GRU
Military Intelligence Directorate
Intel Report: US deployments
Report Filed: Dec 31, 2010
The following report is a comprehensive study of US troop movements that was conductted during the last several days, from Dec. 26- Dec. 31. The purpose of this study was to better anticipate which forces the US may send to our theater of operations. This report covers all CONUS as well as European deployments and is broken into the following sections:
These reports will be updated on a continual basis, so you should check this page periodically for new updates. (In most cases you will be alerted when there is an update, but frequently checking this file will ensure that your information is up to date.)
We expect that any major deployment of US Army forces that are sent to the GIUK or Europe from CONUS would most likely have to come from the XVIII Airborne Corps, as these divions are among the few US ground forces that are geared for rapid-response on a massive scale. The status of XVIII component divisions are as follows:
82nd Airborne --
This is usually among the first major combat divisions to deploy in a time of crisis, but that may not be the case in the current situation. The reason is that this division has only just returned from Croatia 12 days ago after experiencing heavy fighting during the previous two months, particularly early in October and November. We expect that this division will still be depleted in both supplies and possibly in morale as well. Maintenance of equipment, particularly vehicles and support weapons, will also be an issue. In any case, turning an entire division around full circle immediately after their return home will be a logistical challenge, if nothing else.
10th Mountain Division --
This unit is in the same situation as the 82nd Airborne, having also just returned to the US about 12 days ago. This division is also not as well suited for a truly rapid response as the 82nd Airborne Division is.
3rd Infantry Division --
This division is in even worse shape than its two sister divisions, as this unit only arrived back from Croatia a week ago. This force also experienced heavy fighting some weeks back, so they may not be up to the task in any event.
101st Airborne --
This division is still in Croatia. It could deploy to either Europe or the Norwegian Sea region, but it may also be needed to help hold the southern front. NATO command will no doubt decide on this soon.
Also in Croatia at this time is the 160th SOAR regiment, a special forces unit made up of Army Delta Force operatives and helicopter attack/transport squadrons. This is a highly skilled force with a particularly strong expertise in night-raiding assaults as well as special-ops extraction and surgical deployment operations. This unit has been tied up in Croatia helping to eliminate post-war terrorism by pin-prick surgical extraction missions on key Serbian partisan leaders in their strongholds. They will likely be relieved of this mission in order to help out in Europe or the Norwegian Sea but it is not clear which area it is that they will be sent to.
Carrier Forces
Only two US carrier groups are currently assigned to the Atlantic theater, CVBG Harry S. Truman, which is currently in the Norwegian Sea, and CVBG George Washington, which left Norfolk on or around the morning of Dec. 31. Its course and speed at that time were NE at 15 knots, but our most recent satellite surveillance shows that this group has increaed its speed to 30 knots sometime late last night. The exact position of these carriers is visible by going to the Atlantic map (Map Section) or the GIUK situation map located in the Situation Room.
Composition of these CVBGs have been identified as follows:
CVBG Harry S. Truman
UNIT CLASS USS Harry S. Truman CVN 75 Nimitz Carrier Air Wing 3 Various USS San Jacinto CG 56 Bunker Hill USS Mitscher DDG 57 Arleigh Burke USS Porter DDG 78 Arleigh Burke USS Stump DD 978 Improved Spruance USS Deyo DD 989 Improved Spruance USS Carr FFG 52 O.H. Perry USS Springfield SSN-761 Los Angeles USS Seattle AOE 3
Supply
CVBG George Washington
UNIT CLASS USS George Washington Nimitz Carrier Air Wing 17 Various USS George Washington CVN 73 Nimitz USS Normandy CG 60 Bunker Hill USS Cook DDG 75 Arleigh Burke USS Caron DD 970 Improved Spruance USS Briscoe DD 977 Improved Spruance USS Carr FFG 52 O.H. Perry USS Simpson FFG 56 O.H. Perry USS Montpelier SSN 765 Los Angeles USS Supply AOE 6 Supply
Surface fleet
The following surface units are known to be based in Norfolk, Virginia, though most of them are usually found at sea at any given time.
UNIT CLASS USS Anzio CG 68 Bunker Hill USS Cape St George CG 71 Bunker Hill USS Barry DDG 52 Arleigh Burke USS Mahan DDG 72 Arleigh Burke USS Radford DD 968 Improved Spruance USS Roberts FFG 58 O.H. Perry USS Kaufmann FFG 59 O.H. Perry
Recently these ships were split into two equally equipped groups, and deployed to the Caribbean, one at the eastern tip of Cuba, one at the western tip. Prior to Jan. 1, we suspect their purpose was to monitor possible smuggling operations between Cuba and Honduras in the west, while also monitoring our DISSUB ploy in the east. Now that war is starting we expect to see a repositioning of these ships back to the Atlantic theater.
The following surface units are known to be operating out of Mayport, Florida, and comprise the US Atlantic Fleet's Southern Command:
UNIT CLASS USS Vicksburg CG 69 Bunker Hill USS Gates CG 51 Bunker Hill USS O'Bannon DD 987 Arleigh Burke USS Groves FFG 29 O.H. Perry USS Doyle FFG 39 O.H. Perry TASK GROUP 4 (aka TF 125.4) -- USS Vicksburg CG 69 - Under repair Bunker Hill USS Yorktown CG 48 Bunker Hill USS Hall FFG 32 O.H. Perry USS Boone FFG 28 O.H. Perry USS Bradley FFG 49 O.H. Perry USS Morrison FFG 13 O.H. Perry
Auxilliary surface fleet
The US has converted a number of civilian class vessels for military use, including a large number of container ships and Ro-ro ships. The most significant aspect of this policy is its merchant marine reserve, which gives the US authority to commandeer a massive number of freighters during wartime for the purpose of reinforcing Europe. This permits the US to immediately begin replenishment and reinforcement operations without having to build up its military sealift assets. We should begin to see large numbers of these ships covening in ports and harbors very soon, as the US prepares to load and form up convoys.
One of the more troublesome auxilliary platforms is the TAGOS anti-submarine tracking vessel, or SURTASS vessel. Congress recently permitted these controversial ships to be launched after years of being mothballled due to complaints by environmental groups. (The complaint is that their high-powered sonar is lethal to marine life, especially whales.) We are unsure of the exact capabilities of this platform but already in the last three weeks our sub commanders are reporting horrendous, low-frequency sound energy coming from what we believe are vast distances away, perhaps 80 nm or more. This has caused many of our subs to be compromised early, as sonobuoys are heard being dropped a few hours after the loud, low-frequency sound pulse. The US Atlantic Fleet is known to have at least four SURTASS vessels in operation, of which three are generally on patrol at any given time.
Sub fleet
The US has two sub bases, one at Groton, CT, which operates 15 SSNs and 2 Seawolf class subs, and the other at Norfolk, VA., which operates 11 SSNs. At least one or two subs are believed to be under repair at each base, though we have no idea when they are scheduled to return to service. Of the 24 subs that are presumed to be operational, only half are deployed at any one time, usually for a 3-month mission. This may change once the US changes to wartime status, however.
Incidentally, the FSB informs us that both Seawolf class subs (SSN Seawolf and SSN Connecticut) are at sea at this time.
Maritime air operations
The US has two Patrol Air Wings, PATRECONWING 5 based in Norfolk and PATRECONWING 11 based in Florida, each with three squadrons of 6 P3 Orions for a total of six P-3 squadrons. The P-3, of course, is the most effective asset against our subs.
We expect that some or most of these assets will need to be retained for coastal maritime defense, but if any P3 squadrons are forward-deployed they will mostly likely come from Norfolk. (The Florida wing will then be stretched a bit thinner to make up for the lack of assets in the mid-Atlantic and northeast region.)
[GM's NOTE: Unless stated otherwise, all fighter, attack and bomber "wings" have three squadrons and all "squadrons" listed in this MBX are made up of 12 aircraft. This is to help standardize orders of battle for easier force comparisons as well as to reduce the total number of aircraft in the game for easier umpire management without eliminating too many "traditional" units. One common exception is the carrier air wing, which we are gaming to be the same in number of aircraft as their real-life counterparts.]
Air forces in Europe
The US has considerable air assets in Europe already, though it is not clear whether any of them will be committed to the Norwegian Sea region or if they will be used to defend against our main offensive in Europe. Air forces currenlty deployed in Europe are as follows:
3rd Air Force
The 3rd Air Force is mainly oriented toward mainland Europe, but since it is based in Lakenheath, UK, we cannot discount it as a possible reaction force to events in the GIUK. Its component wings that are deployed in Europe at this time are:
-- 48th Fighter Wing. This unit is made up of F15s and has no doubt been war-hardened by the Croatia campaign. However, this wing is no doubt also still fatigued by the gruelling number of sorties and depleted in ordnance after weeks of conducting intensive combat operations. This force is believed to have been replenished with replacement aircraft though this has not ben confirmed. There still may be fatigue, supply and disorganization issues following a conflict of this magnitude.
-- 100th Air Refueling WIng. Little information is known about this unit, other than it is based at RAF Mildenhall, in the UK. It should be noted that NATO may be dealing with an aviation fuel shortage due to the using up of major fuel stores during the war. This has not been confirmed, however. (A special intel mission must be assigned in order to ascertain that answer).
-- 58th Fighter Wing. Another veteran fighter wing of the Croatia war, currenlty deployed to Vincenza, Italy. This unit may still be experiencing some fatigue and some attrition, due to losses in the early portion of the campaign. We also expect supply (ordnance) issues to be a problem with this unit, though there is a remote possibility that new ordnance was brought in during the last week or two without our knowledge.
-- 86th Airlift Wing. This is an air transport wing made up of C-130E, C-9A, C-20A, C-21A(but mostly C-130Es). It is currently stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. As this unit was not used during the Croatia war there should be no fatigue or personnel issues.
12th Air Force
-- 366th Fighter and Bomber wing. This is one of the rare task force wings made up of F15s, F16s and B1 bombers, as well as a squadron of air refuelers (KC135s). This force also saw plenty of action in Croatia, though did not participate quite as intensely as the 48th FW. Ordnance levels and maintenance issues will likely still cause headaches for this unit.
16th Air Force
-- 31st Fighter Wing. Based in Aviano. made up of three squadrons of F16s. This unit took some moderately heavy losses during the Croatia campaign but has since been replenished to full strength with aircraft from the 1st US Fighter Wing, which is normally known to be part of NORAD, appears to have been all but disbanded after dispersing to several other wings like the 31st FW.
CONUS
Any number of air wings in the US are capable of deploying
to Europe on short notice, making it diffcult for us to predict
which units will be tasked. No matter which forces are earmarked
for the GIUK or Europe, however, we expect that there will be
at least some delay in preparation until NATO can gather a more
clear picture of what the sitution is, something that may take
them some time. Satellite coverage of major USAF bases will help
to identify any major deployments, hopefully well in advance so
that you can respond accordingly. Whatever forces are deployed,
however, we expect that the bulk of them will need to be committed
to the European continent, not the GIUK. But that is just our
opinion.
(Sources: GRU overseas directorate, Kosmoburo IMINT and SIGINT, FSB Overseas Bureau.)
Dec. 28.
FSB Foreign Office reports that nearly all forces at Camp Lejeune appear to be forming up, including artillery, transportation and helicopter assets. All equipment is being packed up, strapped down, and generally being prepared for some sort of overseas commitment. Trucks full of war materiel are arriving every hour, as well as a large number of empty troop carrying trucks which presumably will be used for a large deployment very soon.
Concurrently, SIGINT analysts are reporting the existence of five newly detected HQs in the Camp Lejeune area. Four of these are consistent with regimental-level comms traffic. The fifth is much larger, however, possibly the divisional HQ for the 2nd Marine Division or some other HQ of that level.
Meanwhile, a great deal of activity has been detected among the fighter and EW squadrons of MAG-14 (Marine Air Group 14). This unit has only just come back from seeing action in the Mediterranean some six weeks ago, and was busily going about the business of resupplying all its aircraft.
Dec. 29
A large number of air transports have been seen gathering at Cherry Point, North Carolina. While we are not sure how many aircraft have been landing here we know that it is at least forty C-130 and some 12 or more C-141s have arrived over the last several days.
Another Marine air base at Beufort, South Carolina, is showing signs of life. This base is the home of Marine Air Group 31 (MAG-31), which contains Hornet F/A-18/C and /D as well as other aircraft.
FSB agents report that the 22nd MEU, which was formerly on stand-down cycle and not scheduled to deploy again until February, is now on full-readiness alert and appears to be preparing for another deployment soon. If this unit does deploy soon it will likely be forced to draw its ground element from battalion landing teams that have not yet received much training in MEU deployments.
Dec. 30
A convoy of about 150 trucks loaded with troops paraded out of Camp Lejeune early in the morning of Dec. 31, headed south. The trucks carried about 20 men each, but very little in the way of heavy equipment -- mostly just backpacks, duffles and personal firearms. The duffle bags would suggest an overseas deployment of some kind but the Marines seldom deploy without a full array of support weapons. A backpacks-only load would be typical for a five-to-ten day training exercise, so one explanation is that this could be a form of rapid training on a mass scale.
Meanwhile, the ground crew of MAG-31 has apparently been working through the night to prepare its air group for deployment. Both IMINT and SIGINT analysis indicate that all squadrons are at full wartime level of readiness, and look to be prepared for departure overseas at any time.
Dec. 31
Since early this morning, large convoys of heavy Marine forces have been observed streaming out of Camp Lejeune, also heading south. Due to the time difference and the time needed to analyze reports we were not able to furnish any more information about US Marine deployments at this time. Further reports will be issued as they become available.
END REPORT.