Exercise Iron Diplomat

[Jamie]

EXERCISE IRON DIPLOMAT
Security Classification: TOP SECRET

SITUATION REPORT

Location Hereford Training Grounds, UK. Duration 4 days BELLIGERENTS BLUFOR United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United States of America OPFOR Not Applicable. ORDER OF BATTLE United Kingdom [32] Operators, Special Air Service, A Squadron (Air & Mobility Troop) [2] AgustaWestland Puma HC Mk 1, No. 9 Squadron, A Flight United States of America [50] SEAL Training Specialists [48] Navy SEALs. CAMPAIGN REGISTER Operation Objective Status Exercise Iron Diplomat JAN 2007 - Joint Special Forces Exercise between the UK and US. Pending Arrivals

 

[Odinson]

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EXERCISE IRON DIPLOMAT​

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TOP SECRET​

JSOC DEPLOYMENT​

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NAVAL SPECIAL WARFARE DEVELOPMENT GROUP
Rear Admiral Lewis Burton​

SQUADRON	TROOP	PERSONNEL	GARRISON
Silver Squadron	Juliett Troop	16 Special Warfare Operators	Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia
Silver Squadron	Kilo Troop	14 Special Warfare Operators	Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia
Green Squadron	Tango Troop	25 Training Specialists	Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia
Green Squadron	Uniform Troop	25 Training Specialists	Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia
Gray Squadron	Quebec-Alpha Troop	24 Air Mobility Crew	Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia

DETAILS

Silver Squadron - Apparel: x1 Enhanced Combat Helmet; x3 Navy Combat Uniform (as well as boots and gloves) with American flag patch, x1 Jumpable Plate Carriers, x1 four-eyed special forces night vision/infrared goggles (AN/PVS-15); x1 AN/PRC-148 Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio; x1 The Individual First Aid Kit.
Weapons: x1 HK416 rifle +10 30-round magazines and bayonet, x1 M1911 +4 magazines; x4 flashbangs; x1 white smoke grenade, x1 yellow smoke grenade, x2 red flares (all firearms have non-lethal equivalent brought for training exercise).
Green Squadron - Apparel: x1 Enhanced Combat Helmet; x3 Navy Combat Uniform (as well as boots and gloves) with American flag patch, x1 four-eyed special forces night vision/infrared goggles (AN/PVS-15).
Weapons: x1 M1911 +4 magazines.
Gray Squadron - Apparel: x2 Navy Combat Uniform (as well as boots and gloves) with American flag patch; x2 Navy Flight Uniform.
Weapons: x1 M1911 +4 magazines; x4 flashbangs; x1 white smoke grenade, x1 yellow smoke grenade, x2 red flares (all firearms have non-lethal equivalent brought for training exercise).
Sikorsky HH-60H (x6) - Full fueled and armed; full loadout of electronic warfare equipment; full loadout of ALE-47 chaff/flare dispensers countermeasures.​

AIR FORCE DEPLOYMENT​

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AIR MOBILITY COMMAND​

Unit	Airbase	Aircraft	Cabin Crew Each
100th Air Mobility Squadron	Dover AFB, Delaware	x2 C-5B	7
102nd Air Mobility Squadron	Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio	x1 C-40 Clipper	6

DETAILS
C-5B Fully-fueled; full loadout of countermeasures.
C-40 Clipper Fully-fueled; full loadout of countermeasures.

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DEPLOYMENT ORDERS​

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CONTEXT​

Military representatives from JSOC, SEAL Team Six, the Air Force's Air Mobility Command, and other high military officials met at the Pentagon to review Exercise Iron Diplomat. The United States would have significantly more logistical operations to take care of since the exercise would be taking place in the United Kingdom. An "excessive" amount of SEAL Team operators and aircraft were deployed for the sake of this being a training exercise, but nevertheless every part of the deployment was to be treated as "real" and necessary. In order to do this, the Air Force's Air Mobility Command was utilized to directly transport Navy helicopters to England. The Secretary of The Air Force was given regular updates during the beginning and end-phases of the exercise in which there was transit over the Atlantic. The Secretary of The Navy was given a fifteen-minute briefing once a day as the exercise commenced over the course of four days, with a two-hour briefing after the final day.

Before the operation began, the British were updated of the following numbers of Americans that would be participating in the exercise:
x30 SEAL Special Warfare Operators,
x50 SEAL Training Specialists,
x24 SEAL Air Mobility Crew,
x20 Air Force air crews.
Total: 124 Americans.

ATLANTIC THEATER​

JSOC and the Pentagon decided that the best mode of training for this operation would be to treat this mission as close to a real-world scenario as possible. First, 50 SEAL Training Specialists from Green Squadron travelled to England two days in advance via a privately chartered flight to RAF Mildenhall. Most of them would join their English counterparts at the Hereford Training Grounds while a handful were at RAF Mildenhall which would be the UK-rallying point for American forces in the event of a European crisis. The Training Specialists were SEALs, and their primary mission was to ensure that this exercise was as real of a scenario as possible and provided the most training and benefit for the operators as possible. The Training Specialists worked very closely with their British counterparts to ensure that both sides were on the same page. The British were made aware that the SEALs would be under the impression that they were engaging in a real-world scenario until they arrived to the training grounds. An exercise where the SEALs were not aware that it was an exercise was rare, but not unheard of. The current standard of deployment for JSOC was that any Tier 1 unit could be deployed, on the ground, anywhere in Europe within 18 hours.

The following day, 30 special warfare operators and 24 air mobility crew were securely paged to report for their duty stations. Also, 13 pilots and aircrew from the Air Force were also called to their duty stations at Dover AFB in Delaware and Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. The C-40 Clipper at Wright-Patterson had its pre-flight checks performed and it was fueled for the following journey. Once the crew was ready, the C-40 Clipper flew at the standard cruising altitude and speed so that it would make it to Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia within an hour. During this same process, the two C-5Bs at Dover AFB in Delaware had their preflight checks performed and they were fueled for the journey to make it to Naval Air Station Oceana as well; the C-5Bs flew at the appropriate altitude and cruising speed to make it to the base.

Once the aircraft were at the base, they were fully fueled for their journey across the Atlantic Ocean. Six HH-60H Sikorsky helicopters (3 on each aircraft) were loaded onto the C-5B Galaxys, and properly secured. While the aircraft were being loaded onto the C-5Bs, the SEALs would be briefed and informed that they were heading to the United Kingdom in order to assist British special forces in a close-quarters mission involving some kind of VIP-rescue mission. Most of the SEALs were, admittedly, excited to be able to work alongside the SAS.

Once the helicopters were loaded aboard the Galaxys, they would take off from Naval Air Station Oceana and take the most direct route to RAF Mildenhall while avoiding Canadian and Irish airspace - this would still easily keep the C-5Bs within the proper range so that they would not need to refuel. The 30 operators boarded the Air Force C-40 Clipper, along with the 24 men from the air mobility crew, which would take off around 20 minutes after the C-5B Galaxys. The C-40 Clipper would also avoid Canadian and Irish airspace and would just be able to make it to RAF Mildenhall without refueling or landing. However, alternative landing locations in Wales and Western England were designated in the event of an emergency (and these alternative landing locations were securely shared with the RAF).

Once the C-5B Galxys landed at RAF Mildenhall and were able to securely taxi to secure locations at the base, they would begin the process of unloaded the helicopters onto the tarmac. All six of the HH-60H helicopters were unloaded and prepared for flight. The C-40 Clipper also landed at RAF Mildenhall and all of the SEALs and air mobility crew departed. The men from the air mobility crew manned their helicopters, performed the proper pre-flight checks, and ensured that they were fully-fueled. Training Specialists were on the ground at RAF Mildenhall and, while they were discreet, it would become apparent to the SEALs that this was most likely a training exercise. Nevertheless, the SEALs maintained their professionalism and continued to treat it as a real-world scenario, especially since they were probably being evaluated.

All six helicopters were loaded with 4 SEAL Air Mobility Crew and 5 SEAL Special Warfare Operators. The SEALs were fully armed with their non-lethal weapons and equipment. The helicopters would fly at the appropriate altitude and cruising speed to the Hereford Training Grounds where they would meet up with their counterparts in the SAS. Most of the SEAL Training Specialists would be there, probably coordinating for the training that would be taking place. Throughout this operation, JSOC and the Air Force would keep the SAS and the RAF fully informed of relevant American troop movements and flight patterns.

With all of that being said, before the SEAL Special Warfare Operators and Flight Mobility Crews departed from the United States, a priority-classified message was generated by the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon and sent to the Ministry of Defense to inform them of the immanent deployment of American forces to the United Kingdom. In the event of an actual deployment of special forces (especially if it was not announced) such a message would be sent to inform America's closest ally that she was sending friendly forces her way. That message is listed below.​

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NATIONAL MILITARY COMMAND CENTER​

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ENCRYPTED MESSAGE​

** START MESSAGE ** START MESSAGE ** START MESSAGE **​

URGENCY: PRIORITY

CCEB PRECEDENCE: FLASH - IMMEDIATE - PRIORITY

TO: MINISTRY OF DEFENSE, UNITED KINGDOM

FROM: NATIONAL MILITARY COMMAND CENTER - THE PENTAGON
SUBJECT: DEPLOYMENT OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES

THIS IS AN EXERCISE.

THE NATIONAL COMMAND AUTHORITY HAS ORDERED THE IMMEDIATE DEPLOYMENT OF SEAL TEAM SIX TO THE UNITED KINGDOM IN RESPONSE TO THE HOSTILE TAKEOVER OF A FRIENDLY EMBASSY. TWO AIR FORCE C-5B GALAXYS AND ONE AIR FORCE C-40 CLIPPER HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED TO RAF MILDENHALL WITH PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT FOR THIS MISSION.

CONFIRM RECEIPT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

THIS IS AN EXERCISE.

** END MESSAGE ** END MESSAGE ** END MESSAGE **​

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[Jamie]

In the days leading up to the Americans’ arrival, teams from the Royal Engineers moved quietly onto the Hereford Training Grounds. Working under the radar, they got to work building a mock embassy complex designed specifically for the upcoming joint training exercise. With help from a handful of MOD architects and intel staff, they based the layout on real-world diplomatic compounds - not just in appearance, but in complexity. The site itself sat tucked away in a remote corner of the training grounds. Within a few days, it started to look like the real thing: hardened, chaotic, and lived-in. A double-layered perimeter went up first: HESCO barriers stacked two-deep, shipping containers refitted as guard towers, and a checkpoint at the front gate complete with boom barriers and dummy biometric scanners. C-wire ran along the tops of the walls, uneven and loose. Deliberately rough. Exactly how it might look in-country. Inside the compound, a three-storey building formed the centrepiece. It had multiple entry points, blind corners, reinforced steel doors, and narrow stairwell. All built to force operators into tight, high-risk spaces. The goal was to make it as unforgiving as possible.

To add to the complexity and realism, other features included a communications room wired with fake servers for simulated intelligence grabs. A concealed safe room, accessible through a hidden reinforced door and a car park with diplomatic vehicles. The entire facility was build to frustrate any force seeking to enter it. One stairwell was completely sealed off and the insides planted with furniture that could add extra complication for the attacker, if used by the defenders. To conclude, a full CCTV system was installed and linked to the operations tent to allow the exercise to be observed from all angles by senior staff and political figures. Every movement monitored that would be used for the debrief.

By the time the first American aircraft touched down at Mildenhall, the site had been hammered by a few days of British weather to break it in. The early arrival of the SEAL Training Specialists was seen as a fantastic opportunity, they were invited to review the facility before the exercise begun and offer any final input to the engineers. They were also requested to act as the Opposing Force (OPFOR), where soldiers from the British Army would be acting as embassy staff ... also known as hostages. If they'd accept, they had the day before to kit up in the attire of an insurgent force and set up in the embassy, place hostages where they desire and prepare any defences. Afterall, the siege had already taken place. It was the Joint UK US Special Operators job to breach and save the hostages.

On the first day of the exercise, all those involved were given instruction to attend the main hangar on site. A temporary command post with folding tables, map boards, communication equipment. It was a control centre for the exercise. Outside sat three AgustaWestland Puma HC Mk I's from the Royal Air Force that were available for the exercise if requested, otherwise, they would get to observe from the control centre to understand how they could benefit in a real situation. To ensure uniformity, the Special Air Service and SEALs that were to be part of the siege were placed on one side of the hanger, secluded from support staff. They were restricted to ensure they had minimum information and had to work together to compile a plan or carry out any intelligence gathering. The SAS were ready, a full complement of 32 operators from A Squadron had gotten themselves comfortable. They waited for the arrival of the SEALs who were participating so they could begin to plan their response.

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