Defend the Airfield, Part I

Situation

Beginning with the fall of communism in the early 1990s, the past several years have witnessed tremendous changes throughout the world. You find yourself the commanding officer of the 1st Special Infantry Company in a provisional rifle battalion that has been formed recently and deployed (without major attachments) on a deployment for training to Dull Garrison Island in the northern region of the Indian Ocean. In part, the deployment maintains presence and replaces the more expensive regular deployment of amphibious forces. It also provides familiarization and training for potential leaders of the local defense force forming on the island.

Even before international sanctions had been lifted, the Southwest Asian nation of BAD had been secretly rebuilding its military arsenal with the intent of avenging the embarrassment suffered at the hands of the United States in 1990-91 and of accomplishing its original objectives of that period, but this time BAD has determined to do it right.

You have been following the message traffic, which states that BAD has invaded its neighbor (the peace-loving nation of GOOD) and the 26th MEU with BLT 2/8 and a carrier battle group has been dispatched to the area.

You are now being told that BAD has the capability to stage limited amphibious and helicopterborne assaults using its elite Guards battalions. Furthermore, it is believed that BAD is planning an assault on the relatively large island of Dull Garrison in an effort to forestall any American effort to redevelop this island as a marshalling area. Faced with this threat, your provisional battalion is directed to deploy throughout the island and attempt to provide security until reinforcements arrive.

Your company is currently located on the southeast coast of the island in the vicinity of one of the island’s three small airfields/landing strips. Your mission is to defend the airfield so that additional forces may be introduced for the island’s defense. You have been assigned one squad each of heavy machineguns and Dragons from weapons company. Your only indirect fire support comes from the battalion’s organic 81mm mortars. Currently, both the carrier battle group as well as the amphibious task force are too far away to provide any support.

Approximately 2 kilometers northeast of the airfield is the mouth of North River, the only suitable landing beach in the immediate vicinity. North River itself is extremely shallow and often dry in this arid land. You are ordered to ensure that your deployment will in no way endanger the lives or property of the good citizens living in the area.

Requirement

In a time limit of five minutes, deploy your company. Include an overlay sketch and provide a brief discussion of the rationale behind your actions. Submit your solutions to the Marine Corps Gazette, TDG #92-3, Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134. The Gazette will publish the author’s and other solutions in the June 1992 issue.

Dull Garrison Chronicles Part V: Company Assault

This is a continuation of the TDGs presented in recent months. As a general review, the commander, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) was ordered to assault and secure Dull Garrison Island Airfield #2 so it can be used by follow-on forces arriving from the United States. It it believed that the airfield is only being defended by one of the enemy’s small battalions (400 men). The battalion headquarters and one rifle company appear to be located in the village of A1 Joblin. The airfield itself (ATF Obj I) is being defended by a second rifle company. The enemy’s third rifle company is thought to be located near the bridge spanning the North River, which is virtually dry at this time of the year. Three antiaircraft positions have been identified and are depicted on the accompanying map.

To accomplish his mission, the battalion commander assigned Company E the main effort and directed it to land by CRRC over Red Beach (immediately south of the mouth of South Creek) at L -5 hours, and move covertly toward Airfield #2. At L-hour Company E destroy the antiaircraft artillery (AAA) site south of the field and secure the airfield (ATF Obj I), advancing no further than the designated limit of advance (LOA). Company F would land over Blue Beach at L-hour, destroy the AAA site to the north and and assault to secure Al Joblin (LF Obj 1) and the AAA site to the west. The light armored infanty (LAI) platoon will follow in trace of Company F and seize the bridge over North River. A 105mm howitzer platoon will be in position south of South Creek by L-hour.

Requirement

You are the company commander of Company E. Prepare the order you would issue your subordinates to carry out your mission. Include an overlay sketch and provide a brief discussion of the rationale behind your actions. Submit your solution to the Marine Corps Gazette, Tactical Decision Game #92-7, Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134. The Gazette will publish the author’s and other solutions in the September 1992 issue.

Dull Garrison Chronicles Part VI: F-O-X Spells Relief

Situation

The 26th MEU has been directed to retake Dull Garrison Island from the forces of BAD in order to rescue the beleaguered Marine garrison and to establish a foothold for follow-on forces. Elements of the 82d Airborne Division have begun to arrive and have taken up defensive positions around DGI Airfield #2. Things appear to be going well in that respect. For a time, the pressure on the flagging Marine provisional rifle battalion had slackened. In an apparent effort to wipe them out once and for all, however, the enemy redoubled their efforts against the garrison‘s shrinking perimeter. The MEU commander, therefore, ordered a relief column to rescue the badly depleted battalion now located at Al Habib several kilometers south of Al Bandi.

BLT 2/8 will execute this mission with only its organic assets. The battalion commander was required to leave his TOWs, LAVs, and AAVs behind for airfield security. You are the commanding officer of Company F (“The Gunfighters”). Your company is assigned as the lead element of one of the battalion’s two parallel columns. Your mission is to proceed south along Al Bandi road, quickly bypassing or destroying any enemy resistance, in order to reach the provisional rifle battalion as rapidly as possible.

Your point has reported enemy activity in and around the small village of Al Bandi. It would appear that there are approximately 50 enemy soldiers armed only with small arms and medium machineguns. Attached to your company is a squad of heavy machineguns (two .50 caliber/Mk19s with component vehicles). You have your 60mm mortars and may call for support from the battalion’s organic 81mm mortars. There are also two sections of Cobras (four aircraft) supporting the battalion’s movement. The rules of engagement state that you may destroy any local buildings only if first fired upon from within, and you must direct your fire only into those buildings in which known enemy forces are located. In other words, you are to minimize collateral civilian damage as much as possible. After all, the civilians are on our side and preservation of community resources will help them to get back to their lives as soon as BAD forces can be driven from Dull Garrison Island.

Requirement

In a time limit of 5 minutes, decide how you will proceed, deploy your platoon, and issue your orders. Include an overlay sketch and provide a brief discussion of the rationale behind your actions. Submit your solutions to the Marine Corps Gazette, Tactical Decision Game #92-8, Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134. The Gazette will publish the author’s and other solutions in the October 1992 issue.

Dull Garrison Chronicles Part VII: The “Guts” of BLT 2/8

Situation

This is a continuation of the Dull Garrison Chronicles and takes place on the same terrain encountered in TDG #92-5. It is the last of the Dull Garrison Chronicles.

Currently, we find that through the skillful efforts of Company F, Battalion Landing Team (BLT) 2/8 has pushed past the village of Al Bandi and is bearing down on the larger town of Al Habib in two separate columns. The provisional rifle battalion (PRB) is desperately short of ammunition, water, and medical supplies and has a growing casualty list well over 60 percent. It is holding out on its last legs in the south central part of Al Habib.

In an apparent effort to eliminate the remnants of the PRB. the enemy has resorted to launching fanatic human wave assaults against the tiny Marine stronghold, while leaving weaker forces to engage and delay our advancing relief column on the outskirts of the town. Although it is thought that the bulk of the enemy’s screening forces are poised on the northern edge of town, it appears that at least four squads are located in the northeast corner.

Recognizing both the nature of the enemy’s dispositions and the urgency of the situation in relation to the PRB. the commander of BLT 2/8 has decided that the quickest way to reach the beleagured PRB is to envelop the enemy’s western flank, employing Company G, which is approaching from that direction in one of the battalion’s two columns. Finally, the battalion commander intends to fix the remainder of the enemy’s screening force in its positions by feigning an attack on the northern outskirts, using both Companies E and F. To this end. Company G has been designated the BLT’s point of main effort. Company G has attached two sections of heavy machineguns (total of four Mkl9/four .50 caliber M2HB) and one section (four launchers) of Dragons. Also available to the company commander are fire missions from the BLTs 81mm mortar platoon and artillery battery, as well as support from one section (two aircraft) of Cobra attack helicopters. Note: The accompanying map only reflects the northwest corner of Al Habib.

Requirement:

You are the commanding officer of Company G. Since time is critical to the survivors of the PRB, quickly formulate your plans and issue your orders. Include an overlay sketch and provide a brief discussion of the rationale behind your actions. Submit your solutions to the Marine Corps Gazette, Tactical Decision Game #92-9, P. O. Box 1775, Quantico. VA 22134. The Gazette will publish the author’s and other solutions in the November issue.

CJTF Al Ouadiyya: Part VII: “Combat Tourism”

Situation

It has been 30 days since the U.S. Mission in Al Ouadiyya and the CJTF officially partnered with the Nuzuri tribe and contracted their militia as “auxiliary forces,” or AUXFOR (pronounced “oxford” by your Marines), for the security and stability mission on the island nation. You remain the Company Commander, A Company, 1st Bn, 1st Mar, and despite a non-punitive letter of caution from your battalion commander for exaggerated reporting of enemy forces in the midst of an attack on your COP (combat outpost), you are beginning to think you may stay in command of “Red Death” for the roughly two months remaining in this deployment … if you live that long.

Your Company’s area of operations in the Al Mumeet Mosque neighborhood is still dynamic. The ubiquitous presence of Nuzuri AUXFOR patrols and checkpoints has reduced or at least forced anti-MUGA forces into the open. In other words, the enemy is more interested in attacking the “oxfords” than your Marines or the MUGA commandos attached to your company. The Nuzuri presence does nothing to demonstrate stability or rule of law in the area as groups of fighters, many as young as 12 or 13, “patrol” through this section of the city in Chinese-made pickups with crew-served weapons, and equally armed groups man random roadblocks, searching travelers and collecting a “service charge” for their work. Unlike the anti-MUGA Islamic extremists, whose preferred terror tactic was beheading, the “oxfords” employ “necklacing:” placing a car tire soaked in gasoline around the neck of a bound detainee and setting it on fire. If the captive is lucky, smoke inhalation is quick. Your Marines who have encountered the results often comment that “at least the beheadings didn’t stink so bad.” You have consistently reported these incidents, but, to date, no action has been taken or directed. You have the following forces and supporting arms available:

  •  1st and 3rd Platoons, Company A 1/1: 58 effective Marines, 1 1stLt and 1 SSgt platoon commanders; 1 Hospitalman 1st Class (Independent Duty Corpsman), plus 2 Hospitalmen 3rd Class
  •  2 Battalion radio operators
  •  2 4-man Scout Sniper teams (2 SASR and 2 M40A5 sniper weapons)
  •  1 Machine gun Section (-) (4x M240B 7.62 machine guns)
  •  1 Assault Squad (2x SMAW 83mm rocket launchers)
  •  1 Joint Tactical Air Controller (JTAC) Team
  •  2 Interpreters (CJTF contracted)
  •  1 MUGA Commando Platoon (rein): 48 Commandos total, equipped with AK-47 rifles, rifle grenades, two RPK Machine gun Sections (8x RPK 7.62 machine guns) and their own interpreters (English, Arabic, and the Nuzuri dialect)

Fire support remains limited to the battalion’s organic mortars, and Marine rotor-wing CAS on alert +15 at the battalion FOB.

The battalion’s alert +5 section of medevac helicopters has a dedicated radio net. Response time is less than 10 minutes, and the JTF Level III treatment facility is 45 minutes flight time.

Communications remain limited to unencrypted, VHF and UHF voice-only radio, wire (analog field telephones), and couriers. The local commercial telecom enterprise (landline and cellular) is also functional although unreliable and unsecure. You have sufficient radios to maintain a company tactical radio net, one battalion tactical net, and the infantry battalion mortar net. Your JTAC team also has uncovered UHF radios to coordinate RW CAS and medevacs.

Your Company has been tasked to provide security for one of the senior U.S. officials in country and a media team. Darla Hayman, a war correspondent and on-screen personality for one of the largest worldwide news networks, and her producer and cameraman are accompanying the Honorable Grainger LaSalle, Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S. Mission in Al Ouadiyya. He has a three-man personal security detail with him. LtCol Darrin Douxe, the MEB PAO; CWO3 Yvonne Shadee, the PA Chief; and two combat camera Marines are escorting the party. The group is scheduled to RON (remain overnight) at your COP.

After issuing your orders to the company for the visit, you also instruct your platoon commanders and all NCOs to drill everyone in the COP on the current public affairs guidance from the CJTF.

The group arrives by MV-22 after your Marines secure an LZ and move to your position without incident. However, several teams of AUXFOR make themselves very visible as they overwatch the group’s arrival.

Shortly after their arrival, the MEB PA team takes Mr. LaSalle to the roof of the COP for his photo op. Ms. Hayman asks if she and her crew can “just wander around the outpost and talk to the Marines.”

After talking with your Marines for several hours, she also asks you “off the record” whether you think the Nuzuri AUXFOR are helping stabilize the country and if their support is worth $1.5 million cash the U.S. has paid to the tribal leadership and MUGA officials. Do you think the U.S.-led coalition should continue funding a regime that employs children as security forces?

 

Requirement A

What do you tell her? Do you continue to allow her and her team unescorted access to you Marines? If not, how do you prevent such contact?

Later that evening, LtCol Douxe shares with you that he is a Reserve officer with a lucrative career in public relations in New Orleans. Prior to leaving active duty, he was an infantry platoon commander deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2009. After this collegial preamble, he informs you that he will be taking the PA team on a patrol to collect footage of the Al Mumeet area. If you have any security patrols planned, he proposes combining the two patrols for added security and unity of command with him as patrol leader.

 

Requirement B

What do you do? Do you permit the PA team to patrol in your AO? If so, do you combine this effort into one of your security patrols or keep the patrols separate? If you combine the patrols, what mission and tasks do you assign them? How do you task organize this patrol? Who is the patrol leader: the PAO, one of your Marines, or do you make a different decision?

 

Instructions

Quickly formulate your plans and issue your orders. Provide a brief discussion of the rationale behind your actions. Submit your solutions by email at [email protected] or to the Marine Corps Gazette, TDG 01-18, Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134. The Gazette will publish solutions in an upcoming issue.

Part IV: “Should I Stay, or Should I Go?”

by the Staff, Marine Corps Gazette

Situation

Your command—A Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, aka “Red Death”—has been occupying and improving a combat outpost in “the Ritz,” a four-story building west of the Al Mumeet Mosque, for six weeks. You are still reinforced with an MUGA Commando Platoon, and both your Marines and the commandos have been regularly rotating between the company’s sector of the battalion FOB and the outpost for the last four weeks, spending two weeks in each position. The route between positions is patrolled by elements of the battalion and LAR, and it is under near-continuous observation by rotary-wing aircraft and scout snipers.

Since establishing “COP Ritz,” the residents of the mosque area have increased their support for the Marine presence and have provided through your interpreters and the elder of the Al Umm family important information on the local situation. Last week their reports led your Marines to a shallow grave containing the remains of four U.N. aid workers who had gone missing several months ago. Although supportive, the locals have not gone so far as to identify local anti-MUGA fighters from any of the various factions. Moreover, there remain very few men between the ages of 14 and 40 in the area. The locals report that they are all away working in the mines.

The JTF continues operating with degraded communications: limited to unencrypted, frequency static, voice-only radio, wire, and couriers. Commercial satellite telephones are available for emergency and morale calls.

Your attachments and support have not changed:

• 1 Machinegun Section (-) (4x M240B 7.62 machineguns).

• 1 Assault Squad (2x SMAW 83mm rocket launchers).

• 1 Joint Tactical Air Controller (JTAC) Team

• 2 Interpreters

• 1 MUGA Commando Platoon: 40 commandos total, equipped with AK-47 rifles, rifle grenades, and is reinforced with an RPK Machinegun Section (4x RPK 7.62 machineguns)

Fire support is currently limited to the battalion’s organic mortars and Marine rotary-wing CAS on alert +15 at the battalion FOB.

The battalion’s alert +5 section of Medevac helicopters has a dedicated radio net. Response time is less than 10 minutes, and the JTF Level III treatment facility is 45 minutes flight time.

Your Marines and the commandos have built a rapport with the two families of squatters inside COP Ritz—your men respect the privacy of the families, especially the women and girls, and a visit from one of the battalion’s female engagement teams (two female Marines, a female corpsman, and woman from USAID fluent in the local dialect) was very well received by both families.

Yesterday, the Al Umm elder informed you that two of his cousins would be visiting from the mines, and the two younger men spent several hours having tea with the old man yesterday evening. The two cousins were respectful and in clean local dress with “knock-off” athletic shoes dusty from the road. You and your interpreters could only catch parts of the conversation discussing the weather and family matters. During the visit, the women and girls all gathered in a separate room and kept their long, black, “Saudi-style” abbayas on the entire time. After the cousins left, you asked the elder why the women did not mix with their family. He replied that they were shy and the daughters might one day be promised in marriage to the men.

This morning, after your pre-dawn “walking the lines” of COP Ritz’s fighting positions, you notice the women and girls of both families leaving the COP with their belongings. The elder and the other men of the squatter families were collecting the heavier property and preparing to leave as well. Through your interpreter, the elder explains that his cousins offered the family a safe place to stay closer to the mines. He seemed sorry to leave and blessed you and your men profusely before quickly departing.

What do you think is going to happen and how soon?

Requirements:

1. What is your assessment of the situation?

2. What are your orders to your Marines and the commandos?

3. What is your report to your battalion commander?

4. What, if any, additional support do you request and why?

Include an overlay sketch and provide a brief discussion of your rationale. Submit you solutions by email at [email protected] or to the Marine Corps Gazette, TDG 05-17, Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134. The Gazette will publish solutions in an upcoming issue.

Note: This problem is a continuation of TDG 04-17

Part III: “Right Encrypt, Authenticate Down”

by the Staff, Marine Corps Gazette

Situation

It has been three days since a patrol from your command, A Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines reinforced with a MUGA Commando Platoon, occupied the four-story building immediately west of the Al Mumeet Mosque now known to your Marines and Sailors as “the Ritz.” Since occupying this building there have been no IDF attacks originating in the mosque neighborhood, overall IDF attacks on the battalion FOB have been reduced, and the local residents are demonstrating support for the Marine presence.

However, the entire JTF has been operating with degraded communications since the incident at the mosque. While your patrol made contact with a well-trained sniper team, the JTF networks were penetrated by malicious code downloaded through a “Trojan Horse” attack on one of the numerous commercial-off-the-shelf “tactical tablet” computers in use across the force. In addition, localized jamming of GPS satellite signals has rendered systems employing GPS time inaccurate and/or inoperative. USCYBERCOM, DISA, and the relevant agencies of the coalition partners have taken measures to contain the effects of these attacks to the operational networks in theater while the JTF and subordinate forces work to reestablish their networks. National intelligence analysis of these sophisticated attacks indicates likely support from the People’s Republic of China to one or more of the local mining syndicate’s armed gangs.

Communications are now limited to unencrypted, frequency static, voice-only radio, wire (analog field telephones still common among members of the coalition and MUGA forces), and of course couriers. The commercial Ouadiyyan telecom enterprise (landline and cellular) is also functional although typically unreliable and obviously unsecure. You have sufficient radios to maintain a company tactical radio net, one battalion tactical net, and the infantry battalion mortar net. Your JTAC team have also uncovered UHF radios to coordinate RW CAS and medevacs.

Given the present situation, you have decided to retain command of the company minus/reinforced at “the Ritz” while your XO, 1st Lt Espinoza, and the remaining elements of the company continue to secure the eastern entry point into the battalion FOB. In establishing your hasty defense you have negotiated with the two families of squatters in “the Ritz” through your interpreters and the Elder of the Al Umm family. The families have moved into the most secure rooms of the building. Your Marines and the Commando Platoon are dispersed throughout the building in combined living areas/fighting positions as shown in Figure 2. (See on next page.) Your squad leaders have already conducted short duration local security patrols in the neighborhood.

You have the following attachments and supporting arms available:

• 1 Machinegun Section (-) (4x M240B 7.62 machineguns).

• 1 Assault Squad (2x SMAW 83mm rocket launchers).

• 1 Joint Tactical Air Controller (JTAC) Team

• 2 Interpreters

• 1 MUGA Commando Platoon: 40 Commandos total, equipped with AK-47 rifles, rifle grenades, and is reinforced with an RPK Machinegun Section (4x RPK 7.62 machineguns)

Fire support is currently limited to the battalion’s organic mortars and Marine rotorary-wing CAS on alert +15 at the battalion FOB.

The battalion’s alert +5 section of medevac helicopters has a dedicated radio net. Response time is less than 10 minutes, and the JTF Level III treatment facility is 45 minutes flight time.

Your battalion commander is on his way to your position in a motorized patrol with a resupply of ammunition, water, and MREs as well as additional communications equipment and a “tiger team” to provide refresher training on the Automated Communications Electronics Operating Instructions (ACEOI) including Authentication, Alphanumeric Call signs, Encoding/Decoding Grid Coordinates and Scheduled Frequency Changes.

When he arrives, he will assess the situation and give you his intent and orders.

Requirement:

1. What is your recommendation to your battalion commander? Do you hold “the Ritz,” and if so what reinforcements do you need? Do you withdraw back to the battalion FOB?

2. What recommendations do you have regarding communications?

3. In the meantime, what are your priority of work and deliberate defensive plan for “the Ritz?”

Include an overlay sketch and provide a brief discussion of your rationale. Submit your solutions by email at [email protected] or to the Marine Corps Gazette, TDG 04-17, Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134. The Gazette will publish solutions in an upcoming issue.

>Editor’s Note: References 1 and 2 were provided by Maj Paul Stokes, USMC(Ret), Operations Officer, Future Operation/Plans Officer, MCCES, Twentynine Palms, CA.

Part II: “Red Death” Patrol

by the Staff, Marine Corps Gazette

Situation

You are the new commanding officer of A Company, 1st Bn, 1st Marines. You have been in command for one week since the relief of the previous company commander following an “unauthorized deadly force incident.” Your predecessor had ordered his Marines to “shoot down” a commercial quad-copter hovering over the company position with automatic weapons. Rounds fired in this engagement killed two Ouaddiyan children, and several more locals in the surrounding farmland were wounded. Your battalion commander relieved the former “Red Death Six” for a loss of confidence in his ability to command and reassigned you from duty as his assistant operations officer.

Since this incident, the battalion FOB (forward operating base) has been periodically hit by sporadic mortar and rocket fire. These indirect fire (IDF) attacks appear to be unobserved with no evident adjustment of fire, and no more than seven rounds per volley. The timing of some attacks corresponded to the muezzin’s calls-to-prayers from several local mosques while others occur at random times—both day and night. To date, only three Marines have been wounded by these attacks. The battalion’s counter-mortar radars have been largely successful in locating the points of origin for these attacks; however, these have uniformly been located in congested residential and commercial areas in the surrounding farmland and on the outskirts of Minna Sultan Usween. As a result, counter-fire has not been authorized.

After these indirect fire attacks began, the intelligence and surveillance efforts of the entire JTF have been brought to bear to identify and locate the anti-government factions conducting the attacks so they can be neutralized and prevent further disruption of the JTF’s mission. Multiple IMINT (imagery intelligence), HUMINT (human intelligence), and COMINT (communications intelligence) sources confirm that teams armed with small arms and mounted in commercial trucks are moving 82mm mortars and 3.5 inch rockets in improvised launchers around the battalion’s perimeter using populated areas as covered and concealed firing positions. Intelligence reports and pattern analysis indicate that the area around the Al Mumeet Mosque on the outskirts of the city northeast of your company’s position has the most frequently used firing positions and may also contain a “workshop” where the improvised rocket launchers are being assembled and stored.

Company A’s mission is to conduct a series of combined combat patrols to establish observation posts in the area of these points of origin in order to neutralize the anti-MUGA forces conducting the mobile indirect fire attacks. You remain responsible for securing the eastern entry point into the battalion FOB.

Your battalion commander’s intent is as follows:

Get out there, establish presence in the area of the Al Mumeet Mosque and the next time a crew attempts an IDF attack, kill or capture them. Locate any workshops or weapons caches and destroy them.

You have decided to personally lead the first patrol made up of your 3d Platoon partnered with a platoon of MUGA Special Forces commandos. The commandos are organized just like U.S. Marine infantry, and 2ndLt Zaar leads this platoon of 40 commandos.

The following attachments and supporting arms are available to you:

• 1 machinegun section (-) (4x M240B 7.62 machineguns).

• 1 assault squad (2x SMAW 83mm rocket launchers).

• 1 joint tactical air controller (JTAC) Team

• 2 interpreters

The commando platoon is equipped with AK-47 rifles, rifle grenades, and is reinforced with an RPK machinegun section (4x RPK 7.62 machineguns)

There is a CAS “stack” of USAF F-15 Strike Eagles with tanker support continuously on station. Response time is approximately 12 minutes from authentication of “troops in contact” (TIC).

The battalion maintains a section (two) U.S. Army Reserve medevac Blackhawk helicopters on five minute alert at the battalion FOB. Response time is less than 10 minutes, and the JTF Level III treatment facility is 45 minutes flight time.

You have designated the four-story building (formerly clerics’ offices, now home to two families of squatters) immediately west of the mosque as the patrol’s objective and you intend to establish a squad-sized OP (observation post) after negotiating with the squatter family elders. The patrol has moved without incident to the outskirts of Minna Sultan Usween.

As the patrol approaches the mosque area from the southwest, a single rifle shot is heard. 2ndLt Dhan, your 3d Platoon Commander who was moving with the lead squad, drops with an “armpit shot”—entry wound through his right shoulder under the body armor. About five seconds later a second shot hits the platoon corpsman, HM3 Smith, under the helmet behind his left ear. He is killed instantly. You now have one “urgent surgical” and one “routine” medevac. Your Marines and the commandos have all taken cover as best they can. No one can see the shooter.

As you task the Platoon Sergeant to set up a landing zone in the fallow field to your southeast for the medevac, both he and your JTAC report that none of the radios or tablet devices are working. The JTAC also reports that blue force tracker is down and your personal commercial GPS receiver and radio is inoperative. Lt Zaar reports that his radios are down as well.

What are your orders?

Requirement

Quickly formulate your plans and issue your orders. Include an overlay sketch and provide a brief discussion of the rationale behind your actions. Submit you solutions by email at [email protected] or to the Marine Corps Gazette, TDG 03-17, Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134. The Gazette will publish solutions in an upcoming issue.

1. You always have the right to defend yourself, your unit, and other personnel directly supporting JTF operations.

2. The use of force, including deadly force, is authorized to protect the following: yourself, your unit, and friendly forces; Prisoners and detainees; Civilians from crimes that are likely to cause death or serious bodily harm, such as murder or rape; Designated civilians and/or property, such as personnel of the Red Cross/Crescent, UN, and U.S./UN supported organizations.

3. Use only the force necessary to protect yourself and accomplish your mission.

a) Positive identification (PID) is required prior to engagement. [PID is a reasonable certainty that the proposed target is a legitimate military target. If no PID, contact your next higher commander for decision.]

b) Do not engage anyone who has surrendered or is out of battle due to sickness or wounds.

c) Do not target or strike any of the following except in self-defense to protect yourself, your unit, friendly forces, and designated persons or property under your control: civilians, hospitals, mosques, national monuments, and any other historical or cultural sites.

4. Do not fire into civilian-populated areas or buildings unless you have PID of forces using them for military purposes or if necessary for your self-defense. Minimize collateral damage.

5. Do not target local infrastructure (public works, commercial communications facilities, dams), lines of communication (roads, highways, tunnels, bridges, railways) and economic objects (commercial storage facilities, pipelines) unless necessary for self-defense or if ordered by your commander.

6. Do not enter mosques or other religious sites unless you have PID of forces using them for military purposes or if necessary for your self-defense.

7. Treat all civilians and their property with respect and dignity. Do not seize civilian property, including vehicles, unless you have the permission of a company-level commander and you give a receipt to the property’s owner.

8. Detain civilians if they interfere with mission accomplishment or if required for self-defense.

Part I: What now, Red Death Six?

by the Staff, Marine Corps Gazette

Situation

You are the CO, A Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines (1/1)—a storied unit in Marine Corps history affectionately known as “Red Death” to your Marines.

Your company deployed ashore with the rest of your battalion task force in the former Republic of Al Ouaddiya, a failed state in the rare earth metals-rich archipelago of Raz al Dezzel. The island is rugged semi-desert that had been largely urbanized by the former Al Ouaddiyan regime. The population is of Arab and African descent and speaks a dialect of Arabic and French. Islam is the dominant religion with a mix of Sunni Salafi and Sufi sects, mixed with some persistent pre-Islamic folk traditions.

Al Ouaddiya was historically a monarchy colonized by Arabs and the French. The post-colonial period saw the establishment of a brutally repressive socialist secular regime. After decades of civil strife between the regime and various sectarian extremist and tribal groups, the recognized government collapsed, and, for the last three years, numerous factions have fought each other for control of the population and the island’s resources. A moderate, Western-backed faction has recently emerged and been recognized internationally as the new lawful government of Al Ouaddiya. However, not all of the tribal and sectarian factions have recognized the new regime since an expatriate “Westernized” descendant of the ancient royal family is the new head of state.

Anti-government factions include members of the former regime’s army and special forces, mostly French and Russian trained and equipped with looted weapons and equipment, including BTR-80s and T-72 variant tanks. These groups support a return to the repressive secular regime. Other sectarian groups include Salafi extremists supported by international terrorist organizations and several like-minded nations who seek to establish a caliphate. The last group of anti-government forces includes the gangs of several tribal warlords who are fighting to maintain control of mineral mining and export. These groups are well armed and paid by Chinese industrial interests in the region.

Eighteen months ago, under a United Nations mandate and with the invitation of the new Moderate Unity Government of Al Ouaddiya (MUGA), a U.S.-led joint task force (JTF) was deployed to conduct stability operations in order to strengthen the new government, reduce further violence between the remaining factions and the government, and to reduce the humanitarian crisis among the local population.

Your battalion, along with 3/3 and 1/7, are under the command of RLT 7, the GCE of 5th MEB, which is both the Marine component of the JTF and part of the combined forces land component (CFLCC) of the JTF. Two BCTs [brigade combat teams] of the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division round out the U.S. component of the CFLCC, which also includes numerous allied forces. This deployment is the third “rotation” of U.S. and allied forces in support of the U.N. mission.

Over the past week, 1/1 has relieved 2/8 in the regimental combat team’s area of operations. The battalion has been assigned to a large forward operating base that contains a training facility for the local security forces and a distribution point for food, water, medical aid, and household fuel.

A Company’s mission is to

Secure the eastern entry point into the battalion FOB in order to prevent disruption of the battalion’s mission. On order conduct security and combat patrols partnered with local security forces. Be prepared to conduct offensive operations in order to disrupt anti-MUGA factions.

Your battalion commander’s “intent” is as follows:

Essential Tasks: Develop local security forces; support material needs of local population; disrupt anti-government factions.

Your company position is built around a group of abandoned buildings of local stone and brick construction, one or two stories high, with the thick exterior walls around the compound ubiquitous in this part of the world. A berm and triple-strand concertina wire surround the position and tie in to the existing walls and building.

To the east, you have reinforced the entry control point (ECP) with heavy obstacles covered by fire. To the west, you share a boundary with Company C. To the northeast and south, open ground with grassy weeds surround small farms and the outskirts of the port city of Minna Sultan Usween, where the JTF is headquartered along with various NGOs[nongovernmental organizations] and PVOs [private volunteer organizations] involved in humanitarian assistance.

You have assigned each of your platoons to a group of buildings and a sector of the company perimeter. 3d Platoon, your main effort, is responsible for security of the ECP. 1st Platoon has the north sector and 2d Platoon the south. All of your platoon commanders have continued to fortify their assigned buildings in accordance with the standard priority of work in the defense.

You have the following attachments and assets available to you:

  • 1 squad heavy machineguns (2x .50 Cal. 12x MK-19) with associated vehicles.
  • 1 Javelin team.
  • 2 scout sniper teams, which you have assigned to firing positions on the roofs of the highest building in your position.
  • 1 section 81 mm mortars (4 tubes).

The company’s weapons platoon is fully manned and equipped.

The overall company strength is roughly 80 percent effective due to DNBIs [disease and nonbattle injuries], emergency leave, and various battalion “working parties.”

You have assorted Class IV materials, including 10,000 sandbags and a SEE Tractor [small emplacement excavator] with operators.

For the last four days your Marines have been improving your company position and have conducted six security patrols—four day and two night. The patrols’ interaction with the local population has been neutral, but groups of 20 to 40 women and children have been making the trek up to 3 miles from their farms to obtain food, fuel, and medical support. None of the patrols have made contact with any anti-government factions although they have all heard small arms fire and a few explosions—most likely RPGs and/or mortars. No casualties have appeared at the ECP seeking medical aid.

It is 0935, roughly 72 hours since occupying the company position. You hear a high-pitched buzzing noise and see several Marines on sentry duty pointing at the sky. What appears to be a commercial, “off-the-shelf” quad-copter is overflying your position approximately 300 feet directly overhead.

Requirement

• What are your orders to your platoon commanders?

• What, if any, modifications to the company defensive plan do you direct?

• What do you report to the battalion? Do you have any requests for support?

Complete your frag order to your platoon commanders and requests to higher headquarters. Include an overlay indicating any changes to your current positions and provide a brief discussion of your rationale behind your actions. Submit your solutions to the Marine Corps Gazette, TDG 02-17, Box 1775, Quantico, VA, 22134, or by email to [email protected]. The Gazette will publish solutions in an upcoming issue.

Dull Garrison Chronicles, Part VII: The “Guts” R

By Carl F. Kusch

Situation

This is a continuation of the Dull Garrison Chronicles and takes place on the same terrain encountered in TDG #12-16R. It is the last of the Dull Garrison Chronicles.

Currently, we find that through the skillful efforts of Company F, BLT 2/8 has pushed past the village of Al Bandi and is bearing down on the larger town of Al Habib in two separate columns. The provisional rifle battalion (PRB) is desperately short of ammunition, water, and medical supplies and has a growing casualty list well over 60 percent. It is holding out on its last legs in the south central part of Al Habib.

In an apparent effort to eliminate the remnants of the PRB, the enemy has resorted to launching fanatic human wave assaults against the tiny Marine stronghold while leaving weaker forces to engage and delay our advancing relief column on the outskirts of the town. Although it is thought that the bulk of the enemy’s screening forces are poised on the northern edge of town, it appears that at least four squads are located in the northeast corner.

Recognizing both the nature of the enemy’s dispositions and the urgency of the situation in relation to the PRB, the commander of BLT 2/8 has decided that the quickest way to reach the beleaguered PRB is to envelop the enemy’s western flank, employing Company G, which is approaching from that direction in one of the battalion’s two columns. Finally, the battalion commander intends to fix the remainder of the enemy’s screening force in its positions by feigning an attack on the northern outskirts, using both Companies E and F. To this end, Company G has been designated the BLT’s point of main effort. Company G has attached two sections of heavy machine guns (total of four MEl9/four .50 caliber M2HB) and one section (four launchers) of Javelins. Also available to the company commander are fire missions from the BLT 81mm mortar platoon and artillery battery, as well as support from one section (two aircraft) of Cobra attack helicopters. Note: The accompanying map only reflects the northwest corner of Al Habib.

Requirement

You are the Commanding Officer, Company G. Since time is critical to the survivors of the PRB, quickly formulate your plans and issue your orders. Include an overlay sketch and provide a brief discussion of the rationale behind your actions. Submit your solutions by email at [email protected] or to the Marine Corps Gazette, TDG 12-16R, Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134. The Gazette will publish solutions in an upcoming issue.

Dull Garrison Chronicles Part VI: F-O-X Spells Relief R

By Carl F. Kusch

Situation

The 26th MEU has been directed to retake Dull Garrison Island (DGI) from the forces of BAD in order to rescue the beleaguered Marine garrison and to establish a foothold for follow-on forces. Elements of the 82d Airborne Division have begun to arrive and have taken up defensive positions around DGI Airfield #2. Things appear to be going well in that respect. For a time, the pressure on the flagging Marine provisional rifle battalion had slackened. In an apparent effort to wipe them out once and for all, however, the enemy redoubled their efforts against the garrison’s shrinking perimeter. The MEU commander, therefore, ordered a relief column to rescue the badly depleted battalion now located at Al Habib several kilometers south of Al Bandi.

BLT 2/8 will execute this mission with only its organic assets. The battalion commander was required to leave his TOWs, LAVs, and AAVs behind for airfield security. You are the commanding officer of Company F (“The Gunfighters”). Your company is assigned as the lead element of one of the battalion’s two parallel columns. Your mission is to proceed south along Al Bandi road, quickly bypassing or destroying any enemy resistance, in order to reach the provisional rifle battalion as rapidly as possible.

Your point has reported enemy activity in and around the small village of Al Bandi. It would appear that there are approximately 50 enemy soldiers armed only with small arms and medium machineguns. Attached to your company is a squad of heavy machineguns (two .50 caliber/Mk19s with component vehicles). You have your 60mm mortars and may call for support from the battalion’s organic 81mm mortars. There are also two sections of Cobras (four aircraft) supporting the battalion’s movement. The rules of engagement state that you may destroy any local buildings only if first fired upon from within, and you must direct your fire only into those buildings in which known enemy forces are located. In other words, you are to minimize collateral civilian damage as much as possible. After all, the civilians are on our side, and preservation of community resources will help them to get back to their lives as soon as BAD forces can be driven from Dull Garrison Island.

Requirement

In a time limit of five minutes, assign tasks for your platoon commanders. Include an overlay sketch indicating the positions for the platoons and provide a brief discussion of the rationale behind your actions. Submit your solutions to the Marine Corps Gazette, TDG 12-16R, Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134 or by email at [email protected]. The Gazette will publish solutions in an upcoming issue.