Guys killed in the bar said it was gone with the implication that they searched through it, but good point. 

Yea good point, I do think there would be a group of rough necks that would make it out even with the 5000 to 1 ratio, but I don't think they would stay there.  I know I would want to get supplies and get out, then find a small location that could be easily fortified and defended.

I read yesterday that an axiom of the Walking Dead universe is that the Night of the Living Dead movies and the resulting Zombie Apocalypse genre never happened.  So, unlike our world where we have all made detailed plans on how we would survive a ZA, these people initially had no idea what the hell was going and what to do about it.  It probably took them awhile to realize they were fighting reanimated dead people and that they needed to shoot them in the head to kill them.

Given that it makes sense that the military would be mobilized to try to quell the "riots" that were happening everywhere.  We saw evidence of that when Shane was trying to rescue Rick and the one flashback where they were napalming Atlanta.  The military would keep trying to hold order over the whole country until things got really bad - so by the time they come to terms with the fact that the world as we know it is over and they better start looking out for themselves, there are only small groups left with whatever equipment they have at the time.  

Also, we may not encounter them because these guys know how to hole up and defend themselves.  They wouldn't be out wandering the countryside looking for a safe place.

Amidon37 wrote:

I read yesterday that an axiom of the Walking Dead universe is that the Night of the Living Dead movies and the resulting Zombie Apocalypse genre never happened.  So, unlike our world where we have all made detailed plans on how we would survive a ZA, these people initially had no idea what the hell was going and what to do about it.  It probably took them awhile to realize they were fighting reanimated dead people and that they needed to shoot them in the head to kill them.

Given that it makes sense that the military would be mobilized to try to quell the "riots" that were happening everywhere.  We saw evidence of that when Shane was trying to rescue Rick and the one flashback where they were napalming Atlanta.  The military would keep trying to hold order over the whole country until things got really bad - so by the time they come to terms with the fact that the world as we know it is over and they better start looking out for themselves, there are only small groups left with whatever equipment they have at the time.  

Also, we may not encounter them because these guys know how to hole up and defend themselves.  They wouldn't be out wandering the countryside looking for a safe place.

Okay, that last one I will buy. Lot of mountains in that area of the country to go hole up.

That axiom is a good one, considering the Federal govt. has already trained for the ZA:

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2012/1031/No-prank-On-Halloween-US-military-forces-train-for-zombie-apocalypse

Not normally a fan of the CSM, but they love their doomsday:

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2011/1207/Doomsday-war-games-Pentagon-s-3-nightmare-scenarios/Collapse-of-Pakistan

=)

They can "hole up" somewhere, but that is only a short term solution. A lot of these soldiers would also have their families with them.  So I stick with what I said about finding a nice location/building to fortify and operate from.

They can "hole up" somewhere, but that is only a short term solution. A lot of these soldiers would also have their families with them.  So I stick with what I said about finding a nice location/building to fortify and operate from.

OK.  Hole up with their families and not in a literal "hole". :)

Itsnot said: "These are the same types of guys who held at Bastogne, and I still call 'Nuts!'"

Hmmm...might be a good idea for a new map (Battle of the Bulge)?

Thingol wrote: Itsnot said: "These are the same types of guys who held at Bastogne, and I still call 'Nuts!'"

Hmmm...might be a good idea for a new map (Battle of the Bulge)?

I'd play it.  There was an old game called

Patton Strikes Back: The Battle of the Bulge

that I played like crazy as a kid.  The game map would be a good one to look at. 

http://www.myabandonware.com/game/patton-strikes-back-the-battle-of-the-bulge-18k

Maybe you'll play a little as an adult too... 

Ft. Bragg would be the last to fall. AIRBORNE! Almost half of Ft. Benning is a training facility and we all know how long Private Joe Snuffy lasts in these situations. In fact he's usually the one that REALLY screws it up for everyone. I'll tell you from experience that it's not just in the movies either.

In a contagion situation the whole base would be on quarentine and they wouldn't go outside the wire unless they went AWOL to go see their families and what-not. There wouldn't be an outbreak inside the base that they wouldn't be able to resolve quickly.

Even if the power grid was wiped out they'd be up and running for another 2-3 months with all the power they would need. All their equipment would be switched out to low-tech gear (and they got a lot of that) so they'd be communicating with copper wire and energizer batteries (and they got a lot of that too).

All this is for Ft. Bragg rather than Benning though. I'd also like to put in a good word for Ft. Sill, OK. Although it's not heavily guarded by manpower, it's the home of the Artillery and it's surrounded by large hills on ALL sides. There's no way that place would get overrun. As a note to those that would say that "a cannon wouldn't do any good up close", you don't know what you're talking about and I'd like to see you say that after 3 minutes in the sight of a well hidden forward observer or ANYwhere within sight of a gun cheif!

Ah...good ol' Ft. Bragg. Wasn't that the location where Oswald got his specialized Russian training in the 50s? He made an effort to call a contact there with his one free call according to the Dallas PD phone records.

@ Ratsy Thanks, but I couldn't get it to work on my new laptop.  =(

@ Killdawg Great point about Private-get-everyone-killed and the other forts. 

Just started watching the series now  - on episode 3, season 1.  I would never have allowed myself to get boxed in while on a horse.  Very irresponsible.

Sounds like someones already hooked!

@ItsNot I guess the question comes down to, how did the zombies get to outnumber humans 5000 to 1?  Was it an initial wipe out of the population like in I am Legend, or did it just spread in waves and slowly get to that point? If it is the latter then I think Military bases could flourish pretty easily and get things under control.

3EyedTitan wrote:

Sounds like someones already hooked!

@ItsNot I guess the question comes down to, how did the zombies get to outnumber humans 5000 to 1?  Was it an initial wipe out of the population like in I am Legend, or did it just spread in waves and slowly get to that point? If it is the latter then I think Military bases could flourish pretty easily and get things under control.

Yeah, that was my thoughts. The show implies that the army bases were used as rally points which implies that they were not wiped out in instantaneous virus outbreaks.  And, as Kill pointed out pre-site some arty and set up fire lanes, and herd size won't matter very long. 

Just finished the first two seasons. Man, I would have cut Shane off long ago. The guy was a psycho ever since killing Otis and he's been jealous of Rick since day 1. Not a good combination to have around camp. I really don't understand Rick's wife's behavior the last several episodes. She seems a very confused person. Big bummer for Dale biting it.

Rick and Shane *were* best friends before the outbreak, so cutting him off was not something that came easy to Rick.  And Rick wasn't ready to give up on societal norms - so he wouldn't just kill him.

Lori was wacko 2nd half of season 2 for sure.  "Rick, Kill Shane"  "Shane I still love you"