United States Armed Forces

From Lexington and Concord to the shores of Iwo Jima, from the Sea of Tranquility to the Anchorage Front Line, Americans have fought and died through the ages to secure our nation’s freedom. May their sacrifices remind us all that freedom is a privilege afforded to the many, yet hard won by a noble few.

The United States Armed Forces were the pre-War federal military forces of the United States of America, consisting of five branches: The Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and the Coast Guard. After the bombs dropped, the main body of the armed forces of America was assumed to have collapsed within the days or weeks after the fallout, although their legacy can be seen and felt in the various wastelands explored throughout the wastelands.

Though the civilian government formerly exercised control over the military, the Resource Wars combined with the deteriorating economic situation led to the erosion of civilian authority and gradual transition of a federal republic into a military junta, with the President of the United States exercising dictatorial control over the state.

The Collapse of America

Our dedicated boys keep the peace in newly annexed Canada.

In early 2077, as the Anchorage Reclamation ended with a decisive American victory on January 10, after a final offensive spearheaded by T-51 power armor units adapted to the cold environment penetrated Chinese defenses around Anchorage. Despite the embarrassment of the Liberty Prime project, which failed to produce a working weapon for use in Anchorage, General Constantine Chase was credited with the victory.The Anchorage War Memorial was hastily erected on FDR Island to commemorate the efforts and sacrifices of American soldiers on the Alaskan front, basing on an iconic photograph taken in Anchorage.The victory in Alaska heralded bad news for American and Canadian citizens, as the military junta in control of the United States deployed mechanized cavalry units to Canada and the United States. Veterans of the Chinese and Alaskan fronts found themselves fighting their own countrymen, quelling riots, and enforcing the national quarantine. Mounting civilian casualties tested the loyalty of soldiers and desertions started to occur. Captured deserters were imprisoned or sent to feed the Army's newest Robobrain development program.

The campaign in mainland China was reinvigorated by the victory in Alaska and the deployment of T-51 units. Army troops clad in T-51 regularly witnessed Chinese troops surrendering upon sighting them and their miniguns. However, the effect did not last. As American troops pushed deeper into the mainland, Chinese resistance increased. By October, the situation transitioned from a rout into a stalemate. After a decade of war, there was no end in sight. Billions of dollars and thousands of casualties were spent in vain. To bolster the offensive, bases across the United States were sealed and troops redeployed to provide more men for the meat grinder.

The situation was made worse by the fact that the oligarchs ruling the United States retreated to remote locations around the globe, expecting a last-ditch nuclear strike from China at any moment. The oil rig was claimed by the president and key members of the junta, becoming the foundation of the future Enclave.The United States was leaderless, continuing on simply due through inertia. When the U.S. Army security detail at Mariposa discovered the FEV experiments conducted on their comrades in arms – the very men arrested for refusing to fight their own countrymen – they rebel. However, even as Captain John Maxson declared them in full desertion from the Army and broke all ties with the United States, there was no response – the chain of command ceased to exist.

Nuclear weapons were launched on October 23, 2077. Within two hours, the United States ceased to exist as a nation, its cities vaporized in nuclear fireballs.The former leaders of the country having already retreated to their safe-havens. Abandoned by their leaders, the survivors began rebuilding on their own.

Technology

By the time of the Great War, the United States military was the most powerful military in the world, thanks to its overwhelming technological superiority. T-60 power armor, T-51 power armor and the older model, the T-45 power armor provided superb protection and the ability to carry heavy weapons into combat, including rotary cannons usually mounted on gunships or fighters. Power armor units were usually issued to mechanized cavalry formations operating on critical fronts. Low-frequency signals, which can travel far-reaching distances through many geographic obstacles, were used during the Sino-American War to transmit messages to submarines. Other materiel utilized by the Armed Forced included energy weapons, robotics, and military transport vehicles.