Fort Cooper

[Apache6]

Fort Cooper: Fort Cooper is named after SgtMaj Cooper, who was killed during the offensive that seized the area around the base. The base is built on a farm and is the cantonment of the Bde troops. It's home to Headquarters and Service Bn, a Combat Logistics Bn, a Engineer Co, a Cavalry Squadron, and the Bn HQ and one firing battery of an Arty Bn are based here. The Military Population is 309. Non-Combat population is also about 300, though numbers are not as precise. The unit has been stationed here for over a year and is reasonably well liked by the locals. Several hundred other civilians are ‘employed’ aboard the base mostly employed supporting food, fuel and laundry requirements of the forces assigned.

-Outer perimeter is defined by a three strand barbed wire fence, inside of which a herd of goats are grazed (keeping fields of fire clear), a limited amount of concertina wire is used to block the 2 covered avenues of approach. These approaches are also marked with mine signs and barbed wire fences (each has a 50 meter deep marked minefield containing a mix of US M16 AP mines and Soviet POMZ-2 mines on trip wires and PMN-2 ‘toe poppers’ rigged for pressure det).

-400 meters inside that is a 2 M deep x 2 M wide ditch, backed by a 2 M high earthen berm ~ .6 M thick at top, front edge of the ditch is lined with concertina wire.

- 100m inside that is another slightly larger ditch and berm, 2.3 – 2.5M high, again topped with C-wire. The natural hillock the Fort is built on causes the inner berm to be about 1.5 – 3 M above the outer berm. Inner perimeter is roughly rectangular, 250M x 100M.

- The corner of each outer berm has a strongpoint bastion, consisting of low machine gun bunkers which can place grazing fire down the enemy side of the berms, as well as a 3 – 4 M observation towers (The 2 at ECPs are bunkers built on ISOs, other 2 are concrete sewer pipes stood upright with firing slits cut). Each bunker has a couple of HMGs (a mix of .50 cal and Soviet 14.5 KPVs) a SVD ‘sniper rifle’ and a RPG-16 with 1d4+2 rockets. HMGs are positioned for grazing fire. Each of the strongpoints have 2 improvised claymore mines. The unit has one functional ground surveillance radar system, they sometimes use it for mobile operations, but more routinely place it on one of the corner strongpoints.

-Outer perimeter has 2 Entry Control Points (gates) integrated with the strongpoints on NE and SW corners. Both ECPs have obstacles that make approaching vehicles slow and turn while approaching. They also have buried fougasse charges that can be detonated from either the strongpoint or the main COC, creating a 4 m x 2 m deep Anti vehicle ditch and showering the approaches with literally tons of dirt/rocks/gravel. The charges are pre-buried, but the blasting caps are only installed during buried of high alert. There is a concealed tunnel that leads outside the fenceline entered by the SE strongpoint (there are boobytrapped on EN side and half way in).

-Inside the outer berm is the Ammo Supply Point (3 ISO containers dug into the ground), fuel farm (3 x bermed 20,000 gallon fuel bladders, 3 other spaces are just burned out remains), HLZ (used as a sports field), a ‘field gym’, 6 gun positions (unit currently mans 2 155mm How, 2 D-30 122 mm, a BM-21 MRL, and a Soviet 120mm Mortar), vehicle parking, vehicle maintenance area (including a Machine Shop Trailer and 8 ISO containers of parts/POL), Antenna Farm, the main generator pit (4 60KW generators, 2 of which reliably work), a burn pit, and a marketplace (including a laundry/tailor shop, barber shop, Tatoo parlor, a couple of loot/trinket/pawn shops, a Coffee/Tea/cigar shop…) a corral for the goats, a pigsty and chicken coops.

- The inner perimeter/berm is roughly 125M by x 250M and has a single vehicle gate (at NW corner) and an additional personnel gates (SE corner). Inner perimeter is normally open but can be closed and secured. Again, there are fighting positions at each corner, but they are not equipped with heavy weapons.

-Inside the inner perimeter is the Command Post (the old brick farm house where the day to day admin is done. The Combat Operations Center is adjacent and consists of a buried/sandbagged bunker) with 2 5KW backup generators). There is a high quality remote control day/night camera mounted on a 22m mast that feeds into the COC, this camera has good line of sight and can spot vehicles about 10km away, personnel up to 3km (roughly half as far at night).

- Also inside the inner perimeter is The aid station, the galley and Mess Hall, billeting tents and shanties, armory, heads and showers, Water point feed by a well, and a supply area, as well as billeting tents and shanties. There were originally 24 neatly laid out billeting tents, protected to 1.3 M with sandbags, and equipped with 20 cots @, 5 have since burned or been destroyed by enemy fire. Many of the troops sleep in bunkers or around their work areas.

- The inner vehicle ECP at the NW corner of the inner perimeter is topped by a bunker that sits about 10 m above the plain and has good line of sight. This position is armed with a .50 barret sniper rifle, a AGS-17 AGL, and an AT-5 ATGM with 4 missiles.
The unit has many more vehicles then they can operate/fuel, several of them have been stripped for parts.
The absolute minimum manpower that will be left to protect the cantonment is 32: organized into 4 fire teams assigned to the 4 outer strongpoints (manning two MGs each), 5 people on the Howitzers, 3 pax at the COC, and 8 man react squad (with a BMP-2 w 2 AT-5 missiles).

Bde HQ: Col Suntar: He’s a decent man and a good tactician, extremely demanding of his subordinates. Not loved, but respected as he’s provided security and guidance. Personnel Security Detachment: Led by Lt Costello (his Adjacent/aide), consists of 7 men, normally ride in 2 'armored' HMMWVs reinforced with 'hillbilly armor cut from knocked out BTR-70s, equipped with 1 .50 cal and 1 Mk19. Each vehicle is well equipped with radios, NVGs and cammo nets. Four men will normally stay with vehicles, while Lt Costello and two hulking NCOs dismount with the CO.

Chaos Battery: Capt Nung, Cmds the Artillery Detachment, which currently musters 32 men. They have 4 functional M-198 towed 155mm How but are short on rounds (21 HE rd, 14 HE DP, 2 FASCAM ADAM, 8 WP, 4 beehive/canister), 1 BM-21 truck mounted rocket launcher (99 HE rockets), 3 122mm D-30 howitzers (288 HE rounds, 104 Smoke rd), they have 4 120 Soviet Mortars (with 200 HE and 100 Illum rounds). The crews are very well trained on M198. Preference is to employ the D-30s if in range, since they have captured plenty of ammo. The BM-21 is reserved for area targets. The 155mm DP rounds particularly will be reserved for armored targets only. They have a scout survey hardback HMMWV w Mk19 (5 men), a FDC carried in a HMMWV van (5 men). 2 5tons (each with a .50 on ring mount) haul the M198 howitzers and seven man crews, one will always man the .50). The BM-21 has 3 man crew. 2 additional 5 tons, one with .50 cal on ring mount haul D-30s and there ammo.