January 14, 201115 yr How time flies ... Ten years since that massive MBX Global Thunder. Link to the ENN news page that covered some of the major events of the wargame: ENN coverage
January 15, 201115 yr Author You were in that, Brad, correct? Yeah, I was in command of Soviet naval forces (including naval aviation) up until the final stages of the game.
January 15, 201115 yr Very interesting. Here's how Brad's forces fared in terms of survival. A pretty good result, considering they took out one US carrier and damaged two others. Any particular memories you'd like to share?
January 17, 201115 yr Author Any particular memories you'd like to share? An awful lot went on, but some of the more memorable things that stand out, beyond the strike on the Truman battle group, include: 1. Using a hockey tournament as a cover for flying Spetsnaz into Bodo, Norway. The ruse seemed to have triggered alarm bells at the last minute, and IIRC, we had to declare an emergency landing to get on the ground at Bodo. 2. Using a faked DISSUB event as a cover for getting a surface force into the Atlantic. 3. Using the commercial ship Transshelf as a means of covertly getting landing craft and hovercraft into a position to assault Andoya, Norway. 4. A Kirov battlecruiser playing the role of Bismarck, as a surface raider in the Atlantic. Our own 'Brains' was skipper for that force. 5. Smuggling spec ops and mortars into the UK to attack their E-3 Sentry force on the ground. 6. Much discussion and debate about how to most effectively conduct the 'surge' of Russian submarines through the GIUK Gap. In the end we went for a two pronged approach, splitting forces on either side of Iceland. 7. Seizing Jan Mayen and Vagar. The latter were an airborne assault force that eventually were forced to surrender but they kept NATO from using the facility for a good bit of time. 8. Launching an air strike by Su-33s from the Kuznetsov against the radar and SAM systems at Keflavik, Iceland, just prior to an airborne assault. I am sure that I am missing a LOT but these stand out for now in my often foggy memory.
February 5, 201115 yr Any particular memories you'd like to share? An awful lot went on, but some of the more memorable things that stand out, beyond the strike on the Truman battle group, include: 1. Using a hockey tournament as a cover for flying Spetsnaz into Bodo, Norway. The ruse seemed to have triggered alarm bells at the last minute, and IIRC, we had to declare an emergency landing to get on the ground at Bodo. 2. Using a faked DISSUB event as a cover for getting a surface force into the Atlantic. 3. Using the commercial ship Transshelf as a means of covertly getting landing craft and hovercraft into a position to assault Andoya, Norway. 4. A Kirov battlecruiser playing the role of Bismarck, as a surface raider in the Atlantic. Our own 'Brains' was skipper for that force. 5. Smuggling spec ops and mortars into the UK to attack their E-3 Sentry force on the ground. 6. Much discussion and debate about how to most effectively conduct the 'surge' of Russian submarines through the GIUK Gap. In the end we went for a two pronged approach, splitting forces on either side of Iceland. 7. Seizing Jan Mayen and Vagar. The latter were an airborne assault force that eventually were forced to surrender but they kept NATO from using the facility for a good bit of time. 8. Launching an air strike by Su-33s from the Kuznetsov against the radar and SAM systems at Keflavik, Iceland, just prior to an airborne assault. I am sure that I am missing a LOT but these stand out for now in my often foggy memory. Hi Brad, Remember remember... Remember the tension when our spetnatz progress in the snow toward Keflavik, the initial VDV assault to storm Evenes or Barduffoss (not sure) airfield, the capture of a whole Norge brigade at Gratangen and my ass kicked at Bjervik, and also our mighty luck in a later stage against blue bombing across north pole when i just suggest to have a CAP at a northern location and bingo just cross the blue path... ...yes it was a great experience, a game and also a team experience... Edit note Can't remember where i made my initial drop Evenes or Bardufoss...
November 8, 201114 yr Author A few links that I hope will be saved in perpetuity ... ENN (Electronic News Network) report BLUFOR Joint Command North REDFOR Northern Theater Command
November 9, 201114 yr Gotta celebrate your achievements/victories! Congrats on 10 years ... hopefully theres 10 more still to come eh?
September 25, 201411 yr Author What the semi-submersible vessel Transshelf has been up to since Global Thunder:"Transshelf" Departs Russia with Nuke Boats (7FBTK blog)
April 21, 201511 yr Just came across this forum. I was COMNAVNORTH, BLUFOR J2, and COMSUBNORTH for the Global Thunder MBX. Lots of fun. Lots of time too....... I came in right after Phase II kicked off.
May 21, 201511 yr Author You and me both. They are fantastically enjoyable - and potentially far more realistic than any computer based sim. They are also a huge undertaking for the organizer/umpire(s) - as you well know - and they can be (although not necessarily so) daunting for the player as well. I remain convinced that they are only feasible where the broad scale movements (e.g. global or regional) are gamed in broad scale, leaving the details for the small scale engagements.
March 7, 201610 yr Author Erh.......what happened to the Global Thunder archives? Are they lost forever? Not sure. The links from ENN do appear to be dead.
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