NationStates Jolt Archive

(OOC: This is part of Unification Day, but due to recent events I decided to give it its own thread. To skip with who knows how many confirmation and arrival posts, I will assume you are there. If you decide not to go, you can magically disappear, or if you come and were not on the original list, we can pretend you were there. This is simply to save time, not to godmod or anything along those lines.)

Khalid al-Khalifa, Sultan of Bahrain, stood up prepared to speak. The VC-25K had just taken off from Manama International Airport in Bahrain, on the way to New Riyadh Military Training Facility. The following nations had representatives on board:

Norway (Cotland)
Rome (RomeW)
Bjornoya
The Knight Templars (Reagonica)
The United Eastasian Republics (Marimaia)
Carthage (The Lightning Star)
Greece (Nikalaos the Great)
The United Khanates (Neuvo Rica)


"Well everyone, this will be a short flight. New Riyadh Military Training Facility is not far from Riyadh, capital of the Sultanate of Arabia. I would encourage you to look out the window and see the view."

He waited a moment to give the delegates a chance to look.

"You see that massive expanse of featureless sand? That's the view the rest of the way there, so I figured I'd start explaining what this place is."

"As those of you with some military background likely know, after recieving some combat experience, the survival rate of pilots and soldiers improves greatly. This facility was designed to provide this experience in a safer environment than an actual warzone."

A screen descended from the ceiling behind him, and a projector showed a map of the area.

"At the outskirts of the facility are the facilities to house a division of soldiers, along with Red, Blue, and Gold Airfields. It is here that the participating troops reside while training. We will land in Gold Airfield.

Perhaps I should explain how the system works. With both air and land operations, there are three groups involved. "Greens" are the new troops being trained here. "Reds" are the agressor groups, there to provide opposition. They usually consist of special forces or veterans. "Blues" are generally noncombatants. They may be bombers that need an escort, hostages that must be rescued, or any number of other things. I recently participated as a hostage, and unfortunately my rescuers did not arrive in time, so I was "killed," and the team failed their mission."

"You may wonder why you are here. I will show you how we operate, how the facility works, and then offer you the opportunity to participate. In exchange for sending "Red" teams, we would enable you to send "green" teams to train."

"It appears we are about to begin making our descent, so I will continue explaining when the tour begins. But are there any questions for the time being?"

At Gold Airfield a double decker bus was waiting to take the delegates on the tour of the massive facility.

OOC: I didn't know I was invited, to tell the truth :D

But I'll participate all the same.

OOC:This was part of Unification Day. I am pretty sure everyone on this list was invited there, except for a few I invited on the VCO forums.)

The plane landed on the airfield, and taxied over to the main hangars. After a departure staircase was brought into position, the visitors exited, and found themselves on a busy flight line. A pair of K-8 Karakorum attack craft were being prepared for launch, and an E-3K Sentry AWACS was taxiing towards the runway. Amidst all the busy aircrews was a bright red double decker bus. Shouting over the engine noise from the E-3, now halfway down the runway, Khalid led the group onto the bus, seating them on top. Distancing themselves a bit from the commotion, the bus stopped to let on a group of reporters, who would occupy the bottom for this tour.

The Norwegian delegation, which consisted of seven men and women followed Khalid and sat down on the top of the bus. The men and women were, with only two exceptions, officers in the Norwegian military and sent here to assess the training facility. Of the five military men, two were generals, with the rest being colonels and lieutenant colonels. The military men and women wore their summer uniforms, clothes that were comfortable enough to wear. Still, they wished they had worn their desert BDUs instead. However, the two civilian diplomats were worse off, wearing suits, ties and a nice hat on top. Still, they didn't complain. They were far too busy watching the many interesting aircraft on the tarmac and the interesting surroundings.

(OOC: Since it appears the Cold War is over, I'll continue this)

The bus wove through a small city of identical canvas tents. It was explained that the first two days of a soldier's stay here were spent planning for his (or her) missions. While they did this, they would have to sleep in their self-pitched tent. If they failed to correctly assemble the tent, they would find themselves at the mercy of the elements, not a good place to be in the middle of the Arabian Desert. Soldiers could be seen eating, talking, and writing beside the streets. Missions were planned to give trainees experience in several critical areas. Desert warfare, urban assault, urban defence, and counter-guerilla tactics. Pilots would have missions involving air-to-air combat, air-to-ground support, escort duties, or counter-insurgency (COIN) operations.

They turned a corner, and saw some of the few permanent structures around. A power station, hospitial, and latrine/shower facility were on one side of the street, and across the street was a building at least the size of an American football field. Completely unadorned, only a few doors gave away the fact that this was not the world's largest block of concrete.

The bus rolled to a halt.

"This is the main Command Center, where we keep track of everything that goes on in the exercises. If you wish to remain on the bus, you may, but keep in mind that this is also the last chance you will have to relieve yourself before we enter the city itself."

Fraugott Lucy Rand kept writing these down on her notepad. Upon her return she would discuss matters with those who new best. Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel would be most pleased by the creation and Bjornoyan participation within such an organization.

Around her she saw a mild resemblance between Bjornoya's vast, empy, harsh tundra and Elephantum's deserts. The main difference was of course the temperature. This training ground would prepare many Bjornoyans for the radical climate change they felt once transferred from the Bjornoyan mainland to Africa.

The delegation entered the command center, as busy as any real wartime center would be. One wall had a map of the area, over 100 feet long, painted on. A projector showed the locations of various units and planes. Rows and rows of computers filled the room. These kept track of the actions of the various teams.

"Live weapons are never used in these exercizes, as soldiers and aircraft are not things we intend to lose outside of actual combat. In the case of planes, every time they launch a missile, fire a gun, or drop a bomb, its trajectory is calculated, and the target is informed of the damage. Sensors developed especially for wargames situations are used for this, however, they are not yet adaptable to all weapons systems.

On the ground, combat is conducted using blanks, along with other non-lethal weapons, like flour mines. An experimental system, similar to the kind used in games of "laser tag" is being tested, but for now military doctors determine the level of injury a soldier has sustained, and trainee medics, when possible, perform the necessary first aid, before bringing the soldier to a mock field hospital, where they would conduct follow up treatment. If the soldier is able to go back to combat, he will return to his unit. Otherwise they return here.

Another important jobe this station conducts is writing the reports. Individual soldiers, as well as their squad, recieve reports containing information on personal proficiencies, deficiencies, and recommendations for improvement. We have several thousand cameras in the city to monitor the units, as well as using input from their opponents in the mission.

Are there any questions before we move into the city itself to see how the soldiers operate?"

Alright then, everybody back on the bus. Now the fun begins.

They all got on, and the bus weaved its way through the crowded mass of tents, onto a simple two lane highway, straight through the desert to what appeared to be a city. Soldiers were busy digging, setting up artillery, and changing into NBC suits.

As we could not have live combat excercises underway during this tour, soldiers have been assigned non-combat missions. Preparing defenses, setting up artillery, NBC raids, and the like. We try to do those missions in the desert, to build experience for the soldiers.

Some of you, especially the civilians, might wonder why this desert training is so important. Well, feel how hot it is now? Imagine that in an airtight chemical warfare suit. And as the weather goes, it isnt too bad outside. However, this is one of the most hostile environments on the planet. Running a mile here is harder than running a marathon somewhere else. If our Roman friends don't mind being used as examples, the deserts of Arabia were one of the few forces Roman legions failed to overcome. Germans, Persians, the Sahara, and the Atlantic are the only forces able to do the same. Romans did not reach the lower peninsula until after they had learned to go around the desert, by sailing clear around Africa.

Many of your nations contain major deserts. In fact, there is a major desert in all of your nations, or at least in part of them. Your soldiers need to learn how to defend them. While the difference between the deserts of Arabia, and, say, the Gobi are great, the basic skills for survival are the same. Urban warfare is much the same. While many of your cities may be better organized and easier defended, the principles of defense are the same. Aerial combat, regardless of the conditions, is also extremely important to train in. Many millions of dollars have been put into your planes and pilots, and they should have experience before being sent to the front lines. By combining our resources, a multilateral approach would help us all acheive these goals.