"My Quasi-ImagiNation for Modern Conflict(s)" Topic

All,
I'm moving ahead with my pseudo-, sort of modern Imagi-Nation. My concept is the 'liberation' of the island state of Cuba by a government in exile, which then becomes a minor ally of the United States and small player on the international stage. So first, my disclaimer:

The point of this scenario is simply to provide a launching board for quasi-realistic, semi-plausible 'modern' (post WWII) wargaming. This is strictly apolitical, with no desire to become mired in real-world, factionalized argument or in-fighting. While some actual names of world leaders, movements, militaries, and locations will be used, again this is no statement politically, socially, culturally, or morally, it is simply a vehicle to draw interesting wargames in interesting locales with a small bit of real-life history.

1. 1963: Following the Bay of Pigs debacle, a group of displaced Cubans gathered to regroup, reorganize, and devise a plan to continue their attempts to oust the Castro regime, replacing it with themselves.

2. 1983: The US government intervened militarily on the island of Grenada. US gov't fighting Cubans but wouldn't go after Cuba. At this juncture the exiles decided US support would not be forthcoming and so a plan was set to act unilaterally.

3. February 1990: After much deliberation, in January 1989 the exiles made the fateful decision launch the long-awaited invasion of Cuba in February 1990. I am not putting in a date for the end of fighting as I don't know when that will be, it will depend on what happens on the tabletop. All I know is that it will (must?) be successful and won't last past January 1991, because…

4. January 1991: The new Cuban government consolidates power, establishes itself as an interim government. The most significant issue to hand for the international community was the August 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Cuba, desiring to become a player on the international stage, quickly organized to provide a force to take part in Operation Desert Storm.

5. 1992-Present: Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia entered into a formal alliance to fight the explosion of illegal narcotics and the Drug Cartels. These operations were largely conducted by Cuban Expeditionary Force (CEF) Special Operations forces and riverine elements throughout South and Central America and the Caribbean.

6. 1992-1993: The CEF sent a contingent to Somalia as part of the UN-element sent to restore peace. Largely a dull routine, several times heavy fighting was witnessed in Mogadishu and its surrounding areas.

7. 1993-Present: Ongoing Counter-Terrorist Operations against Iran and Hezbollah. Iran, eager to get revenge on Cuba for the sinking of its vessel during Desert Storm, commissions Hezbollah to act on its behalf. In early 1993 Hezbollah operatives place a truck bomb at the Cuban Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, The subsequent detonation demolishes the small building, killing 34 Cuban nationals and staff. Following this incident the Cuban military takes every opportunity to strike back at Hezbollah and Iran, wherever they may be found.

8. 1993: Not long after the embassy bombing, Israel finds itself drawn into southern Lebanon, fighting to in a failed attempt to exterminate Hezbollah. Cuba is quick to show its support of the Israelis right to aggressively defend themselves by sending a CEF contingent straight into Lebanon. This incursion meets with mixed results at best, and the CEF contingent is withdrawn before the year is out.

9. 1995-1995: The CEF sent contingents to Rwanda and Liberia, evacuating diplomatic staff and their families as well as engaging in peace-keeping operations. At times, very heavy fighting broke out between CEF elements and local warlords.

10. 1995-1999: The CEF sent a contingent to Bosnia, with conventional forces conducting peace-keeping operations that several times deteriorated into heavy fighting. CEF Special Operations forces also took part in the 'war criminal hunts.'

11. 1995-1996: Traditional border disputes, as well as the Counter-Narcotics pact and being seen as Yanqui puppets led to war between Colombia and Venezuela. The CN pact as well as Cuba's desire for retribution regarding Venezuela's interference in their fight for liberation sees the largest CEF contingent yet deployed sent to Colombia to take part in large-scale, conventional military operations. Heavy fighting is experienced on a regular basis, and the war ultimately ends with Venezuela withdrawing and suing for peace.

12. 1999-2001: Acrimony between South Africa on the one hand and Namibia and Angola on the other develops into open hostility and then outright combat. Former ally Angola, seeing Cuba's renewed vigor in international military events, extends a request to Cuba for military assistance. Cuba, of course, is now its own exact opposite ideologically, refuses the request out of hand. Following the Cuban withdrawal from Angola in the late 1980's, a great many Cuban military personnel decided to remain in Angola, as well as a large number of medical personnel and diplomatic personnel and their families. Following Cuba's denial of military assistance in the current conflict with South Africa, the Angolan government set upon a campaign of terror against Cuban expatriots and their families. Cuba, unable to stand by while its citizens are being mistreated, and so it sends a large contingent of the CEF to South Africa. There the CEF takes part in particularly vicious fighting on a large scale, before ultimately Angola and Namibia are dissuaded of their expansionist agendas.

13. 2001-Present: Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, members of CEF Special Operations are side by side with their US counterparts on entry into Afghanistan. Due to its history with the country, CEF elements volunteer to deploy to and focus their efforts on the border with Iran, in order to minimize its influence in the rebuilding of Afghanistan by ISAF. Additionally, as part of the overall OEF, CEF forces are also active in CT operations in the southern Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan, though by the end of 2005 CEF forces are largely operating only in Afghanistan in support of OEF.

14. 2003-2009: Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). CEF mechanized forces are on-hand for the blitzkrieg to Baghdad, taking part in heavy, conventional fighting. While much of the CEF is redeployed at the conclusion of combat operations, a CEF contingent remains in Iraq until 2009, taking part in counterinsurgency operations and the surge, though much of its time is again spent on the border with Iran to minimize its influence in the rebuilding of Iraq.

15. 2006: When the Israelis launch Operation Cast Lead in southern Lebanon, once again the CEF launches a contingent to strike back at Hezbollah.

16. 2008: A small force of the CEF is conducting joint training exercises with the Georgian military when Russia intervenes in that country regarding the South Ossetia issue. The Cubans want no part of a war with Russia, but the CEF contingent finds itself fighting for its life just to depart the area.

17. 2010-2011: As part of coalition forces' campaign to depose Muammar Khaddafi, the CEF deploys members of its Special Operations and UCW forces to assist.

18. 2012-2013: As part of its efforts to counter Iran at every turn, following Iran's deployment of IRGC forces to Syria, the CEF sends a small contingent to Syria to assist in the overthrow of Assad's regime.

If anyone managed to make it this far (sorry for the long post), here's the point of my post:

To be honest, I'm pretty happy with everything up until about 2010; I'm not all that hot about Libya/Syria, but my creative juices have kind of dried up in terms of places my Cubans go to war with/for. If anyone has actually been able to stick it out and read all this, I'd love to here some scenarios (locale and semi-plausible justification) for 2010 to near future.

Believe it or not, this is really paired down from what I put on the blog, so if you'd like to see it, please visit:

link

V/R,
Jack

They can help Bongolesia or the Fandango Republic against the other. Try to plant a fifth column in Nova Caledonia, and realize that they may have bit off more than they can chew when they lose the coin toss and become The Representative For His Absent Majesty…

I like it.

For a small country its pretty active, I'm interested in what kind of military spending this country has, able to send 4 contingents in '93 and 3 in '95 :D

Would make a good RPG setting especially with the CLA's mix of background/training.

Echoco,
In my mind military spending is pretty low. Almost nothing is spent on home defense, which is the bulk of the military, as 1) Cuba has a huge deterrent in being a US ally, and 2) no one is really in a position to invade it anyway.

Your right in that the CEF is very active, but money is minimal because the contingents are small, and often they are subsidized by other nations or elements. For example, the US wants grand coalitions for Gulf War and OEF/OIF, so provide equipment and transport. Somalia, Rwanda, Liberia, the Balkans, Libya, and Syria are all UN funded trips. Regarding the trips to Lebanon and against Angola, Israel and South Africa are happy to foot a large portion of the bill as having "international support" lends credence to their strategic aims and objectives. Regarding world-wide CT ops and regional CN ops, the US is always happy to throw money around to support such things.

The only one Cuba really has to pay for is the war between Colombia and Venezuela, but that's a treaty deal so the populace is understanding of the burden to be born. In the overall scheme of things, the CEF is a pool of bodies for military action worldwide, on the cheap. Around 2001 many countries begin referring to the CEF as the "American Foreign Legion" ;)

I'm still looking for suggestions for more actions to get into the 2010 to present period!

V/R,
Jack

Due to the date you missed the Iran/Iraq war in 1980.
Possible to deploy to Kashmir/Indo-Chinese border.
Also the Chechen wars?

Also any humanitarian work?

How does the post 2001 CEF tackle competition with PMCs? Supposedly they're drawing away experienced spec ops operators in a lot of countries with higher pay.

Do you mean like the 04/05 tsunami stuff in PI, Indonesia, Thailand, etc…? While Cuba might send CEF contingents to stuff like that, there's no wargaming value to it; I need stuff where fighting breaks out (so I am going with Somalia, Balkans, Rwanda, Liberia).

Regarding PMCs, the CEF has no issues with losing pax to PMCs as all CEF personnel are true patriots (just a joke, I was a contractor for a few years myself). In terms of my wargaming, it's not an issue that's going to crimp our ability to deploy all over the world and kick butt.

Sumerandaccand mentioned the Chechen wars, which is certainly appealing, I just have to figure out a how, why, when, and where. Cuba could fight the Chechen's as a means to get in Russia's good graces after the 08 deal in Georgia/South Ossetia, or just make it a more generic UN-issue regarding split-off former Soviet republics descending into civil war. I don't have too much interest in Pak/India, and I'm not sure how to mess with China, other than by proxy, they're just way too big. So maybe stuff in Central Africa where China has "private" companies building infrastructure and pulling out rare minerals, etc…, and maybe some of that in SE Asia as well? We'll see.

V/R,
Jack