USMC Base, Camp LeJeune, N.C.
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 14
1993

The following is a personal reminiscence of a wargame simulation in which I was involved reserve unit annual training in NMCB-14. Things got pretty hairy, as you'll see, and we had to sometimes remind ourselves the sim was just make-believe for drill. But in an important way NONE of it was make believe! We might have to fight a battle just like this one, for real, any time, anywhere, on very short notice: There is a very important dimension to the simulation, sensory overload! You have to do fifty things all at once and there's NO time! Also,in this situation, at a small, isolated outpost, the SEABEES are emminently expendable! Representing barely a "pothole", not even a decent "speed bump", in the path of oncoming heavy forces, the Comm Station has a very short lived usefulness in the very early hours of the operation. It's function will be better served by other means that will be available shortly. That's why urgent requests for high value assets like jets, is denied. Vital warfighting lesson -- You won't always get what you ask for!"

The map table we used was awesome for sure, but no photography was permitted while the simulation was operating. In the back of the room was a large storage rack which held map sections representing most likely areas of operation for the USMC. I imagine that nearly every square inch of land surface within reach of Marine forces is represented by those map sections or others stored elsewhere. First, let me describe the scenario we were given, the prelude to our war game. The scenario for our simulation involved a conflict over fishing rights in the strait between the island nation of "Culebra " backed militarily by Cuba and the U.S.S R., and the island nation of "Vieques" backed militarily by the U.S.

Some siezing of Vieqan fishing boats by Culebran gunboats quickly escalates into a shooting match between the two small island nieghbors. The Culebrans rush more gunboats to the scene and begin to embark amphibious assault troops into landing craft that are heading for the northern and southern coasts of Vieques. The Russians dispatch an Airborne Motorized Rifle Regiment from Cuba and alert further army and navy units for action in the area.

Immediate response from the U.S. Embassy on Vieques is to request rapid reinforcement of the native Vieqan forces, a few poorly trained and equipped army units, no air Force, and only a handful of rust-bucket coastal patrol craft. Among the first responders are a Marine Expedionary Unit, conducting a training exercise in Puerto Rico, and Naval Mobile Construction Battalion-14 also training at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, providing Combat Contingency Construction Support to the MEU exercise. The Marines splash ashore on the western end of the island and proceed to secure the U.S. Embassy grounds while assisting in evacuation of U.S. and host nation embassy support personnel. NMCB-14's Command Element arrives right behind the MEU Command Element and establishes a functioning forward Command Post within the Embassy and in close proximity to the MEU Command Post. The MEU dispatches two convoys of Amtraks into the interior of the island to prepare to meet the expected landings of Cuban led Culebran assault troops. They are seemingly headed for the beaches along the center of the coastline on northern and southern flanks. NMCB-14 immediately sends a convoy to the far eastern tip of the island, closest to the strait which has suddenly become a hot conflict zone. The mission is to fortify a remote tracking and communications facilty that is the vital "eyes and ears" of the military forces back on the western side of the island, and provide local security for the crew against enemy infiltrators. Earthmoving and field fortifications construction must be accomplished with lightning speed. Simultaneously, NMCB-14 must prepare for follow-on forces which will soon arrive at the one undersized and poorly equipped port on the entire island.

Within Embassy grounds and immediately surrounding the walled complex, a huge crowd of panicked civilians has gathered hoping for admittance to gain sanctuary or some transport off the island before the combat starts in earnest. NMCB-14 SEABEES must bolster the Marine Security Detachment manning the walls, rooftops and front gate. In the melee around the front gate, a SEABEE is bitten by a panicked goat brought along by one of the locals seeking entrance to the Embassy. The wound is not life threatening, but must be treated to avoid infection. That SEABEE must be declared combat ineffective due to inability to properly aim and fire a weapon.

Halfway to the eastern end of the island, NMCB-14's convoy is attacked by guerillas sympathetic to the Culebrans. A 5-ton dump truck is destroyed by RPG fire, and precious fuel carried in the bed of the truck burns and explodes! Result: one friendly KIA, three WIA with life threatening burns. Bad news but the fortunes of war. The attackers are driven off by overwhelming SEABEE firepower and the convoy proceeds while leaving a small force behind to protect and care for the wounded until Medevac arrives. All this in the first eight hours after arrival without much time to prepare!

Intelligence brief at this point says two separate squadrons of Cuban "Fast Boat" type landing craft are rapidly approaching the north and south coasts, roughly in the center, with the apparent aim of joining up after landing, and isolating the undeveloped eastern end of the island from the densely populated western end. The Russian Airborne Motorized Rifle Regiment is expected to reach its likely drop zone somewhere just east of the island's center, within one to two hours. The airborne assault will roughly coincide with the landings on the two coasts. Thus the MEU will be threatened on three sides. The SEABEES and Communications Station crew will be cut off. Enemy forces are gathering at the southern tip of Culebra with the apparent aim of rapidly transporting heavy units across the narrow straight to consolidate the complete occupation of the eastern half of Vieques. Then begins the campaign to defeat the defenders on the populated western side, for the rapid total victory of the Culebran Forces! Only the MEU and the SEABEES stand in their way. Pucker factor now: Very high! Let the games begin!!

“Real time" time constraints allowed us to get only slightly more than an hour of "Sim time " out of this scenario in almost four hours in the afternoon. There were frequent stoppages of "Sim time " for Q & A between the players and the operator, as well as among the players themselves, while "real time" ticked on. This was part of the value of the simulation, being able to "freeze-frame" the action and discuss your moves after you make them to evaluate what you did right or wrong, without someone losing a life if you're wrong! The prelude described above was the general intelligence assessment at the 8-hour point after arrival on scene. The final step before actually starting the simulation was to more specificly describe the situation of NMCB-14 at that instant and then to outline the battalion's mission requirements to support the unfolding battle plan. At this point, some parameters have been established and things are just about to really break loose! NMCB-14 is heavily engaged in multiple missions spread out over a wide area. Fortunately the U.S.Embassy provides a relatively secure CP environment and the ability to co-locate with the MEU Command Post greatly eases comm between the the two units. Now for the "meat and potatos "!

In the time since arrival at the Embassy a few hours earlier, the CP was made fully functioning as quickly as possible with the rapid establishment of comm channels through the MEU, both up the chain of command to the commander of the Amphibious Ready Group to which the MEU belongs, and further up to a Carrier Battle Group that was stationed south of Cuba, just off Guantanamo Naval Station, as the tensions rose immediately before hostilities broke out. Additional channels were established to the commander of the follow-on USMC Combat Service Support Group, to which the battalion must apply for material support. All the "Beans, bullets, and band-aids" the battalion needs will come from them. This actually includes: “petroluem, oil, and lubricants”, water, ammo, replacement weapons or vehicles to replace combat losses, Medevac services, repair parts, and the thousands of common items any unit in the field always needs.

While material support was being arranged, another group of battalion leaders was arranging combat support for the battalion, first from the MEU and then gradually from other sources as they became available. The CP includes a Fire Support Coordination Center, headed by a senior CPO, and responsible for the complicated task of acting as a clearing house for fire support requests from the field units of the battalion, connecting to all the assets made available to the battalion from other units. This naturally includes battalion assets as well. Those being a Weapons Platoon in Alfa Co., armed with both heavy (Browning M2, .50 cal.) and medium (M60) machine guns, and also 81mm and 60mm mortars. More M-60 machine guns, plus anti-tank rockets and automatic grenade launchers are dispersed throughout the rest of the companies.

In the time before the start of the simulation, all of Alfa Co.'s Weapons Platoon was sent out with the convoy to the Tracking Station on the east tip of the island. Initially, the MEU could not spare any combat assets to protect the "Bees" as they travelled through presumed uninhabited territory with no threat expected. They travelled between the two parallel convoys of Amtraks until the MEU stopped to take up defensive positions against the expected landings by the Cubans and Culebrans. The Bees were on thier own the rest of the way to their destination. Besides providing their own convoy protection, some SEABEE firepower would be handy to defend the station against possible attack before other combat forces could arrive to assist. As time passed, support became available something like this:

The commander of the ARG sent a Medevac helo out to the injured SEABEES left behind by the convoy. Two Marine Huey Cobra gunships escorted the Medevac. One stayed with it to cover the pickup of the wounded and returned to the Amphib Command Ship with the Medevac. The other raced ahead to cover the SEABEE convoy and stay as long as fuel allowed, providing air cover for the isolated Comm Station, and the "'Bees" feverishly working to fortify it against ground attack.

USMC towed 105mm and 155mm artillery were quickly landed by LCAC air-cushion assault craft along the coasts, west of the expected Cuban assaults.They moved into range to cover the landing beaches and the area surrounding the Comm Station with the Seabee defenders inside. By this time, target info had been streaming in to the MEU from the two Force Recon teams that rappelled from helicopters before dawn that day. One team started right at the MEU's objective point and surveyed defensive positions for the MEU Amtraks to occupy on arrival, and avenues of exit for the attackers leaving the beach to head inland, so the Marines could be waiting there to stop them. They sent target info back to the MEU CP, and to the ARG commander, who could send Marine Harrier ground attack jets, Marine helicopter gunships, and coastal gunboats to provide fire support to the MEU at the landing zones and to the "'Bees" at the Comm Station.

The second team dropped in near the Comm Station, and swept for enemy contact, but encounterd none. They immediately began sending target info back to the MEU CP, who passed it to NMCB-14 and also to the ARG commander, who in turn passed it to the Carrier Battle Group which could send FA/18 Hornets, F-14 Tomcats, and even destroyers to provide 5" AGS (Automatic Gun System, Naval Gunfire Support to the "beleaguered 'Bees" !

When the Simulation Clock was started, the situation described above was set into motion, and here's what I can remember of what happened. I was in the Fire Support Coordination Center, assigned to Naval Gunfire Support, Marine Artillery Support, and Seabee Mortar Support primarily for the Comm Station. Others handled Marine Aviation Support, and Naval Aviation Support.

The Seabees in the Comm Station frantically radioed that the underwater surveillance sensors were going ballistic with unknown contacts out in front of the station. The MEU radioed the ARG commander for help in identifying the possible origin of these contacts. Could they be Navy SEALs or Army SF dropped secretly by submarine to prepare some surprises for any enemy attackers like Culebran "Spezsnatz" with Cuban "advisors", or maybe the enemy arriving first to take out the Comm Station ahead of the heavy units about to cross the strait? The ARG commander refused to confirm or deny the presence of any friendly SpecOPS forces in the area and curtly reminded the MEU that it was improper to ask such a question. He ordered that all contacts be treated as unfriendly, and authorized the Seabees to engage any attackers with all weapons at hand until positively identified as friendly!

The "'Bees" at the Comm Station then called back to our FSCC for pre-registered targets that had been supplied by the ForceRecon. Those had been logged on a whiteboard on the wall in the FSCC, and were then transmitted to the Comm Station for pre-setting mortars and machine guns on the likeliest areas of approach by attackers from the sea. One weapon alone might engage a point target, while several could be pre-set with interlocking fields of fire, on a wide area that could be an avenue of approach for the enemy.

Then the radios exploded with traffic from the MEU Amtraks at the beach landing sites. Navy aircraft and destroyers were engaging the landing craft close inshore. Some were sunk, but many were still getting ashore. The Marine Artillery were opening up on the landing parties, but still enough were getting through that the two MEU skirmish lines collapsed into each other and tried to hold until reinforcements could arrive. The Airborne Motorised Rifle Regiment was intercepted enroute by Navy Aegis guided missile cruisers and fighter aircraft and mostly destroyed, but a few did manage to land near the MEU and add to the pressure on them enough to force a slow strategic withdrawal. The SEABEES out at the Comm Station screamed for air cover as they began to realise they were losing any hope of ground reinforcement. In response, NMCB-14 requested Marine Harriers from the ARG, to be sent for air support. Request was denied, in favor of maximum support to the MEU while withdrawing back to the Embassy. Marine Artillery were able to dedicate one 155mm howitzer battery to targets around the Comm Station, but it was likely to be forced to withdraw soon under pressure from the enemy sweeping the MEU back to the west. The carrier battle group was requested to send air support, but was only able to provide one destroyer to sit off the southern shore for Naval Gunfire Support with its 5'' deck gun. All Navy aircraft were on defensive patrols around the fleet assets or harrassing the massed forces on the Culebran side of the strait.

Unidentified attackers appeared on the beach in front of the Comm Station. Seabees opened up with mortars and MGs. Fire missions for the mortars were called back to the FSCC by Forward Observers on the defensive perimeter at the Comm Station. I checked them against target lists on the white board and approved or disapproved based on pre-approved target or not, or target of opportunity that could be succesfully engaged with the weapon and ammo available. Simultaneously, I monitored radio traffic of the Marine Artillery battery and the USN destroyer I could call on for supporting fire, to be sure they were not called away or taken out of action.

The first wave of attackers took casualties and found cover on the beach. They were followed quickly by a second assault wave, this time in small rubber boats. Thier numbers were more than than a match for the small group of SEABEE defenders. In danger of being overrun, they were authorized to execute Final Protective Fires, ie: fire everything they had all at the same time, until the ammo ran out or the tubes melted.

This was my cue to call in the Artillery and Naval Gunfire, once the "Bees" fired their last shot and took cover from the incoming artillery and 5'' deck gun barrage. The FO's began calling in target coordinates and I passed them to either the destroyer or 155 battery depending on range, rate of fire, and type of ammo available from each. (If I erred, the simulator operator, who BTW, played all the roles outside of NMCB-14 through the use of the computer program, would correct me in the persona of the appropriate supporting character.) The FOs would report the strikes of the rounds and adjust fire accordingly. I had to be careful not to let them put Marine 155mm rounds too close to the destroyer or either type of round too close to their own position. If this would be the effect of a set of coordinates given by an FO, I was responsible for denying that mission and giving the reason as "danger close", meaning too close to friendly troops or other vital assets.

The attack on the Comm Station represented the opening of a second enemy "front" so to speak, far behind the first one, where the MEU was fighting a delaying action while falling back toward the Embassy. Things looked really dicey for the good guys! This prompted the Carrier Battle Group commander to divert a few F/A 18, and F-14 aircraft from the harassment of the heavy units on the Culebra side of the strait. My companions then got to join the fray, calling in bombing and strafing runs by the Navy's aircraft on the area surrounding the Comm Station. The ground was shaking with the thuds of bombs and artillery rounds, and the sky was filled with the whining of high-speed jet aircraft ... as the simulation abruptly shut down!!! "Your time allocation is up," the simulation operator blandly announced!. A loud collective groan was heard from all parts of the building as we expressed our displeasure at being cut off just when we were really getting into it! In spite of the disappointment of not getting to play the scenario out any further, we all were happy to have at least experienced as much as we did. It was a valuable lesson that we will surely all remember! 

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