Who would Ben’s Gruppa Chernogo Potolka be if they weren’t opposed by dashing American mercenary fighter pilots? If you have no idea what this article is about go look here and here first, then come back to learn about my group of mercenaries for our Missile Threat Mercenary Air Campaign.

THE COMPANY

Sometimes, a government needs things done that it doesn’t want to have its hands in directly. Sometimes, a group of motley washed up fighter pilots wants to use their skills for cash.
Sometimes, a shady figure helps set up a company and directs it to where his agency, errr nevermind.

…Or at least that’s the premise here in our fictional version of the 1977-78 Ogaden War. Founded through various shady machinations by the one and only CIA during the early-mid 1970s the Special Task Aviation Group allegedly exists to aid and assist with things like VIP transport, aerial photography or survey work, consultation, pilot training and whatever else a burgeoning aviation business around the world might need. In actuality, they like to drop bombs….. lots of bombs.

The mercenary company operates independently, yet the occasional guiding hand is known to show up in the form of a man known as Shepard. Shepard likes to talk about his “client” and their “needs” and likes to throw some money in the mix to make sure STAG stays pointed in a direction the CIA, I mean his client, prefers. While the pilots have an idea of who the client is, the fact is that they keep paying and assure access to stocks of older US equipment. With that on the table they’re happy to look the other way.

How did STAG end up an an improvised strip in Southwest of the freshly independent Republic of Djibouti? Well there’s a little war that’s just kicked off between neighboring Somalia and Ethiopia. Shepard tipped them off that a job could be had “developing” an airfield for Djibouti, so they happened to be in the area when the shooting started. A contact in Somalia has reached out to STAG, letting them know the Somali government is interested in their “consulting” services.

THE PILOTS

STAG currently has a roster of four pilots, the founding members who were recruited by Shepard (yeah he helped found the company, nothing fishy about that at all).

Walker “Bulldog” Pace
Contract Type: Founder
Pilot Quality: Veteran
Personality: Corrupt
Motivation: Wealth (Always chasing cash)

Walker “Bulldog” Pace was the man in his unit who could get you anything…for a price. A fixed wing observation pilot for the us army during Vietnam, Pace became an expert in ground attack coordination while operating as a FAC from various aircraft over South Vietnam. His side hustle of acquiring things for people eventually caught up with him however. Running a small black market on an air base is frowned upon and an upstart new base commander wanted an example made, so Pace was summarily tossed out of the military, and found himself looking for a job stateside. Picking up a crop dusting job Pace slowly worked his way into the aircraft market and found himself buying and selling small planes to questionable buyers left and right. Eventually this led him to finding ways to “acquire” older military aircraft. In time he was approached by a regular customer named Shepard about a job opening within a new organization, one where he could fly combat again, and no one would care if he was running a side hustle too…

Ken “Peacock” Sugimoto
Contract Type: Founder
Pilot Quality: Veteran
Personality: Cocky
Motivation: Wealth (Looking for a new gig)

Ken “Peacock” Sugimoto was the son of a successful Japanese-American businessman in California, Ken spent his youth working in his father’s automotive sales business in San Diego after World War II. Years spent watching the fleet in San Diego made Ken seek out an appointment to Annapolis, which he received in 1958. Graduating with the class of 1962, Ken found himself seeking out a position in fighter jets. In June 1968 Sugimoto deployed with VF-111 to Vietnam aboard the USS Intrepid, flying F-8Cs, scoring himself one MiG-21 kill in the process. In 1972, at the behest of his mother Ken left the Navy to take over the family business after his father’s death. By 1973 Ken had grown bored of car sales and yearned for more action. He sold the business to make enough for his mother to retire comfortably and began looking for a new gig through old contacts. Soon he received a knock at the door from a man named Shepard looking for capable combat pilots interested in making money… he had to look no further.

Charles ‘Chuck’ “Whiplash” Thompson II
Contract Type: Founder
Pilot Quality: Competent
Personality: Aggressive
Motivation: Family (Father’s Legacy)

Chuck’s father, the elder Charles Thompson, was a highly respected combat pilot, having become an ace in both WWII over Europe with the famed 56th Fighter Group, and later over Korea in an F-86. Chuck has forever been trying to live up to his fathers image, but found himself pushing too hard. In 1967, over north Vietnam in an F-105, Chuck disobeyed orders and hunted down two MiGs on their approach to their airbase, claiming two kills, making his 2nd and 3rd kill. Unfortunately for Chuck this stunt was not well received and Chuck soon found himself opting to “retire” in the face of potential charges. Chuck retreated in the following years, finding alcohol easier than reality, until he was approached by a man looking for experienced fighter pilots for a new “project”. Chuck, seeing a pathway to still become an ace like his father, jumped at the opportunity.

Jesus “Wildcard” Alvarez
Contract Type: Founder
Pilot Quality: Competent
Personality: Daring
Motivation: Position (Combat Pilot)

Jesus “Wildcard” Alvarez grew up on a ranch in south Texas, his father having been a Marine in the second world war. Jesus always dreamed of being a marine and flying and found his way into the Marines and eventually into the cockpit of an A-4. Serving a tour in Vietnam his daring nature led him to love combat flying, but he was unable to find himself a way back to combat. Bouncing around stateside assignments for the rest of the 60s before retiring and turning to the air racing circuits where he quickly found success in the hopped up versions of famous piston fighters of yesteryear. It was here in the early 70s where he was approached by a man after a race, the man was looking for experienced military pilots who wanted the opportunity to fly combat again. Alvarez didn’t hesitate to accept the offer.

THE AIRCRAFT

Now for the aircraft we have here at STAG. Unfortunately I had already cleared the fields and tallied the money totals before writing this. So unlike Ben I don’t have an analysis of how much I paid. However I started with $40,000,000 USD and was left with $2,975,000 after buying my aircraft and a few pieces of ordnance.

Republic F-105B/D Thunderchief

The “Thud” is one of my favorite jets of the Vietnam War era so I was chuffed to see two of them pop up for sale on the random market. One of the definitive fighter-bombers of the Vietnam War the Thud is capable of both ground attack and air to air combat. One B model and one D model were available and I bought them both. I overpaid for one of them, paying a 30% premium for my F-105D. In game the only difference is the F-105D is given the ECM(1) keyword, making it harder to be locked on to. With the ability to carry 24 bombs each, perhaps I should’ve left more money to buy bombs…

North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

Designed in the 1960s as a Counter Insurgency and Forward Air Control aircraft the Bronco is a funky looking little twin-turboprop aircraft. It has the ability to carry some limited munitions. I decided to pick one up off the market because it was a steal at 30% off. Crazy Ed’s Discount Broncos I guess. Additionally with my ground-attack capable Thuds as the core of my force, the Bronco is a good helping hand as it has the Forward Air Control (FAC) keyword. This allows it to loiter and designate a target for other aircraft, giving them a bonus when attacking it. The ability to toss an AIM-9 on is just a cherry on top and could be a nasty surprise.

Douglas A-4F Skyhawk

The Skyhawk is a legendary light-attack aircraft which has been used around the world, from Vietnam to Israel to the Falklands. When I picked this up I was looking at an F-5E, but it was too expensive for me to buy right now. Since I couldn’t buy the dogfighter I wanted to I settled for a discount A-4F to add to my ground attack capabilities (I guess I have a primary mission). Its biggest strength in Missile Threat will probably be its Range, or how many turns it can stay on the table. While the Thuds are Range 6 and the Bronco Range 5, the A-4F is Range 17. This means I can use this little slow jet for a few different things in a game if needed.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Well, next is Ben and I need to reconvene to play some games, or I need to take up the solo rules and do some alone. Either way we need money to buy more armaments, and doubtless we’ll need some additional planes and pilots in time. What’s available out there for me to buy right now is below:

I’d like to get my hands on the F-5E Tiger II, as it is a formidable dogfighter that would help me fight off the enemy easier. For now that’s all until we roll up STAGs first missions and get down to playing them.