WesWorld

Our allies Atlantis and Russia have generously responded to our government's request to send aircraft carriers to assist MN Normandie in the supression of the bandits operating near the Brazilian border. Joining Normandie and 2nd Flotilla torpillieurs (12x Boucleier class) are a Russian force consisting of the aircraft carrier Canopus, 4th Cruiser Squadron (4x Admiral Lazarev class), and 2nd Corvette Flotilla (10x Gvozdika class), and two seaplane tenders; and an Atlantean force consisting of the aircraft carrier Arrogant, the heavy cruiser Proserpine, light cruiser Active and Warrior, Destroyer Division 7, and several monitors and gunboats.

This force has been operating together since mid-November, under the command of the command of Vice Admiral Jules Laucher. I interviewed a Lieutenant of Naval Aviation, a young pilot of an observation aircraft, who had quite a lot to say.

"You would not believe the confusion! Three navies trying to operate together, plus Army and Legion Etrangere units, and nobody has a wireless that can talk to anybody else's! All right, that's a little strong, since the larger ships have more extensive wireless suites, and wireless proceedures worked out over the previous several years of naval exercises between the allies, but once you're up in the air, none of that is any use! If I'm trying to operate with a flight of Atlantean bombers, I have to call back to Normandie, who sends the message to Arrogant, who then talks to her bombers. By this time the target is gone! But that's all right, because the target was probably a Legion Etrangere unit looking for the bandits. I have no way of knowing, since they can't tell me. They have to send a runner back to their Company HQ, who sends a runner to the Navy Shore Element, who sends a wireless to Normandie, who then signals me.

The Army and Legion have using colored flags or colored smoke grenades to signal us, but that's not much good for anything but attracting us to the general area since the wind blows the smoke all over and the bandits have started waving flags too. Solutions are coming, since the Atlantean wireless gear is really great the Fleet has ordered a lot of their sets out of contingent funds, and every French and Russian officer is reporting up their chains of command on the need to BUY ATLANTEAN! It's tough to get the accountants and the procurement people to agree, but you know, troops are dying because we Navies can't talk to them, or each other. Make a fuss about this, okay? Get families to write letters to their Deputies, since their boys in the Army are getting killed, and WE CAN'T HELP THEM!!"

I raised this point with the Press Relations officer attached to Admiral Laucher's staff, who buried me in statistics about sorties flown, targets destroyed, and raids disrupted. In all, a virtuoso performance in denying a problem. But as the young Lieutenant relates, a problem exists. Fortunately, a temporary solution is being worked out, but this scandalous state of affairs clearly requires additional attention.

60,600 tons of carrier tonnage of three nations in that area, whose strike forces are unable to properly communicate with each other...
... just to take out a few brigands.
I'm fairly sure that if that Legion Etrangere had a slightly improved training program, this matter would have already been solved.

The opportunity for an inter-Allied operation was too good to pass up. The participants didn't really forsee the five-ring circus that would result.

And the single Company of Legion Etrangere in French Guiana has a lot of ground to cover...

I would assume that France has more than just the one company of the Legion Etrangere in French Guiana. If the program were slightly better, France would have been able to get units from the other parts of the French Territories to that region. That way they would have more than that one company to cover all that ground.

But then they might pull troops from Indo-China.

"Trust me, you really want to pull troops from Indo-China...seriously, that would be an excellent idea..."

Of course with the amount of firepower sitting off the Guinan coast the British and Dutch might want to have ships nearby...to protect there own intrests.

Not the mention the Brazilians.

A small Atlantean military force has just arrived at French Guiana in an effort to assist the French in dealing with the recent bandit attacks that have maliciously afflicted the region in the last few months. The 5th Marine expeditionary Force arrived at Cayenne on the 6th and will proceed to Quanary were they will set up a base of operations. With the help of a French Liaison they will attempt to seek out the enemy and destroy them.

Vice Admiral Aniko Musika has also joined the cause in an effort to aid French Vice Admiral Jules Laucher in the co-operation between the various FAR alliance nations. Wireless teams have also been sent to the Normandie and Canopus in an effort to improve co-operation between Atlantean, French and Russian airgroups and the land forces that request their assistance.

"We are quite happy to help our French allies in this effort." the admiral stated. "Under the FAR treaty we are obligated to help our allies in any way. Never the less we have reason to beleive that these are the same Bandits that have harased Muesaeian farmers and authority's for some time now." When asked how the two groups were linked the Admiral stated "the method of attack, targets and weapons are all strikingly similar. Most of the weapons are American designs that seem to be built in Brazil, allthough one cannot be certain as all manufacturing serial numbers have been defaced. I also want to make it clear we have no reason to beleive the Americans are supporting this group, American officials have kept in close contact with us for some time on the issue."

The Admiral went on to state that the Bandits also use a small number of indigenous weapons aquired from farms or raids on police stations. No motive has been expalined for this recent rash of attacks.