Page 12 RDF sourcebook -

"OIL
Although heavily damaged by nuclear and conventional at- tacks, a few of the oilfields and refineries in the Middle East still produce oil. "

it says 'and refineries'

Not 'and refinery'

it's 'and refineries...'

Even earlier on Page 3:
"The RDF Sourcebook is intended to familiarize referees (and players, to a lesser extent) with the region around the Persian Gulf which has become the primary "stomping grounds" of the U.S. Central Command. It is in this area (where a few remain- ing oil refineries produce a trickle of fuel) that the war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union is still being fought on something resembling the old terms."

again, we're using English plurals.

It is in this area.. where a few remaining oil refineries produce a trickle of fuel...

Let's break down 'this area...'

Page 20/21 we get an order of battle, by country, and hey, neither Kenya nor the 173rd are listed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_...int_Task_Force

No 173rd there. Not in the CENTCOM successors organization either. 173rd is EUCOM's airborne unit.

Is MORE refining capacity useful, sure, probably. But this is not the lynchpin of RDF operations in the middle east. Asserting that there weren't working refineries in the region to support U.S. forces just doesn't carry much water, unless we are retconning out these passages in the RDF sourcebook.

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Really though, what's super disappointing about the whole 'one refinery left in Kenya' premise, is that it jeopardizes earlier work. In this case, the entire campaign premise for the RDF sourcebook -

"In most places in the world of Twilight: 2000 the military chain of command has completely broken down and soldiers have been left to their own resources. In the Persian Gulf things are different. There is still a functioning chain of command and a conventional war to be fought. This situation provides players and referees with the option of gaming regular military missions. Some gaming groups may prefer this more structured form of game to the anarchy of Europe and most of the United States. Others may enjoy it occasionally as a change of pace. In any event, the purpose of this campaign guide chapter is to provide more options to gaming groups, not limit those options."

Well, I know you players wanted something different, but some dude in Africa screwed up (or the Navy didn't get the tanker back) and now we have no refined petrochemicals, so I guess we fight disease and starvation here in the desert while schlepping everywhere on foot.

You pretty much have to retcon out the raison d'être for the RDF Sourcebook to begin with: a reduction in tenuous food and fuel logistics, so you can have a more mission focused gaming experience where half your time isn't brewing and foraging.

And why and for what purpose do we need to retcon out ... and refineries...? Just so you can get to a point where the whole U.S. presence in the region is dependent on Kenyan refining capacity. That's sad.