MAKE: The Militia Version

It's funny, you do a search for RPG, and you wind up with alot of information about role playing games. You have to throw a number behind RPG, like -7 or -29 to get anything interesting.

It's the rocket propelled grenade, and the CHICOMs and RUSMOB stamp them out by the truckload.

Discovery had an interesting show on, "Weapons that Changed the World." My two favourites are the RPG and the AK-47. They're interspersed with U.S weapons like Tomahawks and Apache Longbows. But let's face it, if you're on a mission from your god, and funds are tight, you get more bang for you buck buying RPGs and AK-47s than saving your pennies (or building an industrial base) to get the special Apache Longbow, wots caught your eye.

RPGs/AK-47s are not profit centers for the RUSMOB or CHICOMs. They're filler items, when pimping dictator candy like, in the case of the RUSMOB, nuclear reactors, missile technology, assorted MiGs and T-72s. The CHICOMs are still experimenting and quiet frankly don't have many major end items competitive on the world stage.

Crazy eddie's got four basic weapons in his ORBAT:

The RPG-7/29
AK-47
I/VB/IED (idiot/vehicle born IED)
Media

Now that RPG-29 is probably going to cost you the most swank, as far as personal arms go. As Rosie SEZ, I "googled it" and found one for about 500 dracma, minus rebates, coupons and such. An AK-47 can cost you upwards of 1,000 dracma in the U.S., and here's me guessing they way less in the hinterlands. Let's peg that number at 100 dracma. Your I/VB/IED is probably going to cost you the most. First, there's securing a vehicle (car-theft rings) and then having a place and material to assemble the thing. I call this about 1,ooo dracma, for no other reason than it's a nice round number. Of course, the cost could be higher, once you factor in things like workers compensation, pensions and union dues.

So you round up the cheapest, most disposable material in the hinterlands: people. Say about Ten Thousand (they're Immortal; easily replenished). Say every four get AK-47s, and every fifth gets an RPG, it will set you back about, let's see...one, two, mmmm, carry the three...plus uhhh....

Let's call it $280,000 dracma. Your average Saudi Sheik has more expensive horsepower sitting in his garage.

Now, let's not forget Finance and Logistics. You've got to feed, pay and supply your forces. Of course, you're counting on the Great Satan to control salaries, by making sure none of your foot soldiers earn seniority. And because you go in for cute flags and those giant outsized posters with your mug on them, you know, the luxuries, you're going to budget about million dollars a year to keep your Immortals in the field crevices.

In a twenty trillion dollar global economy, that's chump change.

All you need to do is pick a Cause, True Belief, Idea to Change the World, and you're in business.

Easy.

Of course, these are all just planning factors. If you're Blackwater, and watching Future Weapons, getting ready to apply for your Letter of Marque, then maybe you've got your eye on the AA-12 Automatic Shotgun (Autoshot).



So your cost may vary. No matter.

Cause you know, it's all going to be about close quarters, in the end.