[Mirificus]

Originally Posted by Avatar_notADV

If you're looking for a historical parallel, look at tank development.

Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate are tanks. They're effectively invulnerable to the run-of-the-mill enemy forces. They can swat the hell out of large numbers of inferior enemies. They are highly mobile and can be adapted to shock tactics. Even relatively powerful enemy units aren't capable of stopping them. The presence of a small number of them can turn an otherwise-deadlocked battle decisively. They're only available in limited numbers and you don't know how to mass-produce them (yet!)

I think the tank comparison is apt. It is pretty much how I've been thinking of the three Aces, Signum and Vita. The combination of firepower, mobility and protection is very tank-like.

The TSAB can take one lesson from this encounter and become Germany (though hopefully without the pogroms and other associated unpleasantness, huh) or it can take the other lesson and become France.

As with France and Germany, the TSAB's fundamental problems aren't inferior equipment or being outnumbered. Rather, as I've been trying to point out, the failures are with its leadership, training and doctrine. One of the notable things about the Wehrmacht was ability to reliably train its junior officers and NCOs into effective combat leaders. The TSAB is pretty much the exact opposite in that regard and is on track to continue doing so.

There are positive things that the TSAB can and should take away from the encounter. The first, obviously, should be an increased emphasis on recruiting efforts. An elite mage is worth much, much more than one of normal strength; securing the services and loyalty of people with the potential to become those mages should be the absolute number one priority of TSAB recruiting (not only does it improve their strength, but it also denies them to a potential enemy... not that we've seen any of those in Nanoha.) We know they're not common, but they're not fantastically rare either - Nanoha and Hayate were practically neighbors, after all. It wouldn't kill the TSAB to put in a few recruiting stations and run around shouting "Hey, can anybody hear me?!" at the top of their psychic lungs, and it just might pay off big-time down the road. (Hell, their capital just got saved because Yuuno bothered to shout for help ten years ago!)

I can't really think of any data with regards to TSAB recruiting practices. I don't think we've seen any recruited outside of direct involvement.

Second, their whole training system needs reworking. Tea only ranks a B - theoretically EVERY mage in the aerial corps has more power than she does. Yet she took on three Numbers and a pack of drones and came out the victor! Criminy, if a few months of training with Nanoha can make a little girl able to do that, what could they do instituting similar training with people who had high talent in the first place? Or rather, what the hell are they doing wrong, when a rookie with moderate talent and a stiff training regimen can down a threat that dozens of highly-talented and well-equipped mages can't?

I keep on getting the feeling that Teana turned out well in spite of Nanoha's training rather than because of it. Look at how the other three turned out. They've been shown to be rather unreliable in combat.

(Then again, are they well-equipped? Maybe the TSAB is a lot more corrupt than we know?)

I wouldn't assume that in the absence of evidence. "Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

Finally, one thing occurred to me. HOW THE HELL did they not know where Jail was? Okay, okay, subterranean base, only a few Numbers, I can believe that. But he's got a friggin' army of drones there. Not just a few, but literally hundreds and thousands, enough where he can throw away dozens of them again and again. Forget the lil' Jewel Seeds inside them, where's he getting the metal? He'd need a huge logistical train to have managed to manufacture that many of the suckers. Wouldn't THAT have been easy to track?

That is an interesting point. Missing that would be a huge intelligence failure for the TSAB.