In Fallout, the New California Republic (NCR) has been around since it was founded by Aradesh in 2189. Their creeds hold up the rules of the old world before the bombs fell, establishing democracy, law, and personal liberty for the people of the Wasteland. Since it was founded, it grew extensively to one of the largest post-War countries. The states they oversee are Shady, Los Angeles, Dayglow, Maxson, and Hub, possibly including New Vegas depending on the player in Fallout: New Vegas.
What some Fallout fans have noticed is that a decent amount of NCR veterans in Fallout: New Vegas are not human. They have gone ghoul, which is usually a result of radiation. In Fallout, ghouls are treated more like a race than as humans with a medical condition. With most of NCR consisting of humans, it is an interesting detail to see that those who have spent the most time in the NCR have become ghouls. As to why this is the case, there are a couple of reasons.
Radiated NCR Stations
Some NCR bases, like Camp Searchlight, are behind the transformation of some NCR veterans. The base contained a ton of pre-War nuclear material that was sealed until the Legion cracked the seals open. This instantly killed a lot of NCR soldiers, and those that survived all turned to ghouls. In Ranger Station Echo, where most stationed NCR NPCs are ghouls, there are various radioactive blast craters.
Becoming a ghoul in Fallout usually takes time. Working at a station with nuclear waste or radiation exposure would definitely turn any human into a ghoul if not outright kill them. Being a veteran means having spent a lot of time at various NCR stations, which increases a person's chances at becoming a ghoul.
What It Means To Be A Veteran
The veterans, particularly veteran rangers, are known to be the best of the best, and often wear the iconic NCR Ranger combat armor. They are known for their combat prowess, tactical minds, and bravery. They deal with threats to the NCR that others cannot handle and are often sent on special assignments. In other words, they face far more danger than the average NCR employee.
Veterans tend to work out of Ranger Station Bravo, Alpha, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, and Charlie. However, they rarely remain in one place for long and tend to patrol NCR territory. NCR territory is enormous, so that is a lot of ground for the veterans to cover, and it is common to face radiation when traveling across the Mojave. Ghouls are able to live for hundreds of years and have a natural resistance to radiation, so becoming a veteran soldier is easier for them. Ghouls have more experience, they don't need to worry about Fallout's ferals, and the iconic armor can even hide their faces so that other people do not treat them differently.
NCR's Expansion
The NCR is enormous and seeks to become bigger. With how big the NCR is, it is no surprise that ghouls are among them, but unlike some other factions, they are friendly to ghouls. NCR's expansion does not only mean adopting more ghouls into their ranks, but more of their ranks turning into ghouls. Much of NCR's work involves patrolling, which is bound to put NCR employees under the stress of radiation. Unlike the few people with Pipboys, NCR soldiers would be unaware of radiation even affecting them without having a Geiger counter.
The amount of ghouls that can be found among their veterans can be a sign that they are expanding too fast with too limited resources. The soldiers do not have methods to defend themselves against radiation, and they are not scouting with radiation protection in mind. Veterans becoming ghouls will likely become more and more common as the NCR expands.
Fallout: New Vegas is available now for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
