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You know, if you were serving, you'd probably be halfway to general by now.— if player has a reputation of 'Liked' or higher.

NCR troopers are the standard infantry soldiers for the New California Republic Army in the Mojave Wasteland during 2281.

Background[]

Troopers are volunteer and conscripted forces in the NCR's military. They vary widely in devotion, experience, and even in basic equipment. What they lack in consistency they make up for in numbers.— -Fallout: New Vegas loading screen

The NCR trooper is the backbone of the NCR's military might. Organized into the New California Republic Army, soldiers come from a variety of backgrounds and serve for a variety of reasons, and are majorly conscripted, with a minority volunteering for service.[1] There is an equal gender ratio among troopers, with roughly 50% female soldiers and 50% male soldiers.[Non-game 1][Non-game 2][Non-game 3][Non-game 4] Their level of training, quality of equipment, and loyalty are just as varied, ranging from elite battalions equipped with high quality weapons, such as the one stationed at Hoover Dam, to rag-tag conscripts brought in every year to maintain the occupation of the Mojave Wasteland. Even among officers, the level of competence and dedication can vary wildly.

Most soldiers are located somewhere between these two extremes. They are well-trained professional soldiers who are capable of facing the worst the wasteland has to offer, ranging from petty warlords and their raider war bands to regimented, well-trained foes such as the Brotherhood of Steel and Caesar's Legion. In both cases, the NCR Army has proven to be more than a match for them, defeating the former in the NCR-Brotherhood War (through actions such as Operation: Sunburst) and the latter in the First Battle of Hoover Dam.

In All Roads, NCR troopers are seen in Chance's flashback.

Equipment[]

The standard NCR trooper's uniform is one of the several variants of NCR armor. Composed of a khaki tunic with bellowed hip pockets and khaki breeches, worn with a desert facewrap and hardened leather pauldrons, black leather fingerless gloves, arm wraps, brown boots and khaki puttees. The uniform was designed to resist the rigors of the desert and long campaigns.

The main protection is provided by a two-piece ballistic vest protecting the upper torso, mounted using leather straps and combined with a pair of reinforced shoulder protectors. Troopers are also issued steel combat helmets as standard, together with a pair of desert googles. Their armor is robust enough to withstand knife strikes and small-caliber firearms.

An average soldier in the NCR army is issued a service rifle and a 9mm pistol. Given its reliability, ease of manufacture and firepower, the service rifle is ideal for the grueling war in the Mojave. However, due to logistical troubles and supply shortages, not all troopers can be issued a service rifle, and instead, they must make do with whatever firearm is available. As a result, small NCR patrols can fairly often be found wandering the wasteland armed with 10mm submachine guns, 9mm submachine guns, 10mm pistols, 9mm pistols and even single shotguns. A few such patrols use First Sergeant Astor's camp near Camp Searchlight as a resting point.

Inventory[]

Notes[]

  • The Courier can call an NCR trooper in as backup through the NCR emergency radio (Accepted reputation with the NCR is needed).
  • They may rarely use marksman carbines, such as one of the NCR troopers guarding President Kimball during his speech.
  • If the Courier sides with the Legion during the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, the troopers at the dam will use sniper rifles, marksman carbines, riot shotguns and 12.7mm pistols instead of their regular service rifles.
  • A trooper may spawn with a merc grunt outfit by one of the tents which contain a workbench in Camp McCarran and lean on it, similar to Isaac.
  • NCR troops are far more dangerous in combat with the service rifle as of patch 1.3.0.452, due to its increased rate of fire and accuracy.
  • During the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, troopers can have stimpaks.
  • The first time the Courier enters the Strip, a drunk NCR trooper can be found puking on Gomorrah's sign. The Courier can still interact with them, and the trooper will say one of their phrases they would normally say.
  • It is possible for the drunk troopers on the Strip to have Rattan cowboy hats or other such non-uniform headwear on.
  • Troopers stationed at Hoover Dam usually have more health and are much better equipped than their regular counterparts. Examples of the weapons they may use include riot shotguns, marksman carbines, 12.7mm pistols, frag grenades and even assault carbines.
  • Only two troopers wear combat helmets - Christina Morales, and another unnamed trooper directly outside the McCarran Concourse.
  • At the start of the game, there are over 250 NCR soldiers stationed across the Mojave.
  • Some NCR troopers inside the Hoover Dam visitor center will be wearing black masks and black sunglasses, similar to the recruit helmet for Caesar's Legion, though even when killed, one may not take their armor.
  • Besides the Strip, NCR troopers will forgive the player character regardless if they're vilified by them or not and will not attack.
  • During the quest G.I. Blues, the NCR troopers guarding the NCR soup kitchen are seen wearing merc outfits (two with cruiser outfits and one with an adventure outfit) and one with a prospector outfit. They look identical to NCR missionaries in the area.

Notable quotes[]

Appearances[]

NCR troopers appear in Fallout: New Vegas and in the prequel graphic novel All Roads.

Behind the scenes[]

The generic NCR trooper line "Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter," was written by designer Akil Hooper. It has since become a meme in the Fallout community.[Non-game 5]

Bugs[]

PCPC Xbox 360Xbox 360 An NCR trooper called "NCR trooper MP" may randomly approach you in the Strip and attack you which also causes everybody in that area to turn hostile, claiming that no-one messes with the NCR and gets away with it, even if you have a good reputation with the NCR and have done nothing to antagonize them. Stealing from the embassy, even if you do it without getting caught, seems to attract his attention, but not always. Triggering the quest Don't Tread on the Bear! also seems to draw his ire, even if you haven't actually failed it. Killing him out of sight of others will prevent anyone else from turning hostile against you, but you may still receive Infamy with the NCR. It can be somewhat more problematic if he appears in a crowded area, you can bypass him to avoid having a fight with him.[verified]

  • Sometimes the NCR trooper MP may just appear and trigger dialogue with you, all you can say is "I need to get going," without turning him hostile.

Gallery[]

Fallout: The Roleplaying Game[]

Magic: The Gathering[]

References[]

  1. Fallout: New Vegas loading screen: "Troopers are volunteer and conscripted forces in the NCR's military. They vary widely in devotion, experience, and even in basic equipment. What they lack in consistency they make up for in numbers."

Non-game

  1. Joshua Sawyer on Formspring April 28, 2012: "You've said that the Rangers are volunteer, but does the NCR army conscript people?"
    "Yes. The majority of troopers on active duty are conscripted. Someone has asked why more troopers don't talk about being conscripted (I think only one of the Misfits does). Generally speaking, volunteers are more enthusiastic than people who are forced into something."
    "JESawyer 28 Apr 12"
  2. Joshua Sawyer on Formspring March 23, 2012: "Why are the NCR troopers divided 50% - 50% into males and females? Wouldnt there be more males like in real life ?"
    "Regular NCR troopers are largely conscripted without bias to sex, so no. Rangers are volunteers, but most of them are volunteers from among the troopers."
    "JESawyer responded to irenebaumann 23 Mar 12"
  3. Joshua Sawyer on Formspring April 12, 2012: "Okay lets call them "progessive" views,F2: intro of the Enclave as the bad guys,F3: Andale,FNV:2/4 human compainions are homosexuals,you yourself said you went 50/50 when portraying female to male ratio in NCR troops, and gimme a break only got 255 spaces"
    "What does the Enclave have to do with left-wing/progressive viewpoints? I doubt there are many right-wingers/conservatives who would look at the Enclave's views and behavior and say, "Yeah these dudes are great." The Enclave doesn't map to a contemporary political group.
    I also don't see the connection with Andale unless "not being a cannibal" is considered a progressive stance.
    Two F:NV human companions are, in fact, homosexual. Also all F:NV human companions are white. With four people, you're not going to get a distribution of attributes that perfectly maps to contemporary population demographics. Finally, what's the progressive viewpoint, that homosexuals exist?
    NCR troopers are roughly 50/50 male/female overall because the majority of them are conscripts. That's not progressive, just probability.
    JESawyer 27 Apr 12"
  4. Joshua Sawyer on Formspring April 27, 2012: "33% of all IDF forces are female and 51% of all IDF officers are female. Like NCR's troopers, Israel's laws of conscription do not discriminate by sex. However, unlike NCR, Israel's mandatory service is only two years for women, three years for men, which means male conscripts stay in service longer. Israel also still bars women from certain positions, which means only men may occupy them as a career path. NCR troopers have no such restrictions.
    In contrast, most Rangers are male. Rangers are also volunteer-only. No one is conscripted into their ranks.
    NCR is the most advanced state of large size in the American southwest. Unlike Caesar's Legion, procreation and infant/child mortality were never problems for NCR. This is also why (despite the broadly misogynistic talk of ordinary legionaries), Caesar essentially forces all women into slavery, breeding, or both.
    Each of these governments populates its military forces according the principles of the state. NCR is egalitarian in conscription (barring corruption/evasion, though that isn't biased along lines of sex) and leaves elite positions open only to volunteers. Caesar is concerned only with efficiency; all individuals are bent toward the will of the state. The result is all-male slave army that is continually being replenished by forced breeding.
    JESawyer responded to MikeGolf 27 Apr 12"
  5. Josh Sawyer Fallout 4 Project Mojave Mod Stream 13.11.2021 (reference starts at 48:26)
    Joshua Sawyer: "'Who wrote that line?' That was Akil Hooper, wrote that line. Akil designed many, many areas in the game. Including the Gomorrah and the Omertas quest line if I recall correctly."
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