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So You Want To Be an
OpCom?
Developing an effective scenario with an historical basis
can take several re-writes and a lot of effort. Be
patient and listen to senior members' advice.
Cimmerian operations always re-enact conflicts between well trained
military units. Honorable warriors. The OpCom (Operation Commander) needs
to start from an historical precedent and develop a scenario. Don't forget
that you are not devising a competition to see which team is "better". You are
designing a situation to simulate combat conditions and test the mettle of
both sides, these are very different ends. Keeping things "even" and
having mechanisms in the scenario to control the flow of battle are important.
The guys come out each month to have fun, so keeping the energy and enthusiasm
of all the operators "up" is your responsibility.
What Not To Do Cimmerian operations are never between the "good guys" and the
evil baddies (you name it...rag tag bands of
murders, mercinaries, prison inmates, druggies, hillbillies, fanatics, terrorists). These types
of scenarios are inherently unstable and do not represent historical military-combat by
their very nature. We have seen that these types of scenarios usually
degenerate and so avoid then with extreme prejudice. We also
avoid the heinous "bad taste for its own sake" scenarios that are in fashion
with other event producers and their less-mature customer base.
Historically-Based
Scenarios
Tactical Withdrawal This is an old standby Cimmerian
scenario. It is used when bones are weary and energy is low, often as a way to
finish a hard day of MilSim. The Scenario: The front line between
Red Army and Blue Army has broken down. Blue Army is now in retreat. Blue Army
has selected a small group of soldiers to slow Red Army advance long enough to
give Blue Army a chance to reestablish a new defensive line.
The
Operation: Troops are divided into two
groups with the attacking group having a 2 to 1 advantage. The goal for the
attacker is to get have half of it's soldiers to the designated area
before time is up. The defender's goal is to prevent this. This operation
is usually conducted along a certain path or trail with a boundary
usually set at 50 to 100 yards on both sides of the trail. Possible
Outcomes:
The Red Army completes its mission if it gets half
its team to the designated area before mission time has elapsed. The Blue Army
completes its mission if mission time expires before the Red Army completes
its mission.
Tips: Although the defenders
lack the numbers, they have the constant advantage
of setting up ambushes which usually give them a high kill ratio. As
in real combat, this scenario works best for the defenders if they work in pairs. Be
careful not to stay in one place too long and let the enemy bypass you. Remember,
your mission is to delay the enemy onslaught.
Multiple Objective This scenario
is also a Cimmerian favorite.
The
Scenario:
Variable.
The Operation: Two armies
are evenly divided. A number of objectives are secretly placed on the
field in advance. The mission is for each side to control the
specific objective called out by OpCom. This may require finding it using
maps, compasses, radio direction finding equipment, or satellite navigation.
At the end of each time period (usually one hour), the side
in control of the objective has completed their mission and moves on to the
next.
Downed Pilot This scenario
sometimes requires a person to assume the role of the downed pilot, but
normally our loyal training dummy CPO Savage steps in. The
Scenario: The Blue Army has lost a pilot
behind enemy lines. Because of heavy enemy presence, a direct rescue is not
feasible. A platoon of soldiers are sent in to rescue the pilot and move him to
a designated LZ (Landing Zone) for extraction before the
pilot is captured and too many enemy patrol show up. Time is of the
essence!
The
Operation: There are two armies:
the Blue Army (the rescue team) and the Red Army (the enemy
patrol). Armies are divided with the Blue Army starting with a 2 to 1
advantage. The
Mission:
The Blue Army's
mission is to locate and rescue the pilot, and get him safely to the LZ
for extraction. The goal for the Red Army is to locate the pilot and
take him back to their base for interrogation. Pilot Rules (Live Pilot):
Before the start of the mission, the pilot moves to the
center of the field and finds a hiding spot out of view of both teams. He must
remain there until he is found by one of the two armies. Once he is
found, any soldier within 30 feet may give him a command. The pilot must
follow any commands given to him. Should both Red and Blue soldiers be in the area,
the pilot will obey the Blue soldier. If the pilot suddenly finds himself
alone, he will seek the nearest hiding spot and wait until he is found again.
To make things a little more realistic and difficult, a live pilot
can pretend to have a wounded leg so the soldiers must assist or even carry
him. Pilot Rules (Dummy
Pilot): If a dummy is used, it will
be hidden on the field by the OpCom team in advance. Once the dummy is found,
any soldier can carry the dummy. Should the soldier or soldiers carrying
the pilot get hit, the pilot is dropped at that spot. The pilot
is then free for anyone else to recover. The pilot can not be killed. To make
things a little more realistic and difficult, the dummy may be
required to be carried on a stretcher.
Mission
Completion: The mission is completed when
one of the armies get the pilot to their designated area.
Tips: Begin by patrolling and spread out to cover more ground.
Communication is key to keep track of the pilot's location.
Convoy This scenario requires
the use of one or more military vehicles. The
OpCom should arrange in advance for the required vehicles to be brought to the
area of operation. The
Scenario: The mission
objective for the Red Army is to get its vehicles from point "A" to
point "B" in the designated time period. The mission objective of
the Blue Army is to prevent this from occurring.
The Operation: Soldiers are divided into two
even armies. In some operations, the army with the vehicles may be
given a numerical advantage. The Red Army can advance their vehicles only as
far as their most forward soldier can. The vehicles are immune to small
arms fire and may only be destroyed by a rocket launcher or mortar. Should the
vehicle be destroyed, it simply halts for 5 minutes and then resumes its
advance. All personnel in the vehicle are also killed. For safety
purposes, no vehicle can ever move faster than a quick walking pace. All
soldiers must always be aware of the proximity of a vehicle, because the
driver may not be able to see the solder. Vehicles have a 25-foot safety
zone just like a soldier, so never approach the vehicle closer
than 25 feet.
Mission
Completion:
The Blue Army completes its objective when it gets its vehicles to
the designated area before mission time has elepsed. The Red Army completes
its objective if mission time expires before the vehicles reach the designated
area.
Tips: This is usually a high
action scenario. Make sure you have a lot of ammo and spare batteries.
All Scenarios
have a basic premise that
come from an historical engagement or from sources in more recent history, such
as:
A rear guard
tactical withdrawal along a road or other similar feature, the defenders'
objective to prevent the attackers from breaking through,
To capture
and secure a tactically important position, then defend its perimeter until
relieved,
To locate a downed pilot and rescue (or capture) the
injured pilot, and recover important military intelligence located at the
crash site,
To locate hidden enemy ammunition caches in their
territory, and destroy the munitions in place,
To locate an
enemy POW compound deep inside their territory, free friendly troops, and
successfully return to friendly lines
New scenarios can be developed by the OpCom as long as
they are based in some manner on historical military combat
events.
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