Task Force Thunder OOB

[Dermax]

I am really enjoying Combat Mission Shock Force 2. I was late to the party, having followed Battlefront games on and off for years. Getting into CMSF 2 in the past month or two, however, has been an absolute blast. I treated myself to all the DLC for Christmas and have been really enjoying those as well. On this forum it probably won't stand out as weird, but I really enjoy studying military organizations and orders of battle. There's probably a way to view campaign forces in game somewhere, but in lieu of knowing how to do that I've actually been filling out an OOB and TOE for Task Force Thunder as I go through the campaign. 

One thing that I've been kind of - bummed out seems too strong - about is the "lack of identity" to Task Force Thunder's component units. While the other campaigns are quite descriptive down even to the company level, about all that you get from Task Force Thunder is you're commanding the 2nd Battalion and it's built around a Striker Brigade Combat Team. We know from the Highland Games intro that the US 1st Cavalry Division has operation control of the attack into southern Syrian, but unless the units to link up with in the Dutch campaign are named - I haven't gotten that far - it seems like 1st Cav is the only named US Army unit in the game. We can also assume from the Task Force Thunder intro map that a brigade from the 101st Airborne is there given the presence of an airmobile brigade.

Overthinking? Yep, but as a military historian writing that imaginary history of imaginary wars is half the fun of wargaming. Unless the campaign designer weighs in, I guess we'll never have a "this was the unit" answer, but for those that know the campaigns inside and out - are there other indications or hints as to who these units are? I'd hypothesize that 25th Infantry Division was probably running the central invasion into Syria, so - I don't know - maybe Task Force Thunder is one of the SBCTs from the 2nd Infantry Division? There were only... seven or eight SBCTs active in 2008... but again - overthinking!

 

[The Steppenwulf]

Have you seen my OOB list for SF2? 

This is not based on what is mentioned in the SF literature, though I'm sure I did check it at some point during the course of collating the info (and similarly found it limiting). It is however based on plausible formations (and the units composing those formations) operating within the given timeframe and likely to have been mobilised for the theatre of operation. 

The (plausible) OOB does admittedly possess gaps, mainly Syrian forces. Note also that US airmobile forces are omitted because airborne forces are not represented in the editor. 

My intention for producing this document was to offer a starting point for any content designers looking to write in some context or tactical back story that would test as acceptable for "authenticity".

I think it would be cool to expand this info by inclusion of what we do know from the literature, as a starting point.

Even better though would be for "the community" or any suitably inspired individual/s, to fill in the gaps by developing a comprehensive (albeit unofficial) campaign narrative. In this sense I agree with you - it would so much more depth and richness to the game, and in itself inspire creation of scenarios based around the "imagined" narrative.

It's a fantastic mod awaiting creation (if you want it!) and you can add it alongside what I've produced (if desired) so as to complement the other. 

Edited January 4, 2022 by The Steppenwulf

[Dermax]

That is really awesome! I look forward to digging into this!