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Kitchens Sink -> Updated Scenario: Crimea River (3/19/2016 9:59:06 PM)
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The winter of 2015 was a brutal one for the people of Crimea. Due to the collapse in oil prices and continued economic sanctions by the West, the Russian Federation economy was in shambles. Food and fuel shortages in Crimea were widespread, and the Unemployment Rate was over 40%. It became apparent to many in Crimea that re-joining the Russian Federation was not the utopia they dreamed of (and voted for).
In January 2016 dissatisfaction turned to uprising. The first Crimean rebellion started in the city of Kerch. Spetnaz Special Forces units brutally put down the uprising, killing approximately 150 unarmed protesters. Mass protests quickly spread to other parts of Crimea and ended in the same way; with the Speznatz. Vocal leaders of the opposition simply "disappeared".
Western Powers and NATO were undecided on what action to take. The Crimean people had "made their own bed" hadn't they? But the brutality and killing were difficult to stomach. The United Nations could not get any type of Referendum through the Security Council due to the veto power of Russia and China. A purely diplomatic solution seemed unlikely, and there was little international support for military action.
Then, in early February 2016, a CNN News camera crew secretly took footage of troops with no insignia placing bodies in a mass grave at a desolate area outside of the City of Simferopol. It was determined that the mass grave contained the bodies of Crimean dissident leaders, along with their families. When the footage aired on the CNN broadcast network, the political and military situation changed dramatically.
NATO is going to take action. The United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece, and (to a limited extent) Turkey are planning a large strike on Russian military assets in Crimea. It was hoped that a large enough strike by so many NATO Member Nations would send a clear message to Russia that the continued annexation of Crimea was no longer in their best interest.
Two U.S Carrier Strike Groups have combined into a powerful Carrier Battle Group designated Task Force 60, under command of the US 6th Fleet. The multi-national Standing NATO Maritime Force Group 2 (SNMFG2) has been reinforced and will act as a screening group for TF 60. Three NATO front-line submarines are on patrol in the Med, and NATO Airbases have been reinforced with front-line fighters, bombers, and ASW patrol aircraft.
Russia has not been caught flat-footed, and a formidable Russian force is squared off against NATO. Russia had been re-establishing it's 5th Med Squadron and it has now left it's base in Tartus, Syria and joined with the Battle Cruiser Admiral Nakhimov and carrier Admiral Kunetsov which recently passed through the Suez Canal into the Eastern Med. Major units of the Baltic Fleet have left Sevastopol with it's Flagship Slava-class cruiser Moskva. Several Russian diesel electric and nuclear attack submarines are thougth to be operating in the Eastern Med. Russian airfields in and around Crimea have been reinforced with fighters and bombers, and Russian land-based air defense systems have also been upgraded.
The NATO codename has been generated: OPERATION CLEAN SWEEP, and the authorization has been given to proceed.
New Version dated 4/16/2016 Attached. Change Log:
Changed Operation name to CLEAN SWEEP
Beefed up Merzifon, Aviano, and Incirlik AAW, Jamming, and SAM capabilities a bit
Changed all "prohibited" Russian Airbases to Single-Unit Airfields
Added some Cross-Use Munitions to Merzifon, Incirlik, Souda, and Aviano to allow Forward-Basing
Updated some TF 60 Helos to "R" Model
Various tweaks to Russian attack targets and timing
Updated NATO Briefing (Reading it carefully will help you a lot)
I did not add any Ukrainian forces, it got too "messy"
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