Tactical Decision Game #05–9
Eyes and Ears
by Maj Terry L. Branstetter
General
During the summer months, Clusterian military forces took hold of the national government. The former president, local government officials, and police fled to neighboring countries. The Clusterian military forces established martial law.
For the most part, the population chose to remain on their land. Clusteria is an agricultural country with many small villages. During the coup, most civilians continued their lives with little notice or care for the new leadership. However, in areas where opposition to the military became vocal, the military was quick to quiet their opponents, violently in some cases.
A combination of external political and economic pressures and the increased difficulty of maintaining a military presence during the upcoming winter have resulted in the military leadership offering concessions to the ousted government. The former government will be allowed to return to power; however, Clusterian military advisors will remain in local and national governmental bodies.
Your battalion’s (2d Battalion, 2d Marines’ (2/2’s)) mission is to occupy two villages, as the Clusterian military begins to pull back, in order to maintain order until the original government and police resume control. The battalion will move into the two villages at first light tomorrow. The first village is across the border and 14 kilometers from 2/2’s current position. It has about 300 inhabitants and is called Terse. It is known to have had small but intense military-civilian clashes.
Situation
You are Cpl Jackson from the 2/2 Surveillance Target Acquisition Platoon. You have a four-man team, Team 3, located at the edge of Terse. It is the afternoon before the battalion enters the village. Your mission (the same as two other teams) is to observe key areas of the village to help pull the battalion into the village with minimal confrontation from the occupying forces. You are only to report and should avoid confrontation with the enemy except for self-protection.
Your team has been in position since before dawn. The battalion plans to move into Terse at 0530 tomorrow, and then move on to the second village. From your vantage point in an abandoned shed, you observe and report two armored personnel carriers (APCs) with about a squad armed with small arms, antitank (AT) rockets, and at least one surface-to-air missile. From radio reports, the other teams observe similar forces. You guess that a platoon-sized force occupies Terse.
During the morning hours you note soldiers performing normal military routines—cleaning weapons and gear, maintaining visibility throughout the town, and manning a checkpoint at the edge of the village. About an hour before dusk you note a change in the soldiers. It is as if their mood has changed; you guess that they finally got the word to pull out per the peace agreement.
As the twilight fades to darkness, an explosion engulfs a car, probably from an AT rocket. Rifle and machinegun fire is heard throughout the village. One of the APCs starts and moves to the edge of the village. You tell your team, “They’re staging for the withdrawal.” A radio report to battalion from Team 2 confirms your assumption. Battalion responds that the occupation will proceed as planned at 0530 (9 hours from now) in order to avoid disrupting the plan.
Suddenly, you hear several gunshots, and then female screams. PFC Williams, with the night vision device, says, “Some soldiers are dragging two girls from that house over toward the APC.” The screams continue over the rumble of the APC engines. What do you do?
Requirement
In a time limit of 60 seconds, issue any orders you would give to your team and reports that you would submit. Provide an overlay showing movement and/or placement of your team.
