NATO Forces in Africa during the Twilight War (v1.0)

[Raellus]

I do apologize if I missed a pertinent thread in the archive (I checked- I promise!) but I'd like to know more about the canonical set up for NATO forces in Africa.

I've heard snippets here and there- the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Kenya (?), an unpublished module pertaining to same- and I'm really curious.

What do you know about this topic? Are there published materials regarding NATO forces in Africa? Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.

[Raellus]

OK, so I found this in the archive and it's a good start.

http://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.php?t=2099

But...

I would still like to know what the 173rd ABCT is doing in Kenya in the first place. Anyone?

[shrike6]

If I remember right, the reason they are in Kenya, Mombasa in particular, is that they are securing one of the last remaining oil refineries in the region.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by shrike6

If I remember right, the reason they are in Kenya, Mombasa in particular, is that they are securing one of the last remaining oil refineries in the region.

Thanks. Any idea where the oil would be coming from? AFAICT, Kenya has no known oil deposits.

Also, when in the v1.0 timeline does the 173rd get deployed to Kenya?

[shrike6]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Thanks. Any idea where the oil would be coming from? AFAICT, Kenya has no known oil deposits.

I always assumed the Persian Gulf.

Originally Posted by Raellus

Also, when in the v1.0 timeline does the 173rd get deployed to Kenya?

Frank had a post on the Herd that went into more detail than the one in the archive. If I remember right, I wanna say 1997. I'll take a look and see if I can't find the old post.

[HorseSoldier]

I always assumed the Persian Gulf.

Nigeria? Though how it gets from Nigeria to Kenya I can't guess -- I don't see road traffic from point A to point B being viable in the T2K era.

[shrike6]

I guess you guys do have it in the archive.
http://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.php?t=1630

And Frank didn't say exactly when the the Herd went to the Africa.

[Abbott Shaull]

One has to remember that 173rd when the game originally was printed and even up until the GDW closed was more or less a Airborne Infantry Task Force rotating a Battalion from the 2nd Brigade (325th Airborne Infantry Regiment) in and out of the base in Italy. The unit was known as the
Southern European Task Force (SETAF). Which in 2000 the was transformed into the 173rd Airborne Brigade in 2000. At the time it was still basically an over sized battalion, but listed as Brigade. Just before it jumped into Northern Iraq, after the 4th Mechanized Division was denied rights to land and move through Turkey, had a second Parachute Infantry Battalion activated, with Airborne Field Artillery Battalion, Forward Support Battalion, Cavalry Troop, and other Support units.

It was only after Cold War that it decided to turn this Task Force into larger force as response to various NATO Allies reducing their forces as well as the brutal breakup of Yugoslavia help in slowly re-organizing the over sized battalion task force into a force with two Parachute Infantry Battalions, 1 Airborne Artillery Battalion, 1 Forward Support Battalion and other Support units.

Ironically in 2008 the SETAF was reactivated and morphed into the US Army Africa Command in October 2009.

[Fusilier]

Originally Posted by Raellus

OK, so I found this in the archive and it's a good start.

http://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.php?t=2099

But...

I would still like to know what the 173rd ABCT is doing in Kenya in the first place. Anyone?

Supposedly it was to protect a refinery I believe.

[shrike6]

Originally Posted by Raellus

What do you know about this topic? Are there published materials regarding NATO forces in Africa? Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.

The only real published materials, by published I'm assuming you mean canon, is in the NATO Vehicle Guide 2nd edition which gives a listing of French Forces in Africa.