A mini campaign I came up with to make Ground Branch more interesting. You can run this alone, or with friends for more immersion.
Contents
Guide to Operation Cake Walk
All credit goes to wrinkledbuttz!
Overview
In Ground Branch, you play as an elite shooter from the CIA’s Special Activities Center (SAC), an elite paramilitary unit comprised primarily of former SOCOM operators and experienced infantrymen.
What sets you apart from conventional military special forces like Rangers, SEALs, and CAG is that you are able to operate as a deniable force. Under Title 50 of the United States Code, the CIA and other spook-ass alphabet organizations are able to operate covertly under circumstances where the military is not allowed to.
In Operation Cake Walk, you’ll perform several missions leading up to a larger operation to cripple an ongoing invasion by another world superpower.
The story should be a healthy mix of immersion and fun. Try to complete every mission as prescribed without dying. If you can do that, massive kudos to you.
Happy Hunting!
Mission 1 – The Ram Airways Attack
Brief:
“Team, as you all know we’re working on getting plans squared away to deal with threats to our partners in Eastern Europe. Before we’re ready for that, there’s some low hanging fruit that we’re taking care of for 75-2 (Rangers) to make sure you’re sharpened up for the big fish.
Intel states that a terrorist cell led by Greta Thunberg seeking to rid the world of climate change has raided an airport. They have plans to take a 747 from the runway and fly it into the world’s largest oil rig just off the coast. They already have the airport, and are awaiting the arrival of a professional pilot who has been indoctrinated into their cult.
For those of you in this team who care about the environment, understand that their plan is absolutely butt-f*cking stupid. If they succeed in ramming this jet into the rig, they’ll cause an oil spill that will make the BP catastrophe in the Gulf look like a walk in the park.
I know what you’re thinking. Yes, we have the capability to scramble jets and take the 747 down in the air, but we’d rather avoid the collateral damage and give you all some trigger time instead.
These terrorists are not well trained, but intel states there are nearly two-dozen of them. Happy hunting.”
Bluf: Neutralize the terrorists. Secure the airport. Do not let the 747 take off.
Game Settings
- Map: 747
- Mode: Terrorist Hunt
- Enemies: 22
- Difficulty: Untrained
- Time: 1430 (2:30 PM)
Kit
- Primary: Any American Primary + HK Weapons (416-series rifles and MP-series SMGs)
- Secondary: Glock or P226
- Attachment Restrictions: No suppressors on pistols.
- Head: Helmet or ballcap. Headset required.
- Chest: Your choice of either plate carrier.
- Belt: Your choice of either belt.
- Clothing: Multicam combat set.
Example Loadout
Mission 2 – The Oil Rig
Brief:
“Team, good work on dispensing of the group at the airport. However, the climate terrorism problem is not completely dealt with yet.
It’s been less than a month since the airport attack, and intel just reported that Greta Thunberg’s militia has launched a direct raid on the oil rig they wanted to ram with the plane.
It seems that Greta’s plan with the direct raid was not just to eliminate all the innocent workers, but to detonate the rig itself. They have a hacker in their ranks who will try to blow the rig with a laptop. Your primary objective is to make sure that the oil rig is not detonated, and that the laptop is secured.
After seeing how quickly you all dealt with the clowns at the airport, Thunberg likely funded impromptu training for the group raiding the rig. Expect better resistance, and a slightly larger force.
Since you’ll be working on an oil rig, your weapon choice will be limited. To avoid overpenetration into sensitive parts of the rig, you all will be restricted to pistol caliber carbines and shotguns. No rifles allowed on this mission.
To tip the scales even more in our favor, we’re going to be hitting them before sunrise at 0400. Kit up accordingly.”
Bluf: Secure the laptop on the rig. Neutralize the terrorists.
Game Settings
- Map: Oil Rig
- Mode: Intel Retrieval
- Enemies: 30
- Difficulty: Trained
- Time: 0400 (4:00 AM)
Kit
- Primary: Any MP-series SMG or any shotgun.
- Secondary: Glock or P226
- Attachment Restrictions: None. Suppressors and IR/ white lights on all weapons recommended
- Head: Headset required. Helmet and Night Vision recommended.
- Chest: Your choice of either plate carrier. Black.
- Belt: Your choice of either belt. Black.
- Clothing: Black combat set.
Example Loadout
Mission 3 – I’m The Captain
Brief:
“Team, your success on the oil rig is appreciated by more people than you know. The amount that gas prices would have risen stateside would probably have caused a revolution. Great job.
I hope the two targets you just took care of have primed you all well. It only gets tougher from here.
As you all are aware, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has put extreme logistical stress on the Russian military machine. Their natural gas and oil resources are starting to run critically low as their war continues.
Coincidentally, we just received word that two squads from a notorious paramilitary organization with ties to the Kremlin have hijacked a fuel tanker and seek to bring the cargo to Russia. We have to stop this from happening, as it will deny them the relief they seek on their stressed reserves.
To complicate matters further, we have reason to believe that the paramilitary crew will scuttle the ship if they are attacked too hard.
We need to work extremely quickly on this target. If we take more than 6 minutes to burn them all down, the entire ship is going under.
To speed things up, we recommend at least one designated marksman to take enemies down by using the bridge of the ship as a vantage point.”
Bluf: Eliminate all paramilitary forces and secure the ship in under 6 minutes.
Game Settings
- Map: Tanker
- Mode: Terrorist Hunt
- Enemies: 24
- Difficulty: Experienced
- Time: 1720 (5:20 PM)
- Time Limit: 6 Minutes
Kit
- Primary: Any American primary.
- Secondary: Any American secondary.
- Attachment Restrictions: No suppressors on pistols.
- Head: Headset required. Helmet recommended.
- Chest: Your choice of either plate carrier.
- Belt: Your choice of either belt.
- Clothing: Combat set.
- Camo: Solid colors. Navy, Grey, or Ranger Green recommended.
Example Loadout
Mission 4 – Baba Yaga
Brief:
“Team, good work ensuring the Russian’s didn’t get the resupply they were hoping for.
The real mission starts now.
Intel suggests that with an extremely stressed logistical network, Russia is plotting a last-ditch attempt to gain more ground in the war as their resources are depleted. To gain more information about their plans, we have to infiltrate a Russian FOB in Ukraine and steal a critical intel package.
Due to the geopolitical sensitivity of this mission, this is a black op. You will not be using American weapons. You will not be using American kit. Nothing can come back to us if any of you are captured or KIA.
Grabbing this intel and getting out should be a cake walk. This camp is occupied by teenage Russian conscripts. They have minimal training and very low morale, seeing as they were ripped from their homes or off the streets just weeks ago.
That said, there is an entire platoon of them at the target. Eliminating all of them is not necessary, but do not hesitate if they stand in your way.
For the sake of concealment and intimidation. We’re hitting these rookies at midnight. Night vision and IR is recommended. We’re going to be their boogeymen.
Again,
- No American weapons.
- No American kit.
- No American flags.
- No American camos.
We cannot be caught out here, or it means war for the whole country.
Happy hunting.”
Bluf: Secure the intel in the camp and exit.
Game Settings
- Map: Creek
- Mode: Intel Retrieval
- Enemies: 36
- Difficulty: Trained
- Time: 0000 (12:00 AM)
Kit
- Primary: Any non-allied primary (AK-series rifles, FALs, SVDs, and PKMs specifically approved)
- Secondary: Glock or PMM only
- Attachment Restrictions: None. Suppressors and IR/ white lights on all weapons recommended
- Head: Headset required. Night Vision recommended. Only Binos allowed, no Quad NVGs.
- Chest: Your choice of any chest rig or plate carrier.
- Belt: Your choice of either belt.
- Clothing: Your choice of civilian clothing. No combat clothing.
- Patches: No country flags or unit identifiers. Morale + Blood Type is acceptable.
- Colors: NO CAMO. Solid colors only. OD + Ranger Green recommended.
Example Loadout
Mission 5 – Polite People
Brief:
“Team, the intel you retrieved from that camp was monumental. The package contained plans to employ a new generation of directed energy weapons against Ukrainian military forces and civilians in an effort to uproot them from key defensive positions.
Think giant lasers, but invisible, and deadly.
If they succeed in doing this, they will have gained a massive amount of ground in the invasion while saving their conventional munitions for another day.
With the intelligence you gathered from the last target and our existing intel gathered by the ISA, we’ve located where they’re storing the weapon systems.
You’ll be travelling to Northern Ukraine, where the storage facility sits carved into a mountain along the Dnipro river, just north of Kyiv.
Be advised, this will be the hardest target yet on this deployment, by a large margin. Recon shows the storage facility is currently guarded by several squads of KSSO operators. These are Russia’s Tier 1 shooters, referred to by the public as the “polite people”. They are anything but that. Russian SOF doesn’t have the funding we do, but if you don’t take them seriously you’ll be coming home in a bag.
Since our next target is also in Ukraine, we’re running another black op. You’ll have a bit more freedom with weapon choice this time due to all the gear Uncle Sam has already given to the Ukrainian military. Now that Ukrainian boots are running around with American M4s, you won’t stick out like a sore thumb with yours.
That said, no identifiers that tie us to the USA. Keep your flags off your kit.
With this fight being the tip of each country’s spear, we are inserting at lunchtime. They know the land better than we do, and arriving in the dark will only put us at a disadvantage.
This is what we train for, gentlemen. Make it count.”
Bluf: Eliminate all enemies. Secure the facility.
Game Settings
- Map: Storage Facility
- Mode: Terrorist Hunt
- Enemies: 40
- Difficulty: Veteran
- Time: 1230 (12:30 PM)
Kit
- Primary: Any primary
- Secondary: Any secondary
- Attachment Restrictions: None.
- Head: Headset required. Helmet strongly recommended.
- Chest: Your choice of any chest rig or plate carrier.
- Belt: Your choice of either belt.
- Clothing: Combat clothing
- Patches: No country flags or unit identifiers. Morale + Blood Type is acceptable.
- Colors: Camo or solid natural colors approved.
Example Loadout
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