Waiting....

Most of the communication in the B & O WINTER command simulation will be through couriers and staff officers who will be moving around the campaign theater.

Couriers are enlisted men, who must carry written orders or reports. They move under order and will leave at 7:30 a.m. if dispatched in the morning. Couriers reporting on an action or sighting of the enemy will also move through the evening hours and into the night. Couriers only bring what is written in their report or orders.

Staff Officers and Scouts are less likely to be captured or killed by the enemy, and are likely to more information. Staff Officers can bring assessments, scouts will bring reports of enemy positions and numbers. But it then becomes a waiting game. Having sent out a scout or staff officer, when will he arrive back at headquarters.  There is no way to predict this. 

Staff Officers and Scouts have randomly generated command attributes that include leadership, initiative, loyalty, ability and experience (quality). These influence how that staff officer or scout operates. 

The base movement speed for the individual scouts and staff officers in the simulation have already been calculated in a template to track their movement. It is a function of their base speed and experience and varies from 2.9 to 3.8 miles per hour. Some staff are much more likely to cover more

Jedediah Hotchkiss: One of Jackson's Staff  Officers

ground per day than others, but there are other factors as well.

Although couriers work under strict orders, staff and scouts are a bit more independent in undertaking their duties. The time that each staff officer or scout departs in the morning is randomly determined, but is influenced by the initiative attribute. A higher initiative rating makes it more likely to leave first thing in the morning. A lower rating makes it less likely. The time that an officer or scout departs affects how much time he has on the road and how far he will reach. A late start and slow movement speed may mean that one staff officer spends the night on the road, while another reaches headquarters.  

Each day's movement is also affected by a random modifier as well. It will probably take longer for scouts to return than a commander (player) expects.  And there is always the possibility that the scout or staff was killed or captured. 

A command simulation recreates the command experience. Much of that was waiting. Waiting for orders. Waiting for reports. Waiting for intelligence. Waiting for reinforcements. Waiting for supplies. This is likely to be part of the B & O WINTER experience.