Battleground 2020: Syria, Post 1: Initiating project

Styker BCT staff prepare for their greatest challenge: One-Hour Wargames

https://paxsims.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/augmented-reality-sand-tables/

This will be a project post that I hope will achieve two goals:

1. Help me to organize, track and push forward with this project, and,
2. Help experienced or new gamers alike to get ideas on how to choose, track, and progress with a project in a satisfying, responsible way.

Often projects get lost in the sauce of daily living - that's ok, a hobby is _just_ a hobby. But when it gets lost due to another sudden _hobby_ interest, or loses steam, it may be that we aren't being organized about it enough, letting new shiny things grab our attention and distract us from goals. That's not good - it leads to a host of issues:

• dissipated time, money and effort,
• spending money on multiple projects that get nowhere,
• blowing our hobby budget on incomplete projects,
• lost interest since often we can't play an incomplete project.

I find that posting helps me stay focused, so a big "thank you" to followers and occasional visitors alike!

BLUF

This project looks forwards to a near-future US intervention in the Syrian Civil War [say 2020] with a Stryker Brigade as a Reaction Force moving into theater with all the latest challenges and tech of near-peer decisive action. It features:

1. working with micro-armor including terrain, manufacturors, etc
2. resources for contemporary warfare: gadgets, doctrine, uniforms, everything,
3. new rules for "Oil Cheaper than Water" to reflect contemporary possibilities of near-peer conflict, such as decisive action as opposed to COIN warfare,

WHY? 
Every project needs a reason why it'll stick. I think this'll do well as I'm in a SBCT and we're training for near-peer conflict, so a lot of the issues are things that I get to see and talk about regularly, from weapons to doctrine to planning and tactics. Also, it is pretty cool to do near-future...it's pretty much the same stuff we have now, but the potential for a few things to be better and no one can tell you it is wrong! They may have opinions on likelihood, but they can't say that it is wrong. This gives much of the freedom of an Imagi-nation without constructing something from the ground up.

Also, I'm enjoying micro armor. Yes, it is small, but there is still a bit you can do to spruce it up - and it costs about 1/4 as much and takes half as long to work with than 15mm, maybe less. It also fits nicely onto a small table, which is the vast majority of my gaming these days, even with several people.

Finally, the rules are coming together more and more, showing that the core mechanics are sound - the tricky part of balancing reality and playability is something that definitely comes about with playing, and I've more people than ever who are interested in all the modern warfare rules, including some veterans and veteran gamers. It's important that I have rules I like to play and that fit into my resources of time and energy.

All that being said, below is how things stand as of 02 FEB 18.

********************************************************************
1) RESOURCES
A. Books
Thunder Run: Combat [x+], Tactics [x], doctrine [-], story [x+]
In the Company of Soldiers: Combat [-], Tactics [-], doctrine [x+], story [x]
Outlaw Platoon: Combat [x+], Tactics [x], doctrine [x], story [x+]
An Angel from Hell: Combat [x], Tactics [x], doctrine [-], story [x+]
This Kind of War: Combat [x], Tactics [x], doctrine [x+], story [x]
Crusade: ?
Generation Kill: ?

B. Video

The Long Road Home series

Generation Kill series

Paths of Glory
Blackhawk Down
American Sniper

C. RESEARCH
US Weapon Characteristics, Annex F - [CLICK] 1998 from globalsecurity.org
OPFOR World Equipment Guide [CLICK] - public release
* for these large publications, CTRL F is your friend for finding sections quickly!

2) RULES
Primary: "Up the Blue!" WWII --> developed --> "Oil Cheaper than Water"Secondary: Portable Wargame
Inspiration, resources: FFT3, Nordic Weasel [No End in Sight, Five Core], FUBAR, Saber Squadron, Team Yankee, 

3) TERRAIN
Bought
* Paper: Highways, modern city bldgs, town bldgs,
* 3D trees from China
* Plastic styrene sheets for basing terrain from Hobbylinc [CLICK]

Ready
*none*

Needed
all OHW scenario terrain in 1/285 [6mm]: towns, hills, river, bridges, ford, woods / palm groves
Arid / Desert: Mixed Terrain & Flat Terrain pieces

4) MINIS
Bought

OPFOR [Syria / Iran / Russia]:
GHQ Modern Micro Armor
* T-74 [x10]
* BMP-2 [x5]
* Btr-50 [x5]
* 3rd world Infantry and heavy weapons [x164!]
About 5 Vehicle platoons, and 8 Infantry platoons

Added 27 FEB 18
* BRDM Spandrel [TOW] [x5] - had no TOW capability, and they're scout cars, too.
* GAZ 66 trucks [x5] - transport for Syrian motor infantry.
* 40 Russian AAMG for Armor - useful for a number of vics, a common upgrade.

USA Stryker BCT: 
* Strykers [x5 ea] - CAV, IFV, MGS, TOW, 
* US Infantry and Heavy Weapons [x150+]
* M1A2 TUSK Abrams [x5]
* JMTV [x5]
About 10 Vehicle platoons and 8 Infantry platoons

Added 27 FEB 18
* Guided bomb set - for future airplanes, and immediately as markers for IF attacks.
* 50 .50 cal AAMG - both an upgrade and spares for broken barrels, etc.


* US Lt. AA, AT and TOW figs - poses suitable for many crew uses.

Ready
*none*

Needed
1. Artillery [off-board, observers on-board, Counter-battery, Air attacks]
 - Zis Rockets, Guns, 
3. Air "tactical" [SMALL drones, UAV, helo, inf / thin vic AA, small missiles] 
Super Tucano [CLICK] 
4, Air "operational" [DRONES! Jet / big missiles]]