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Name: Commonwealth Minutemen Expeditionary Force

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Location(s): Region around Canterbury Commons.

History: As far north as the Commonwealth, rumors had begun to spread of the terrible events that had spread across the Capital Wasteland, spread from traders and wastelanders that had fled the region.  When these rumors reached the ears of General Becker and the Commonwealth Minutemen, a few brave souls volunteered to investigate these rumors.  The first expedition was a scouting mission, where a few veteran Minutermen sailed by boat to investigate.  Only two of them made it back, bringing with them extensive intel about the layout and dangers of the wasteland, such as its poisoned waters, its slaver gangs, and Super Mutant presence.

One Minutemen officer, Colonel Hotchkiss, volunteered to lead an expeditionary force to the Capital Wasteland and set up a branch of the militia.  Many suspected his motivations were more political than humanitarian, as internal tensions were at an all time high, but General Becker gave them permission to set out to the ruins of DC.  Two tugboats in Boston Harbor were repaired and used as transports to ferry the expeditionary force south along the coast, then up the Potomac where they would dock near Wilhelm's Wharf.  As per Hotchkiss's plans, they made their way northwest to Canterbury Commons where they set up in a deserted Robco repair center on a hill, and in an abandoned farm to the north of the town.  They re-purposed the Yankee Bravo radio tower to coordinate their forces and spread word of their goal- to organize a militia of volunteers to keep the people safe at a minute's notice.

Canterbury Commons was initially highly suspicious of these new armed arrivals, thinking them just another gang of raiders or mercenaries or worse, costumed weirdos.  That changed when, following a raider attack, Colonel Hotchkiss gathered his Minutemen and attacked the raider outposts at Wheaton Armory and the Bethesda ruins, wiping out every raider gang in the region.  Several Minutemen perished in the attacks, but they were hailed as heroes.  They became welcome in Canterbury and began to ply their trades, selling water and salvage in exchange for food and ammunition, and soon more men and women were flocking to join them.

Leadership: The leader of the expedition is Colonel Hotchkiss.  Below him are three captains who coordinate Minutemen garrisons at Canterbury Commons, the RobCo Repair Center, and the Hilltop Farm.  Beneath them are the sergeants who drill recruits, lead squads, and maintain discipline.  Technically Colonel Hotchkiss answers to General Becker, but it is unlikely that they will receive any orders this far from Boston.

Economy:  The Minutemen have occupied an abandoned farm north of Canterbury Commons where they have rigged up a water purifier to the water tower, selling surplus water to the traders.  So far the water has been devoid of whatever poison is contaminating the river.  Other Minutemen bring in caps by escorting the trade caravans or by scavenging whatever they can't use in the Robco Repair Center.

Technology: The Minutemen are not technologically advanced, but they have in their numbers a few technicians to maintain machinery such as power generators and water purifiers, and with the technology left behind at the RobCo Repair Center, they've even been able to get a few robots up and running.  Many among them have a farming background and thus have some knowledge in agriculture and animal husbandry.  Their most iconic technology, however, is their crank-loaded laser muskets, energy weapons that can be modified to serve in a variety of functions from anti-materiel rifles to automatic squad support weapons.

Military: The Minutmen Expeditionary Force consists of over thirty regulars- full-time volunteers from Boston- as well as a number of local recruits from Canterbury and the surrounding areas.  Several of the regulars serve as officers to groups of local conscripts, while the rest form a small but comparatively elite platoon commanded by the Colonel himself.  Hotchkiss' typical strategy is to use conscripts as guerillas, laying mines and springing ambushes in terrain familiar to them, then taking the fight to the enemy with his own 
well-drilled troops when the opportune moment presents itself.

It is difficult to gauge how many Minutemen can be called on at any time, and there is no guarantee that every conscript will answer the call when it goes out.  On the other side of the coin, however, one can never be sure who is and isn't a Minuteman ready to carry out an ambush at a minute's notice or an informant funneling intel to the Colonel.  The conscripts are minimally trained and disciplined, but life in the Capital Wasteland has made them experienced with firearms- typically hunting rifles, cheap handguns, and break action shotguns- and familiar with the local terrain.  By contrast, the Regulars are extensively disciplined, able enter a battlefield, form ranks and lay down constant volleys of rotating fire from their laser muskets, and withdrawing as quickly as they had appeared.

In addition to their volunteers and regulars, the Minutemen have also repaired a few robots at the RobCo center to provide additional defense, although Canterbury Commons has been strangely insistent that they be kept away from the town.
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