamored with the technology which was rapidly advancing and found himself drawn into the world of maintenance and engineering. Here he aspires to be the best and wants to eventually run the Navy’s entire structure for repair work. An intelligent officer who can be found reading literature if he’s not working on paperwork.
Character Action: Check Squadron Morale- Evan Richards- +1 Morale
WEEK THREE
The third week of R&R ashore sees Vincent Priest ambushed at lunch by a proselytizing Chaplain Reid. Luckily Priest’s ego doesn’t get the better of him and he politely discusses the matters of faith in wartime with the Chaplain. Reid leaves with an increased respect for VF-2. Lt. Evan Richards is summoned to Cdr. Joseph May’s office where he is briefed on the squadron and carrier’s next operations. VF-2 will be heading to Fiji in late July to join up with Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher’s Task Force 61 to support offensive operations in and around the island of Guadalcanal. Richard’s professional demeanor, optimism and the squadron’s reputation outweigh Joseph May’s hesitations about having a mustang* in charge of the squadron. The two men come to a mutual understanding and found a good working relationship over several more meetings.
*A mustang is slang term for someone like Lt. Evan Richards who started their career as an enlisted man.
Character Action: Character Noticed- Vincent Priest- Positive interaction with Jacob Reid, Reid now +1 attitude towards the squadron.
NPC Action: Changes Attitude- Cdr. Joseph May- Evan Richards encounter, positive result with a +1 attitude change. May is already capped at +2 but Evan gets a permanent +1 for dealing with May in the future.
WEEK FOUR
The time in Honolulu winds down in the final week. Preparations begin to ship out, and all the paperwork and red tape leads to a relationship with the Administration Officer for VF-2: Lt. Elliott Scott. Dick Blanchard has spent a good chunk of his leave doing any training flights he can and has honed his skills ahead of the squadron’s next assignment. He’s also partaken in plenty of drink but manages to stay out of trouble. Calvin spends his time ashore getting back into fighting shape after his injuries at Midway.
Meet NPC: Administration Officer
Lieutenant Elliott Scott
Personality-Glum
Motivation-The Arts
Background- Military Family
Disposition to VF-2: +0
Elliott Scott never particularly wanted to serve in the military but his family history pressured him into it. He has never been particularly happy about it but has found contentment doing menial paperwork and counting the months he has left, or had left before the war started. His passion truly lies in art and specifically music, his guitar is never far away.
Character Action: Character Develops Skill- Dick Blanchard- Flying Demon: Bastard takes extra time to do practice flights to hone his skills. He now reaps the benefits of the skill level above his. Currently Average/Regular in Bag the Hun he will now operate as a Veteran. This will allow him to use any speed result up to his d4 roll instead of being beholden to his d4 roll, a large improvement indeed.
Finally the men assemble aboard the USS Lake Erie. The repaired carrier casts off its mooring lines and sets to sea on a morning in late July. The pilots assemble in the ready room to hear about their next operation. They will finally be taking the fight to the Japanese; flying in support of amphibious landings on an island none of them have ever heard of…Guadalcanal.
Thanks for reading, hopefully like the pilots you’re ready to get back into the action. There will be one more short interlude article before that where the four new VF-2 pilots will be introduced briefly. (I didn’t want to make this any longer and more importantly I need more time to paint some things for Guadalcanal).
Description of the Distinguished Flying Cross from the US Air Force:
“The Distinguished Flying Cross was established in the Air Corps Act, by Congress, on July 2, 1926, and is awarded to any person, while serving in any capacity with the Air Corps of the Army of the United States, including the National Guard and the Organized Reserves, or with the United States Navy, since April 6, 1917, has distinguished, or who, after the approval of this Act, distinguishes himself by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight.”
Iron Dice Gaming 