Captain Khryses reluctantly down-checks IL-76e from active flight status until it can be returned to Bikini Atoll and the landing gear and hydraulics can be fully repaired. We contract local emergency repair technicians to service her in Singapore until she can return to Regenbogen Base - at which time we will also query the flight crew more closely about what on earth they were doing so far off their course to begin with.
Adjustments will be made to the delivery schedule based on existing priorities to try to minimise the impact to the Task Force buildup.
Does the Task Force feel a higher priority should be given to air or ground elements at this time? SSOW feels that Task Force composition supports the traditional concept that air elements are the more capable strike arm, while ground elements should be favoured if Command feels there is a real and imminent threat to the FOB area.
The runway be lit or marked by some form of clear illumination at night, ideally something that is visible through most forms of fog.
The runway at the FOB be regularised and cleared of all FOD before the next flight from Bikini Atoll arrives at D3/0700 local time. This includes cows.
The perimeter be expanded to include a calm stretch of the Luvua as soon as local Task Force strength renders this practical. SSOW will not bring in floatplanes for assembly until it is useful to do so, limiting the support we can offer to rough field at most.
4 Helicopter Transports, 4x Ground Teams from the Air Cavalry (as noted by Commander Pruitt in #57).
SSOW will require a consensus on airlift priorities before the remaining heavy birds return to Bikini Atoll on D4.
With luck, IL-76e will be ready to rejoin them at this time.
"This phone call worries me, they most likely know that we are here. I will instruct my Bromure to jam everything if they spot anything outside our radio traffic."
We should write down a note to remind ourselves to get some local interpreters and guides.
Guess we'll get flares to light the runway by night? There's a village to the south west, we might be able to rustle up some chicken wire. If we can get enough, we can use them to make a tough runway using the chicken wire and gravel from the river.
I belive I will already have two fireteams on the ridges above the Luv River heavily armed but small. When we get more boots on the ground it'd be nice to give them relief.
Here's Hotel Californias question to the rest, do you want my Paras to stay on perimeter or do we want to relieve them ASAP and ready them for another drop?
As the only other forces with ground assets of note, we should ask the Air Cavalry and EuroCorps what their minimum force requirements are to take over the perimeter and relieve Hotel California?
Day 8- Two AH 6 Gunships plus ?
That leaves me short 4 Transports and four Gunships. Day 3, I will have two Recon Dismount Teams and two Heavy Weapons teams onsite. That gives me 16 men to help man a perimeter. I will offer everything I have, but my Heavy Weapons Teams should be in overwatch and not on the line. Their job is to destroy any vehicles that try to penetrate our perimeter.
I'm going to detach four men from my airfield patrol and have them investigate the tracks we spotted. They have good infrared and night vision gear so I'll get them to watch the site from cover through the night, see if we get any return visitors.
With the exception of IL76E, which remains a maintenance problem from hell for the SSOW crews, the other flights manage to get off without a hitch. Flight Engineers and crew chiefs do note, however, that there's a lot of wear on the landing gear suspensions and hydraulics, and warn that a high sortie rate will be hard to maintain without risking failures or planes grounded at inopportune locations.
Throughout the day, the planes land and take off, bringing in Eurocorps fire support platoon with their VABs with 90mm turrets, as well as the headquarters of 1st Company of the battalion, giving Eurocorps a relatively large headquarters and command element, though not much of a combat element if the commanders don't want to put their own staffs into a fight.
Conversely, Pruitt Air Cav (PAC) doesn't have an official 'command element' per se, and four more of their Little Birds, transports this time with their 4 man fire teams, 2 regular and 2 heavy weapon, arrive as well. SSOW's maintenance crew helps the flight crews check over all their helicopters, and gives Cobra Command a once-over as well. The Flying Circus doesn't need assistance with their fighters, as in waves their own support team arrives and begins working on maintenance and improving the airstrip, working by spotlight after flight hours have ended for the day, the drone of diesel engines constant as the bulldozer and front end loaders get to work grading and removing any remaining brush.
Eurocorps picks up a phone call around lunchtime, which they dutifully jam, from the direction of the Bantu Village, followed by what they estimate as another three to four attempted calls. The team from Hotel California strikes out spotting anyone moving overnight, and during daylight they patrol farther and farther out, slowly looking for any other sign, and finally finding some heading generally South. The sign is farther away from the perimeter, maybe the sounds of the now busy FOB pushed whoever it is further out, or they meant to go that way?
Well after dark, a number of older Bantu, one recognizable as a village elder from their last visit, approach the perimeter. A number of them look a bit worse for wear, and a couple of women scream in fright as the patrolling NZSAS appear out of the brush around them. Some of Colonel Francois men start talking in French and it seems that the locals comprehend that a bit better than English. You don't get much out of them, except that they were raided, their cattle and some of their people were taken while a couple were killed and there are wounded in the village, and their one phone isn't working for some reason. When asked about who raided them they look at you in shock as if you don't know, and then make to leave for home, the one phrase that can be understood something about the foreigners not caring.
I suggest we have the Medics go to the village and do a little good will spreading. Clean bandages and some antibiotics will go far. Maybe we can take another collection to replace several cows? Colonel Pruitt suspects his Mastercard will not go far, but will see if his incoming people can bring in some cash. We need to keep the locals on our side if we can. Perhaps my Little Birds can locate the cattle rustlers and see if we can get the captives and cows back?
I agree with Pruitt. Let's make sure the locals are on our side and provide them with medical assistance and get these cows back. In meanwhile, can we get a local interpreter? We need to get more information out of these locals on local geography, villages, people, and anything else that's important to us. We need to develop a feeling for the local area. Combine that with satellite imagery (if we have that) then we will have a good idea of local happenings.
One more thing if I may add. I know we have a lot on our plate, so it's not possible to do everything at once. However, I was studying the satellite imagery before we came here, I noticed a small hamlet or village east of Mesa FOB. It sits below the river's curve and is called Katemesha. I'm sure they probably saw our airlift flying in and out of the FOB, so it's possible some people in that village made phone calls to inform whatever is out there that we are in town and we're bringing big guns. If we can, then we should secure the village.
OOC: I was looking for more information on Congo when I came across this website. It has a better topographical map of Congo with all contours available and some additional details not found on Google Map. Of course, this is from 2012, but I seriously doubt a lot has changed in last 5 years. It also has a cool map of street light being illuminated at night, so you can see where civilization is. Check it out.
Next night I want to send out a patrol of NZSAS south, try and track sign back to the source, however I do not want my people to put themselves in danger/reveal their presence. It'd be nice to have some of our helos ready to support them/extract if nessecary, maybe a Flying Circus jet on standby as well?
As for the Village, Dashwood intends to grab a member of Sens staff who speaks English and French, frog march them to the village elders and tell them to pack up and move out or enter the FOB perimeter for now. They've been warned the area is not safe and Dashwood suspects its about to get a whole lot less safe. If anyone wants to tag along to play good cop or try to stop me you'd better do it soon!
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