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Quite the scenario! Not yet completed but I'm going to give a Spoiler Heavy account of the battle so far.

The setup is standard peace time operations in the Caribbean, with the JFK CVBG transiting from the Gulf of Mexico out to the eastern Caribbean for some training operations. There are various other SAGs and NATO frigates on patrol in various locations, as well as a couple SSNs. My orders are deliberately vague as I'm not supposed to be anticipating anything (this is simultaneous with the first three Northern Fury scenarios).

Out of nowhere, there are hazy reports of violence in Europe and before long Gitmo is under artillery fire from Cuban emplacements. Initial fires are directed at my Observation Posts and AT emplacements before shifting to the airfield. My own 105mm artillery responds against the Cuban infantry surrounding the base, and they are soon wiped out. I launch a RQ-2A Pioneer to attempt to find the battery to the NW which is the one hitting my airfield. It spots the offending battery in time before being swatted by an inbound MiG or SAM. The defensive I-HAWKs and Stinger units do an effective job of swatting the incoming CAP and strike MiGs, with only one getting through to bomb the airfield for minimal damage. In retaliation, I launch my single Snakeye equipped A-4 to bomb the artillery battery hitting the airfield before it can take out my small force of aircraft. It is successful, wiping the entire battery in a low and fast pass, but is shot down on final by another MiG. I send two more Skyhawks to bomb the SA-5 site just NW of the base to give myself a bit of breathing room. They don't wipe out the battery but BDA does reveal they took out most of the AAA guarding it, a few launch rails, and most importantly, all of the radar sets. After this initial excitement, Guantanamo lies quiet, swatting the occasional MiG striker. At least, for now.

To the Northwest a massive force of Cuban aircraft lifts off and presses North on Key West. I only have some Navy aggressor aircraft there, and while flown by experts they are poorly equipped and woefully outnumbered. Still though, they put up a hell of a fight and are soon reinforced by AMRAAM slinging F-16s out of Homestead ARB. These combined forces manage to clear the skies for the most part, although in one lull between waves a handful of MiGs get through to bomb Key West, taking out a few F-16s on the ground. A Coast Guard cutter gets lucky and downs one with a lucky burst of 20mm fire as it passes overhead, scoring one for the Puddle Pirates! I order more F-16s from NAS Jacksonville to fly down to Homestead and reinforce the squadrons there. There are a lot of reinforcements across the CONUS scheduled to fly in to the area throughout the 3+ day scenario. Two notable twists occur: The Cubans spend a lot of ordnance sinking a 200,000 ton civilian cargo ship (which eats a lot of ordnance and lets me splash some of the attacking SU-24s). The other twist is the Cuban Air Force makes a push on Florida, sending a low raid against Homestead and the nearby Radar site. The Radar is lost but a pair of transiting AMRAAM equipped F-16s manage to splash or turn the attackers, who jettison their ordnance to flee. One F-16 is lost over South Florida though.

Meanwhile in Belize, some British infantry are dug in against some oncoming rebels. With the help of air power they turn the initial Rebel push in the Big Creek Area. However, I'm given orders to pull those defenders to join the bulk of the British forces in Belize City. This is done via 2 airlifts from Belize City, covered by the 3 Harriers I have in the area. I need the harriers because before long the Hondurans and Nicaraguans join the fight on the Soviet side. The Harriers tangle with F-5s, repelling them while I ferry my forces north. At the time of this posting there is a race to get the helicopter to pick up the last forces while a large force of Rebels moves on the Pickup zone. Stay tuned! I reinforce the city with a British Frigate, using its onboard radar to detect incoming Honduran aircraft, vectoring my Harriers behind them to ambush them. Some get through, and I lose all of my British (light) armor, as well as a Blowpipe team. The low clouds don't give them enough time to use the simple missiles to much effect in the defense.

The next major engagement is the defense of the Panama Canal. A small force of F-16s that had been on a training detachment find themselves squaring off against 50+ Nicaraguan attackers bent on destroying the Locks. Full disclosure, I adjust the readiness time of these units after seeing the size of the incoming force (6 vs 50 as opposed to 2 vs 50). It was a difference of a couple hours as opposed to the multi-day waits on aircraft elsewhere in the scenario. Amazingly, my humble force aided by local Stinger and Chaparral units is able to take out 30+ aircraft in some spectacular fighting, for the loss of a single F-16. A few attackers do break through, destroying the Centennial Bridge as well as the San Miguel Locks. This will undoubtedly slow the war effort, but with only a single lock destroyed I'm sure it can be fixed in time to assist the war effort. Troublingly, I have a whole mess of attack helicopters and gunships stationed in Panama. I order patrols into the air to the East and West to make sure there are no ground attacks incoming. A terrorist boat tried to ram the northern locks (stopped by a pair of gunboats), so I can't be too sure of their safety. I ferry in F-16s from Puerto Rico to reinforce the defenses in Panama, as well as a team of French advisors who have offered their assistance.

After several hours of skirmishing across the AO, the next development unfolds. A bunker spots a massive force of Cuban Armor closing on Gitmo. I launch 3 cobra gunships and they destroy a Regiments worth of tanks. I send a drone to orbit the base to give some more advanced warning.

There have been a few other small engagements, TLAM strikes on radars and a harpoon or two into isolated ships. I'm still on the reactionary side of the engagement but the situation is beginning to stabilize. I have 3 days left so we will see how it plays out from here.

The tally so far:

SIDE: Cuba
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------
6x 122mm/38 D-30 2A18 Towed Howitzer
5x 23mm ZU-23-2
24x 7.62mm MG/Unguided Infantry Anti Tank Weapon
1x Building (Odd Pair HF [PRV-13])
2x Building (Square Pair [5N62])
1x Building (Tall King C [P-14])
1x HQ 331 [Pr.206M Turya]
1x Mi-14PL Haze A
25x MiG-21MF Fishbed J
5x MiG-23MF Flogger B
24x MiG-23ML Flogger G
8x MiG-23MLD Flogger K
4x MiG-29 Fulcrum A
1x Radar (Square Tie [Rangout])
4x SA-5c Gammon Single Rail
10x Su-24M Fencer D
28x T-55 Main Battle Tank


EXPENDITURES:
------------------
630x 122mm/38 HE
31x 23mm Gsh-23L Burst [40 rnds]
40x 23mm Gsh-6-23 [50 rnds]
24x 23mm ZU-23-2 Burst [20 rnds]
14x 30mm Gsh-30-1 Burst [30 rnds]
103x 800 liter Drop Tank
20x AA-10 Alamo A [R-27R, MR SARH]
3x AA-10 Alamo C [R-27RE, LR SARH]
33x AA-11 Archer [R-73]
8x AA-7 Apex A [R-23R, SARH]
21x AA-7 Apex C [R-24R, SARH]
16x AA-7 Apex E [R-24MR, SARH]
1x AA-8 Aphid [R-60T]
14x AA-8 Aphid [R-60TM]
4x AS-17 Krypton C [Kh-31P, ARM]
12x AS-18 Kazoo A [Kh-59M]
8x AS-7 Kerry [Kh-23]
144x FAB-250M-54 GPB
16x FAB-500M-54 GPB
13x Generic Chaff Salvo [4x Cartridges]
10x Generic Chaff Salvo [5x Cartridges]
18x Generic Flare Salvo [2x Cartridges, Single Spectral]
12x Generic Flare Salvo [3x Cartridges, Single Spectral]
152x OFAB-100-120 Frag
16x OFAB-250-270 Frag
2x PK-16 Chaff [TSP-60U]
22x RGB-NM-1 [Passive Omni]
31x SA-10b Grumble [5V55R]
106x SA-5c Gammon [5V28M5]
1x SA-6a Gainful [9M336]
4x SSC-3 Styx [P-15M]
2x SS-N-2c Improved Styx [P-15M]



SIDE: NATO
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------
4x 7.62mm MG/Unguided Infantry Anti Tank Weapon
1x A-4M Skyhawk
8x Blowpipe MANPADS
1x Bridge (Four-lane 150 Tons)
1x Building (Communication Hub)
1x Building (Medium)
1x Building (Small)
9x Bunker (Launch Control Facility (LCF))
2x F/A-18A Hornet
1x F-16A Falcon ADF
5x F-16C Blk 30 Falcon
3x F-5F Tiger II
2x FV101 Scorpion
4x FV432 APC
3x Kfir C.2
1x Lynx AH.7
1x P 264 Archer [P.2000 Class]
1x Radar (ARSR-4)
2x Radar (ASR-9 GCA)
1x Radar (Type 85 Linesman)
1x RQ-2A Pioneer UAV
1x Structure (Canal Lock)
3x TF-16N Blk 30 Falcon [DACT]
1x WPB 1301 Farallon [Island A-Series]


EXPENDITURES:
------------------
120x 105mm/22 HE
68x 105mm/37 HE
44x 12.7mm/50 MG Burst [10 rnds]
32x 20mm M197 Burst [25 rnds]
5x 20mm M39 x 2 Burst [80 rnds]
9x 20mm Mk12 x 2 [50 rnds]
45x 20mm/85 M61A1 Vulcan Burst [100 rnds]
19x 20mm/85 Vulcan Burst [100 rnds]
11x 25mm/75 Bushmaster Mod 1 Burst [12 rnds]
6x 30mm DEFA 553 x 2 Burst [50 rnds]
12x 76 mm L23A1 HE
73x 76mm/50 HE
16x AIM-120A AMRAAM
27x AIM-7M Sparrow III
4x AIM-7P Sparrow III
4x AIM-9H Sidewinder
17x AIM-9L Sidewinder
79x AIM-9M Sidewinder
11x AIM-9N Sidewinder
1x AN/SSQ-53B DIFAR
56x BGM-71E TOW 2A
12x Blowpipe
114x CRV-7 C14 70mm Rocket
51x FIM-92C Stinger RMP
53x Generic Chaff Salvo [5x Cartridges]
10x Generic Flare Salvo [3x Cartridges, Single Spectral]
42x HYDRA 70mm Rocket
52x MIM-23C I-HAWK
23x MIM-72G Chaparral
16x Mk82 500lb LDGP
8x Mk82 500lb Snakeeye
45x RGM-109C Tomahawk Blk II TLAM-C
1x RGM-84C Harpoon IB
7x RIM-7M Sea Sparrow
6x Shafrir 2
4x UGM-109C Tomahawk Blk II TLAM



SIDE: Venezuela
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------


EXPENDITURES:
------------------



SIDE: WP Aligned [Honduras and Nicaragua]
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------
1x A-37B Dragonfly [Super Tweet]
4x F-5E Tiger II
1x GC-H 656 Gucumaz [Modified Cutlass Class]
24x MiG-21bis Fishbed L
27x MiG-23BN Flogger H
6x Mirage 5D
6x Mirage 5DE


EXPENDITURES:
------------------
2x 20mm M39 x 2 Burst [80 rnds]
24x 20mm Single Burst [20 rnds]
1x 23mm Gsh-23L Burst [40 rnds]
6x AIM-9N Sidewinder
32x FAB-500M-54 GPB
9x Generic Chaff Salvo [4x Cartridges]
17x Generic Flare Salvo [2x Cartridges, Single Spectral]
166x HYDRA 70mm Rocket
24x Mk82 500lb LDGP
6x Mk83 1000lb LDGP
64x OFAB-100-120 Frag
11x R.530



SIDE: Rebels
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------
2x 7.62mm MG
2x 7.62mm MG/Unguided Infantry Anti Tank Weapon
28x SA-7a Grail [9K32 Strela-2] MANPADS


EXPENDITURES:
------------------
66x 7.62mm MG Burst [20 rnds]
6x Generic Unguided Anti Tank Weapon



SIDE: Columbia
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------


EXPENDITURES:
------------------



SIDE: Civilian Shipping
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------
1x Commercial Dry-Bulk Carrier - Very Large Size [200,000t DWT]

Very interesting! can't wait to see the rest.

You're doing well Tailhook. A couple more surprises await but it seems you have survived the initial onslaught quite well.

I'll need to crank out the follow on scenarios to this soon, I had forgotten how much fun it was. [;)]

I think I got a lucky rolls and some great saves from the Air Force F-16s keeping my southern bases in operation. Having a lot of fun though, trying to figure out my next moves.

On the ground front:

Gitmo continues to hold by the strength of the Cactus Air Force 2.0. The Cobras have been chewing up mechanized infantry formations to be backed up by the occasional Skyhawk bombing run as well as the M1A1 Platoon and artillery battery on base. I've killed a divisions worth of ground forces with those units. Properly micromanaged I can use TOWs against the AA guns before they get in range of my helos. If I break 1500' though there's a SA-10 to the NW that sends a missile my way. If I get some breathing space I might try and run a pair of Skyhawks out there to bomb him. Quick turn saved my ass here though. I think barring another serious aerial attack on my airfield I can hold out.

In Panama one of my patrols got lucky. An OV-10 overflew a column of rebels marching for the southern portion of the Panama Canal. I scrambled an AC-130 backed by some A-37s and made short but bloody work of the intruders. There was some odd behavior with all of the aircraft involved so this was a rather micromanage heavy defense on my part. The rest of the F-16s from the squadron have arrived from Puerto Rico so I can now establish proper, round the clock air defenses. The French Marines are on the final leg of their flight from Martinique.

At Sea:

I've begun to consolidate my scattered forces with the intent of forming larger SAGs. Right now I have a SAG centered on the CGN 37 South Carolina supported by a DDG sailing North West from off the Bahamas. The Dutch Frigate Banckert and Spanish Frigate Diana are making best speed to rendevous with them somewhere north of Antigua. A French Frigate, Ventôse is south of Haiti right now and will move north to meet them north of Puerto Rico. It is my intention to sail this force down to Guantanamo and secure the local area.

At some point a supply ship docked in Miami. I'm waiting to see if anything comes of this (more AMRAAMs at Homestead would be nice...)

West of Cuba I had a Naval skirmish between a small SAG consisting of the USS Arthur W. Radford and a pair of Knox frigates against a 5 strong pack of Cuban Osa missile boats spotted by the groups ASW screen. The missile boats were sunk, but one managed to get a shot off and sank one of my frigates in response. Luckily her helicopter was already airborne with a full load of fuel and has diverted 200 nm SW to the HMS Westminster, now parked off of Belize City. The Radford SAG has splashed a few other lone gunboats and is heading SE. I am sending the USS Dale, a Leahy class cruiser to join up with them several hundred miles south of Havana. I'm hoping to park this group right off the Cuban mainland and let them antagonize the Cuban Air Force. I, err, might have missed the Dale in the beginning of the mission because I probably would have sent it to screen Panama, where it would have made a mess of the Nicaraguan attack.

HMS Westminster is providing radar (the Hondurans managed to bomb the British radar), naval gunfire support, and SAM coverage of the British forces. The helicopters managed to evacuate all of the British forces to a consolidated position in Belize City. Just in time too as a helicopter has detected unknown ground forces approaching Belize City. Although their air assets aren't as strong as the Marines in Gitmo, I'm confident that with the Frigate on station and a tight defensive position that we can hold.

I have 3 SSNs at sea and another one leaving Galveston to sprint and catch up to the JFK CVBG. USS Trepang is between Cuba and Florida and I'm using it to sniff around for submarines in the area as the sky is much too hot to get any Orions down there into that chokepoint. Nothing yet. USS Greenling is 150 nm north of Columbia and making good time north to Gitmo. I'm hoping it can provide some ESM intel off of Santiago as well as deter any Cuban ships from the area. That's still a half day of sailing away though. USS Sea Devil (great name) is between South Carolina and Bermuda and tasked to go relieve/assist Trepang so that the latter may head west to join the CVBG.

In the air:

The battle of Key West has stabilized. I haven't seen a proper massed wave in a while now, with groups of no more than 4-8 attempting to push me, backed by some SA-5 sites near Havana (I think these are low on missiles because they don't fire often and are at max range to score hits besides a single fluke). I was feeling pretty good until the Cubans switched it up and brought up some MiG-31s and Flankers. I'm going to assume those are not Cuban pilots in those. I'm lucky that these much more capable aircraft have come in small groups because they did a number on my ANG F-16s armed with Sparrows. Jamming aircraft are orbiting over Cuba playing hell with my Sparrow shots, so I'm relying on AMRAAMS when they're available and Sidewinders (thankfully the pretty good M model) when I have to. Unfortunately, my only ECM aircraft that I can see are a pair of Compass Calls in Gitmo (still too risky to attempt to sneak these out), some ECM helicopters down in Panama (not a lot of good for me there), and the Prowlers on the JFK which I want to save for attacks. So the Cubans/Soviets enjoy a relatively unjammed angle to launch at my fighters. I took losses amongst the F-16s but not enough to break my back yet. Fortunately F-15s from Tyndall AFB have landed at Homestead ARB and are 2 hours from being ready to join the patrols.

Faced with the more capable Russian aircraft and having had enough time since hostilities to ready the Air Wing I launch F-14s to defend Key West, supported by tankers from the mainland. Their long range Phoenixes work wonders against the Russians and even more importantly let me snipe the ECM aircraft orbiting south of Havana, and can cover all of western Cuba. Local CVBG CAP is handled by Hornets so unless the Nicaraguans bought some Backfires I feel good about their safety. More importantly, with the MiG-31 problem now being handled and my gain of something resembling Air Superiority, I can fly my P-3s out of NAS Jacksonville to proof the CVBGs route farther than the groups organic S-3s and helos. My plan is to park this group off of Key West to reinforce it with a FFG from New Orleans as well as the USS Long Beach which is joined by another FFG and DDG. At this point the more powerful force will either sail East and proceed along the northern side of Cuba or turn around and go West of Cuba, following the Randolph groups hopefully submarine free path. It's really up to what Washington wants me to do because my orders at this point are still "Stabilize Situation in Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean".

USAF aircraft continue to pour into Florida from all across the country. It's mostly Phantoms and Corsairs, but most of the high end Cuban stuff should be dead by the time they're ready. Plus I have some fancy new jets that were being tested at Eglin.

So yeah that's the plan.
-Deliver the KO over Key West. I think the Tomcats are going to do just that.
-Get TG South Carolina (reinforced with Europe) to Gitmo.
-Reinforce CVBG with TG Long Beach and other US small boys. Figure out what I'm supposed to do with all these tax dollars*.
-Get Orions over the CVBG. I've been pushing it but I figured at Flank speed it would be hard for any subs to catch me for now, but I'm getting closer to Cuba.
-Strengthen TG Randolph (I might turn the French Frigate around too but it would be an easy kill if detected before joining the Americans) and position them south of Havana to annoy Castro.
?Sneak a Compass Call out of Gitmo to Florida. Likely doable, but risky.
?Send Snake eaters out of Gitmo to go after that SA-10 site. The more breathing space the better.
?Reinforce the Bahamas. Venezuela is causing the Dutch concern, but they haven't done anything remotely threatening yet. Still, better safe than sorry and I'm sure it will be a hard sell to convince NY National Guard boys to go from February in NY to the Bahamas...


*Am I supposed to bomb the snot out of Cuba? ELINT has detected quite the nest of air defenses and my standoff munition supply is low. Intel said they're not super keen on this war and I'm not about to invade a country with a Battalion of Marines, although I'm sure they'd love to. It's still early though so this may get cleared up, unless Gunner wants to pitch in.

Tailhook

Really enjoying the read.

At some point a supply ship docked in Miami. I'm waiting to see if anything comes of this (more AMRAAMs at Homestead would be nice...)

No such luck. [8D] That AO was nearly empty and should now be filling up so you have an 'At Sea Replen' asset. I think you'll find that several of your ships (the Dale pops to mind) start the game dangerously low on fuel.

I cannot recall the details but the F-15's from Tyndall may not have been the best choice to move south. IIRC they are on a Sustained reload cycle and are from either the training wing or the experimental wing, they will be removed shortly. I think the only F-15s you really have to play with are the ANG A models at New Orleans and if you've played NF-8 'Hold the Line' you may recall they head up to Tule to have the opposite effect of the NY boys in Bermuda [:D]

I don't think that I clarify what to do with your assets. Perhaps another message is needed. My idea was that all hell is breaking out all over the world and the Pentagon would be busy, at a certain point you have overwhelming assets but various warning that they will be taken away from you. Therefore you have probably 18-24 hours maximum when you will have an opportunity to destroy the IADS, reduce the airbases and clean up any threats in Cuba. Leaving the task too late will put the A-7's and F-4 in jeopardy, too soon and it is strong enough to give the SEAD AC from the experimental wing a problem. I can understand your reluctance however and another quick message is perhaps needed - perhaps from the Governor of Florida or some sort of trigger. Need to think on that.

Your play of this one is quite good I think. I'm surprised you moved the entire ANG Sqn from Puerto Rico to Panama, I'll need to bump up the threat from Venezuela early on to keep you guessing [8D]

I really think your use of naval assets to support the land fight is brilliant, I don't think many players do that and it makes a huge difference. Truly joint.

Looking forward to the next bits.

B

ORIGINAL: Gunner98

At some point a supply ship docked in Miami. I'm waiting to see if anything comes of this (more AMRAAMs at Homestead would be nice...)

No such luck. [8D] That AO was nearly empty and should now be filling up so you have an 'At Sea Replen' asset. I think you'll find that several of your ships (the Dale pops to mind) start the game dangerously low on fuel.

Just checked the Dale and all my other ships. They appear to be rather full up. Something might have broken at some point in an update, not sure what to tell you. I'm glad though, the thought of getting an oiler all the way down there makes me shudder. Without Dale I'd probably abandon plans of moving TG Randolph farther south and would probably park it and the Dale off Key West permanently.

ORIGINAL: Gunner98

I cannot recall the details but the F-15's from Tyndall may not have been the best choice to move south. IIRC they are on a Sustained reload cycle and are from either the training wing or the experimental wing, they will be removed shortly. I think the only F-15s you really have to play with are the ANG A models at New Orleans and if you've played NF-8 'Hold the Line' you may recall they head up to Tule to have the opposite effect of the NY boys in Bermuda [:D]

One of the messages specifically mentioned the 3 squadrons marked "unavailable" at Eglin as going to be transferred away. I didn't see any mention of the Tyndall fighters, other than them being on sustained ops. They'll be nice to have but even if they go away I'm pretty sure the air battle over Key West is effectively over with the F-16s and F-14s. I err, might have forgotten about the New Orleans units. If the Air Force bureaucrats take any of my F-15Cs away I will fly these Cajuns down to take their place.

ORIGINAL: Gunner98

I don't think that I clarify what to do with your assets. Perhaps another message is needed. My idea was that all hell is breaking out all over the world and the Pentagon would be busy, at a certain point you have overwhelming assets but various warning that they will be taken away from you. Therefore you have probably 18-24 hours maximum when you will have an opportunity to destroy the IADS, reduce the airbases and clean up any threats in Cuba. Leaving the task too late will put the A-7's and F-4 in jeopardy, too soon and it is strong enough to give the SEAD AC from the experimental wing a problem. I can understand your reluctance however and another quick message is perhaps needed - perhaps from the Governor of Florida or some sort of trigger. Need to think on that.

Right. I'm given like 3.5, 4 days to complete the scenario but really in order to "stabilize" it I only need one I think. The Cubans won't have been destroyed as a military power but the Cuban Air Force will be incapable of any offensive operations (and really once my Phoenixes start hitting the patrols over Cuba themselves it will be effectively trashed.) To me, that takes Cuba out of World War III pretty thoroughly (give another day to hunt down the last of their ships and subs out and around) with no need on my part felt to dismantle the IADS. I kind of figured that might come in a later scenario, but then you give me 3 days and no instructions sooo... Not a knock on you, it's a fantastic scenario. I'm just beginning to question "ok now what?"

ORIGINAL: Gunner98

Your play of this one is quite good I think. I'm surprised you moved the entire ANG Sqn from Puerto Rico to Panama, I'll need to bump up the threat from Venezuela early on to keep you guessing [8D]

I really think your use of naval assets to support the land fight is brilliant, I don't think many players do that and it makes a huge difference. Truly joint.

Looking forward to the next bits.

B

With all due respect to our Dutch, French, and Spanish colleagues on here, I have no idea what Aruba, Curacao, Grenada, Martinique etc offer strategically besides some quality Rum and R&R real estate. The Panama Canal is a much more strategic location and also the closest alligator to the canoe, so they get the F-16s from Puerto Rico (and French Marines). Pulling the European frigates out may not be the most strategic decision in this regard but TG South Carolina is shaping up into quite the force, although they are still a day and a half away from Gitmo. My plan for Venezuela has been make do with the Skyhawks and Orions out of Roosevelt Roads until I could get some Phantoms down from the mainland.

I'd like to think the jointness comes from my background affiliated with both the Army and the Navy but it's more of a necessity thing. Gitmo has just straight up been lucky at this point (I do think the amount of damage attack helicopters can do to ground forces is a bit exaggerated, as the 20 bursts of 20mm cannon fire a single Cobra is capable of can effectively wipe out a Brigade if you use the TOWs on the AA vehicles. I would add the ability for 12.7mm bursts to target air vehicles personally as it would at least make me stand off a bit and is realistic.) As for the Brits, that is absolutely a function of necessity. A lucky strike took out their ground based radar so I need the Westminster to act as GCI for my Harriers. The Blowpipe is also terrible (actually I think I've gotten 2-3 kills with it due to luck) for local air defense so it's Sea Wolf missiles should at least stop the bombing runs.

I'm really enjoying the scenario. It's my first "broad area" scenario (in that there are multiple hot spots, not necessarily that I'm responsible for a large area) and that was actually kind of an accident when I was browsing for scenarios to play. That's how I've forgotten about some of my assets It's very manageable though and full of a lot of nail biters. A lot of engagements could have gone a whole lot worse and I would be interested in reading someone elses playthrough. Out of curiosity, what follow up scenarios are planned in the Caribbean Fury series?

I've got 5 scenarios in mind but will probably combine them a bit:

-A sub scrub of the Caribbean but mostly in the region of Cuba, will probably combine this one
-A SOF insertion to retrieve some key intelligence on Cuba. Considering your comments and others, I may either add this to the back end of CF1 or shorten CF1 by 24 hours to add a stand alone scenario
-A knock out operation for Nicaragua and Honduras to push them out of the war.
-A skirmish with Venezuela, after the Kennedy has left the AO on its SLOC duties and all that is left in theatre are a couple ANG F-16 Sqns.
-Some Anti drug operations in Columbia to thank them for helping out

I have completely forgotten about the 6x Pegasus class Patrol Hydrofoils which were historically retired in 93 but would not be in the alternate history for the campaign. They are based in Key West so need to used. I may either work them into this scenario or work up another to feature them.

Glad your enjoying this one, and if you like larger scope scenarios could I suggest the Northern Fury series, some are small, some are focused but some are quite expansive.

B

Verys fun reads..... Tell me more.....

Just wanted to chime in that I am embarking on Northern Fury after a bit of a hiatus from Command due to moving. Packing moving unpacking painting electrical work, etc, etc has left little time for gaming.

But a couple of Northern Fury comments:
1. The work that must have gone into these is staggering. Thank you for providing these.
2. Got my ass handed to me a second time in number 1. But I'm not sure there is any other outcome except varying levels of that
3. Right now on a Cold and Lonely place. Skipped Xray station because I've played that separately a number of times (I design subs for a living so can't resist the submarine scenarios). At least with A Cold and Lonely place I get a break with a more manageable number of things to control. Feeling rusty not having really played in a few months.
4. Looking forward to tackling the rest in order.

Again, thanks. They are good fun with lots of "atmosphere".

Gitmo:

A third wave of Cuban vehicles enters the valley west of Guantanamo. Once more, Cobras sweep over them, backed by the base artillery. Hundreds are killed and burning vehicles litter the valley. Only this time a pair of MiG-23s race towards the Gringos. Hawk missiles leap up to meet them in a race to save the helicopters so crucial to the defense. The Pioneer drone circling at 1000' falls prey to a missile, but the only Cobra fired upon has a near miss (PH - 53%, Result - 54) before both MiGs are blotted from the sky. There are now at least 2 divisions worth of dead Cubans west of the American holdout. I order my two Compass Call ECM aircraft, much needed over Florida, to use this opportunity to takeoff. They fly out over the wave tops to the South East, before turning for Haiti where they will then cut North and climb to altitude safely out of range of any Cuban threats.

Key West:
My F-14s continue to launch Phoenixes over the mainland, wiping out the airborne jammers and ELINT aircraft and also chipping away at the SU-27s and SU-30s that seem to be guarding Havana. These same Flankers, while yet to have scored a kill, keep launching long range Alamo missiles at my CAP, which without the Phoenixes don't have the range to engage them back, as too much of the Cuban IADS remains intact (although SA-5s seem to be depleted).

Panama:

A pair of Nicaraguan Mirages makes a play against my now heavily reinforced CAP. Armed with only short range IR missiles they are splashed by the Sparrow equipped F-16s guarding the area. However, a lone MiG-31 flies south from Havana (must be an AI oddity). For whatever reason, it closes to close range with one of my F-16 patrols and splashes one. The surprised wingman avenges his comrade, and a SAR helo is launched from Panama to his last known location (Have Pave Hawk, will travel). Meanwhile, a patrolling OV-10 thinks it spots movement in the bush West of the Canal Zone. A pair of rocket armed Hueys is launched to investigate. They (and the OV-10) find another wave of terrorists closing on the Northern half of the Canal Zone. Attack helicopters scramble and before long swarm the area like vultures, cutting down the rebels where they stand. Meanwhile, the French cargo plane lands and unloads a company of French Marines to help reinforce the area. (This script didn't seem to work if it exists, but the message given made it sound like I could move the French where I wished via the plane so I did so using the editor.)

TG Randolph:

TG Randolph is my closest Naval unit to the Cuban mainland, and only defended from Aerial threats by the Sea Sparrows of the Randolph (until Dale arrives). Nevertheless, the threat comes from not above the waves but below. A sonobuoy ahead of the formation gets a close whiff of a slow and shallow SSK. Although the helicopter who dropped it was already returning for fuel, his partner launches to localize the contact. Before long, the Seahawk has the sub identified as a Kilo, drops an active buoy on him followed by a Mk-46 to seal the fate of the submarine. This was my first ASW contact and I'm sure not my last this scenario.

Much further south, Dale encounters it's own moment of peril. A trio of patrol craft cross the horizon and are detected by the onboard surface search radar. They are identified as Honduran and closing fast. Dale has no gun larger than a 20mm and that's not a risk I want to take. Rather than waste a precious Harpoon which could be saved for a more lethal threat, I fire a pair of Standard Missiles used as AShMs into each. Two are left burning profusely while the third is dead in the water. I choose to save my SAMs and leave them as they are.


Notes - In editor, a lot of the MANPAD wielding rebels don't approach the Canal Zone. Not sure why, maybe it's the lack of an anti-ground weapon.