Cold Steel In Between Peace and War January 2005 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment Ft. Wainwright Alaska |  |

The US Army spent most of the decades after the Vietnam War organized primarily to fight the Soviet Union in Western Europe. Divisions were divided into two basic types; the heavy and light divisions. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Western policy makers and media pundits predicted a new era of peace. Warlords and power-brokers around the world were quick to disappoint. The era of the 90's turned out to be one of the busiest decades for the US military. Conflicts were quick to develop and the US Army was unable to meaningfully contribute to operations due to the limited combat power of the light divisions and the length of time required to transit heavy divisions using sealift. The medium brigades, a brainchild of former Chief of Staff of the Army General Shinseki, were designed to address this need.

The medium brigades are centered on the wheeled Stryker vehicle and are designed to be a full-spectrum, early-entry combat force. The catch-phrases and slogans of the program disguise the fact that the basic idea is little different from the AirLanding divisions of World War Two and that most of the major military forces of the world heavily invested in a similar idea years ago. The Soviets, in particular, employed mechanized airborne forces to devastating effect in the 1978 Ogaden War in Somalia.

This campaign takes the Stryker unit from the sweltering urban sprawl of Iraq to the snowy cities and mountains of Korea. The early missions focus on peacekeeping but the Stryker team quickly finds themselves involved in major fighting against a better-equipped enemy. Will Shinseki's Stryker Brigade Combat Team turn out to be the lemon so many have predicted or can tactics and temerity make up for the obvious limitations of the platform?

Gameplay Notes:

1. The player is given a reinforced company of light mechanized infantry consisting of three platoons of Stryker vehicles, one platoon of MGS vehicles, a scout platoon of Bradley's, and a mortar platoon.

2. The Stryker platoon has significantly more infantry than a Bradley-based infantry platoon. Since the soldiers are expected to spend a lot of time fighting in cities, one flame rocket is issued per platoon.

3. Due to the requirement that the Stryker weigh less than twenty tons, the vehicle is extremely poorly armored. The Stryker is clearly unable to fight against infantry equipped with even the oldest anti-tank weaponry. Treat this vehicle as a battle taxi and keep it far away from the enemy.

4. Skilled use of smoke can allow the vehicles to fire in direct support of the infantry since the Stryker does have advanced sensors that can see through smoke.

5. The company is well-equipped with tank-killing weapons. Due to the lack of heavy armor, these are best employed from the defense or in ambush.

6. Rebuild points will be few. Be very careful not to incur unacceptable losses.

Sources

Combat Team: The Captain's War by John F. Antal

Marine Corps Tank Battles in Korea by Oscar Gilbert

The Dragon Strikes by Patrick C. Roe

Phantom Soldier by H. John Poole

Task Force Smith Quartermaster's Bulletin

http://www.quartermaster.army.mil/oqmg/Professional_Bulletin/1996/Spring/tfsmith.html

Ft Wainwright, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team http://www.wainwright.army.mil/

Game Info

SPMBT ver 3.01 Campaign

Complexity: Difficult

Unit Types: Company level

Fixed Force

US is the human player.

Campaign Design: Travis Hilterbrand

travis_hilterbrand@yahoo.com

Playtesters:

Claudio Anelli

Daniel Tower

Craig Breedon

Special thanks to playtester Michael Phelps who went far beyond the call of duty.

Version 05/22/05