Writing Military Fiction

Anybody have any tips?

>>32178974
Guess not

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>>32178558
I don't see why it wouldn't be possible. I don't have any first hand experience either but I have thing for watching combat footage. I think it helps to have a realistic "sense" for things.

>sidearms are rarely carried
Sidearms are only carried by those who need them, and most regular troops don't need them.
>subloads are bad
will leave this one to someone with experience
>It's impossible to take out someone silently
Define "silently", it's possible to take down people without alerting a whole neighborhood. But in general suppressed weapons still make a great deal of noise. So far I haven't seen or heard anyone performing "knife takedowns".

"Military Fiction" is a pretty huge topic.

What aspect of the military are you going to focus on?

A Few Good Men, Three Kings, and Platoon are all military fiction, and tell very different stories.

If you are writing about line infantry, EOD, or elite helicopter pilots, do your research, get your shit right. Talk to people who did those jobs, hang out on the respective forums (there are a ton of 'em, and most ex-mil folks are happy to talk to someone with genuine interest.

>>32179097
I have read about them before though, which is the thing that boggles me. Are they a thing and is it taught or just a meme?

>>32179154
Focusing on infantry, and the private sector.
But what about really specific things about the doctrine? Down to how to set up your kit?

>>32179249
>Focusing on infantry,
Even within infantry, there are several distinct flavours. In the US, there are amphibious (Muh-reenz), leg, mechanized, and airborne. These are typically divisions sized units, with the platoon being a typical size for a narrative.

>and the private sector.
Totally different world. Lots of these guys come from rather elite backgrounds (especially during the salad days of Iraqistan), and very defined missions, usually based around security.

>specific things about the doctrine
A lot of this is publicly available via Field Manuals. Urban warfare, parachute operations, conducting and reacting to ambushes are all detailed in various publicly available materials. The reading is boring as shit, but is accurate.

>how to set up your kit?
Very theater and mission specific. If you saw in Black Hawk Down, there was the general loadout, but some troops opted not to wear the extra back-plate armor. Number of mags, amount of water, MREs, and all that shit is pretty standardized, but it will vary via mission and unit.

Like an infantry fire team, for example - there will be a team leader (2 per squad, typically), a SAW gunner, a 203 gunner, and assorted rifleman.

Most line infantry platoons will have a Weapons Squad, consisting of 240 machine gunners, assistant gunners, and if they are lucky, ammo bearers.

Then, at a company level, there will be a mortar detachment, who carries a mortar tube, another schmuck who carries a baseplate, and other hapless fools who carry the ammo, all of which is heavy as shit.

These answers seem a little broad, but there is a lot of variation and interpretation depending on where and when your story takes place.

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>>32178558
Tom Clancy never served. You just have to do your homework. Keep at it.

>>32178558

Israel in particular has no problem shooting people with silenced .22s, wether it's their integral 10/22 carbines for "crowd control" or the .22 Beretta pistols they've used.

Even in WWII there was the Wellrod and DeLisle carbines used by the British, and whatever the other countries issued.

Look at how old the MP5SD actually is. It reigned for a long time, and still works well using standard 9mm ball, not even subsonic loads.

Today, you can get pretty quiet. Of course there's still a limit and these kinds of things aren't all that common.

Don't fall into the trap of info dumping when you start to explain anything. Authors do a lot of research and feel the need to use all of it or prove they know what they're talking about, often to the detriment of the narrative and prose structure. Know your audience and don't obsess over detailing every action. You can try to cram a bunch of technical jargon and explanations into a character's actions to make it seem like they're skilled but it will just make the reading tedious. Clancy was actually fairly skilled at focusing on relevant details for specific moments and understating characters that were meant to be serious. Jonathan Maberry is definitely not.

A decent source of inspiration might be the actual military field manuals themselves. The SOS field guide was pretty detailed with things such as silent melee kills, as well as the psychology that went into field craft. The MCMAP guide was also thorough at illustrating garrote, knife, and melee ambush techniques.

>>32180115
To supplement this anon, there's a sci-fi series called clone something. The guy is a clone that managed to see himself as NOT a clone, which was supposed to kill him, but didn't for some reason. His military liaison officer was a retired master gunnery sergeant.

Stephen L Kent, rogue clone series. That's the name.

>>32179942
Israel mostly uses 10/22s for ATF duties, not against humans.

>>32180318
Didn't realize the ATF's jurisdiction spread that far

>>32180237
I take it these books are good and have your recommendation?

>>32179154
Any particular forums you'd recommend? Any you'd stay away from?

>>32178558

Like what exactly are you writing about?
I can say that from my experience sometimes 240 gunners will have a side army but pretty much no body else needs/ wants to carry more shit. Sub-loads like sub-sonic? I don't think its possible to do anything silently but violence of action is probably better anyway then dicking about like your playing metal gear.

>>32182089
I like them. And some of the shit that gets expanded upon is fucking hilarious.

>MC is impersonating an officer
>because reasons
>needs to talk to requisition clerk for a box
>the following occurs
"I need a box." Because officers don't bother with proper greeting of the day, niceties, or other protocols. They also don't generally give a shot unless you have enough stripes.
"Uh...yes! Sir. Right away." He scurried off. To best act like an officer, pretending your shit doesn't stink is definitely a viable first step.
As he came back with a box, which is what I specified, I remembered something else about officers. They are never satisfied with the first option that fits their criteria.
"No, I need a different one. Bigger."

And more shit like that.

>>32183081
Thanks, I'll check that series out.