senior officer Mikael van Atta

Ah. So they are capable of striking the tank bunkers. 

I want these missiles to absolutely strike the bunkers. How many bunkers there are, and what do they - to our knowledge - contain? Have the DDs went to the trouble of building an individual bunker for each tank...?

The airstrip - oh, I'd love to have it put out of order. But as I told you above, sending a commando team to manually lay explosives on it is not how you do it. 

There are ways you can use a commando team to shut down an airbase. But it requires some forms of specialized ordnance.

@Allen1please, keep in mind: I know of the facility only as much as you tell me. So it is kinda like fighting that battle with a blindfold on.

Ah. I somehow didn't noticed the cruise missiles are meant to target the tanks. 

Kinda waste of good ordnance, if you ask me. Unless they are very small cruise missiles. And have better self-targetting capability than your stereotypical cruise missile. Sounds like these are closer to loitering munitions.

The problem I had with taser (8-Ball carried one as a handgun, never actually firing it) was I had no idea how long a tased person is going to stay down. I really didn't wanted anyone of those goons to wake up behind our back and start causing trouble.

Regarding the Desert Devils: how is the B-Team going to reach the runway unnoticed, with all the explosives needed to render it useless? What type of runway is it - concrete or just packed dirt? Generally, messing up a runway is... pretty tough. IRL there are special bombs developed exactly for that purpose, though I guess we won't get that kind of specialized ordnance here.

Still, an attack run with numerous smaller bombs, dropped at the runway, should do the trick - although it would call for an AVX-9 run, I guess RPV-500's don't have the payload capacity to bring in enough of these. Even if the runway is just packed dirt, I doubt the Desert Devils have the earthworking equipment, special supplies (steel mats) and skill available at the ready to patch it up quickly enough for it to matter, that is before our artillery starts pounding the base. Though if we are to do it, it would require either a full suppression of enemy AA defences, or using an element of surprise - just after the hilltop radar stations are down. Note: if possible, we should avoid using explosives on the radars right from the start. No point raising alarm. Sure the DDs will eventually realize what's on, but a few minutes there can make a lot of difference. It won't matter anyway once the bombs have started falling on their heads.

In short, I don't think B-Team coming in on the ground and laying down cratering charges on the runway is a good idea. 

The "bunker buster" bomb - how are we going to deliver it to the target? Do our attack drones have the capability to lift that one, or do we have to use the AVX-9? Worst case scenario, use the Mi-26 Halo, simply roll the bomb out of the rear hatch. But that would require a total suppression of enemy air degfese (the drones and AVX-9 could, possibly, come above the effective reach of enemy AA, and if the bomb is guided by either a painting laser on the ground, or some fancy netrunner-operated system, high altitude of the drop wouldn't matter for accuracy). also, are we getting just one bunker buster, or a few of these?

What are known Desert Devil anti-air defenses in the area, apart from the two radars (and the pretty obvious MANPADS)?

The tanks. What we're going to target them with? IMO the priority list should be as follows:

1. Navy M-40 GEV (because this thing is very mobile. Hitting the more conventional tanks with adjusted artillery fire is going to be way easier. Also, they are more likely to be blocked by terrain / stopped by a mobility kill / immobilized by a mechanical failue).
2. Militech MT-4 MBT (their most modern tank),
3. M-1a5 Abrams,
4. T-72,
5. 2x Paneuropa Armored Cars (nb. they are the hardware that would be the most useful for Whyte Hats if we were to pick up from DD stocks).

There's no "alternating" the targets: if the #1 is not within reach, move to the next available one on the list. 

We got a T-72 of our own, too. IIRC it got refurbished and put to use - we might as well have it used in the plan. I wouldn't ask it to make an offensive move, but set it in ambush in a concealed position with some infantry to protect its flanks, and let this 125mm autoloaded bad boy rip.

The cruise missiles... I don't have enough knowledge on what exact type are we getting (what are they capable of, in terms of target acquisition and destructive potential - I don't really care how are they named ) or what exact targets are in the DD base that we could attack with these. Obviously, they should be used against high-value targets, but then again ones they can destroy. Classic targets would be command centers (but the DD one is dug down so deeply we're bringing a specialized bunker buster bomb, right?), supply dumps (if DD have one that can be idenitified... and it isn't in a reinforced facility too tough for us to crack with the cruise missiles available) and strategic equipment.

Edit: also, where exactly is the DD camp / base located? I recall it was near the Alpha, but can't find the roads you're speaking about on Google Maps...

...we need a faster way of neutralizing captured targets. Handcuffing them for three turns takes just far too long (yes, I guess that's realistic. Though perhaps we could cut it down by training our personnel in the skill of speedcuffing: it is a thing in the law enforcement community, so an instructor from these circles would be needed. It also requires a specialzied type of handcuffs, rather than the cheap and popular zip-cuffs). Use drugs...? There was the TraumaTeam anesthetic (Sedative), just take a device like Petrochem Drug-a-Thug...?

There's a two-fold risk though:

1. The target may be able to resist the drug (but then again, they may be able to break out of zip-ties, too. Highly unlikely, unless we're talking a really beefy type with serious Strength Feat skill, but possible).
2. Someone may not survive being drugged. Sure, it is a medical-grade aneshetic, there's no such risk / side effect written in the rules, but realistically speaking such things happen, especially given none of us is a qualified anesthesiologist (no, not even Jamal, he's more of a combat medic, right?). Note: again, while that's not writtne into the rules, electric stun guns like Taser carry the same risk. So there's that.

Game-rules-wise, we could just as well apply a knockout punch with Martial Arts: we are competent enough in Arasaka-te, and there's a combo in LUYPS that would do just fine (knockout and then long-term stun: it takes the target out for several minutes, and it is just two hand to hand attacks). I just don't see it realstic for us to routinely go around punching our captives unconscious.

Also, again, we had too few people doing the sweep. Like, what, 5 in the main house (two Marshalls - T.J. & J.J., the Swede, Jamal & 8-Ball)? I am aware that we had limited seating in the AV4, and we needed folks to secure the rest of the compound.

9 hours ago, Allen1 said:

OK, lots of zip cuffs and black bags for everyone!

If we have black bags, that's great.

If not, any other color will do  British infantrymen were known to use for that purpose two sacks each of them were routinely issued for fortification purposes (i.e. sandbags-to-be-filled, standard piece of their kit). 

If it's stupid but it works... in the farming neibourhood of northern Nevada, I guess we're most likely to come up with some grain / flour burlap sacks, if we need to get some bags on a short notice.

Yup, we're set.

I guess...

Well, I'm assuming religious zealots / fanatics. People willing to lay down their lives for their leader. 

You don't need that much stength to pull a pin out of a grenade...

Which is why 8-Ball's advises to cuff and bag-over-the-head* anyone who even seems like they might be capable of walking on their own. Tase them if they resist. Better safe than sorry, and Whyte Hats spokesperson will have easier time explaining a teenager in handcuffs and a bag over her head than the same teenager with her head shot off.

Yes, that includes sweet ol' grannies and little kids. We're not taking chances. 

The Church "civillians" might turn to be combatants, or living shields (willing or unwilling). They may throw themselves at us with their bare hands to delay us - and it may not exactly warrant the use of lethal force. So zap'em, cuff'em, bag'em.

* folks turn out to be way less prone to causing trouble if they can't see what's going on around them. Cloth bags do fine: they do not impede breathing seriously enough for it to matter, but they cut out your vision very effectively.

~10 Whyte Hats troops plus the A team coming in the AV4 sounds good enough.

Well, we aren't authorized to just come in and shoot on sight anyone we don't like the smile of. AFAIK we're supposed to come in shouting "U.S. Marshalls, freeze!" or something to that effect. And shot only if shot at. 

Yes, 8-Ball expects it is likely to degenerate into a gunfight. Which is why we'll be equipped with lethal firepower - but less-lethal as well. Especially given I expect quite a few people on-site to be non-combatants, at least at first glance. No matter what, authorities aren't going to like the sight of women and children riddled with bullets (they may let us off easy if said women and children clutch automatic firearms in their dead hands. They may, but don't have to). 

So, yeah, assault rifles, but also stun grenades, teargas, tasers and a lot of handcuffs... I wouldn't be adverse to a webgun (or web load for a 40mm GL, or a stun load for it... there was something like that one the books. If we can get it in time).

I'd go with the "bandit attack" then.

Outfit the AV-4 for personnel transport, so we could bring in as many troops as possible. We'll need all the manpower we can get. Have them equipped with less-than-lethal weapons (tasers, or paintball guns with sleep loads. Squirtguns are nice, but may be short-ranged): we're doing a search, and those people aren't wanted (and Max Gruik... no point frying his balls while still attached to his body, if he has no head).

Also, from Currie, go low. The hills will hide us from the Ely Airport radar. NOE (Nap-on-Earth) flight means a bumpy ride and it takes an experienced pilot to pull it, but I'm sure Zora is up to the task.

Drop the AV-borne party to take the compound.

Follow with drones and combined hover / airjeep force. Still keep low if possible, if the target compound has no means of alerting neightbouring Church holdings, they may not get noticed without the Ely radar spotting them. 

We need to come in, subdue the compound, secure it, and search it - I expect they have some effective (though likely low-tech) methods to hide Gruik. Things like a well-camouflaged hole in the ground, for example. Also, we need the time to search for documents (digital or physical) and seize them.

This, in turn, means we'll be staying there for a time. So the Church will eventually notice us and mobilize an intervention force to at least try getting Gruik back. Now, I don't expect them to have enough numbers and firepower to brave two armed hovers, an AV-4 and some attack drones, but I'm not sure the Church itself is aware of that.

I can pull a few non-electronic methods of signalling off the top of my head, some of them quite fast and likely pretty useful in Nevada conditions (eg. heliograph), but they all have drawbacks. And we can't assume we have neutralized all the possibilities.

Therefore come in low and fast, take the compound by surprise, detain all the people we can catch there, use AV / drones / airjeeps to chase down any escapees, get reinforced by 2nd wave (if my calculations are right, 2nd wave should be on-site 11 minutes after the first. Enough time for us to have it wrapped up by then.

Use the extra troops and vehicles to secure the perimeter, while the Marshalls (and whoever else they need for help) search the compound. Grab Gruik, any evidence we find, and any other persons of interest and head home.

Makes some sense. But also limits us to the horse-qualified personnel.

We could also try to nab the courier along the way, and try coming in in his vehicle.

What i'm interested in, though, is how the local Sheriff's office is going to alert the target of our air assets, if the target as explicitely no electronics footprint.

Unless Eric means they'll call the farm on a basic landline phone, which depending on how you look at it may be considered analog, therefore "non-electronic" (well, to me that's still electronics, but that's semantics). Still, a landline should be traceable.

Otherwise... dispatch a messenger? Where from and how long would it take them?

I need a legal status. How covert we have to be about what we're doing?

What is RoE on-site?

Airborne assault is not feasible: our air assets are likely to be detected well in advance.

Sneaking in... nope. No cover to speak of. Perhaps if the entire team had ghostsuits. 

Airdrop... we'd need to land on the target itself, and it would require cooperation from USAF, so we'd use their plane. Plus, we're not really trained for that. Plus, that'd mean serious casaulties inthe landing party. Plus, exfil.

Hoverborne assault is an option. We're 107km as crow flies / 158 km away from a safe staging ground (Wells). The hovers have a chance of making it through before anyone notifies the target, and if they are near it, they can effectively stop any escape attempts. Plus, they provide us with exfiltration capability.

They're loud, they're obnoxious, but in the plains of Nevada, they're the best there is.

Another option would be to use the rest stop -drive in in a couple of civillian vehicles and launch a raid form there. Still, it limits the amount of forces we can bring to bear on target to what we can fit into a couple of civillian vehicles. And exfil remains a problem, assuming we get compromised on assault. And that we'd be carrying prisoners.

Does anyone see any else options?

Absolutely, let's go with Dien Bien Phu as soon as we can reasonably pull it.

I mean, it would be a perfect fit to strike them just before they sortie out on their offensive. At the moment when all the gear is pulled out of secure storage and concentrated on-base, the aircraft are armed, fuelled and waiting on the runway (note: it is not impossible for them to contract Geronimo's Flying Circus and / or Luftwaffe - or some other group - for their own air support), and there are piles of ammo and fuel just in the open, because the DD have to have them on hand, and they don't really have enough storage facilities. So it all would make a good, soft, fragile target. However, that would mena we have to wait for it, and pick the right moment to strike, so it would be the most painful strike possible. However, this also means we would have to sit tight, awaiting that moment. Are we sure we can do that? 

If yes, then sure, let's do it that way. 

If not, I'd suggest striking them as son as we are ready, and they are not ready.

Also, with satellite surveillance by Infcomp, they'll have it easy determining our artillery positions. As you said, they likely don't have a counterbattery fire capability, but they are expected to hit us with airpower and with ground assault (these two aren't going to be well coordinated with each other, I guess). I'll want suitable air defense for our Dien Bien Phu position (MANPADS at the very least), and our own airpower available for interdiction as well as ground support.

Regarding Max Gruik - sorry, I have no ideas, too little info in there for me. Over to you, Mitzi.

Oh. 

And when we'll be ready with Dien Bien Phu? Plus, who's running the show now?

Regarding Max Gruik - what are we planning to do? Eh, Mitzi? It looks like this is your show, like you have some plan. Can't help you if I'm not familiar with it.

Also, what are the standing orders should Gruik show up - do we try to grab him and bring him to justice, or there's enough dirt condemning him nobody would bat an eye if we just shot him and save ourselves the trouble? I mean, I get it, it is better to nab him, squeeze the information out of him, have him to face a formal trial and then get publicly executed by relevant authorities, but I'd prefer to have a clear RoE.

Well, farewell, Judge Scott. If 8-Ball was a believer, he'd wish the man long and eventful stay in whatever hell that kind of people go (the Swede puts his money - figuratively - on Helheim). Though that quartering... aww man. Such a middle ages approach... Note: 8-Ball, if he was aware of the execution being televised, did not watch it. Even if someone around him went for it and paid the DMS subscription fee. Not his kind of show, definitely (and not a method of liberating the world from that kind of scum).

Nb. Swede will bother someone (probably Angel) about a proper "church key" (i.e. axe. As in, a battleaxe, not a guitar, should anyone have any weird ideas ;)) to use when he's in a Viper armor. Whether this turns to be one-haded or two-handed (daneaxe, probably) and when it becomes available (if at all. Angel is a busy man, and doesn't necessary have time to craft one. If Swede gets refused an axe made by Angel, he'll go pestering the White Hats quartermaster to get him one. Custom-made if needed, with period-accurate ornamentation - which is definitely a custom finish.  He's ready to pay for it with his own money), is up to GM.

Hmm, how far is the 150th Street from our area-of-interest in South Beach? I hope our home turf isn't getting cut out...?

We need to keep an eye on that, and maybe try pulling another South Beach reclamation project too (as the White Hats). Stabilize the neighbourhood. Otherwise, it sounds like we have a Berlin Wall-equivalent being raised there. And that will mean a fortune to be made on smuggling people and wares in and out of the zone. Someone will try to make this fortune.

Miss Zuma, well... personally I'd love to see the investigation moving on, and casting some more favourable light on her late father. But there does't seem anything 8-Ball could do.

As for the Plan Dien Bien Phu: how is the Infocomp satellite coveragegoing to impact that? We'll need to assume the Desert Devils will locate our postion very fast with those satellites once we commence firing. While their airpower is not really likely to harm the tunnels, I guess, their ground forces - especially with armored vehicles - are another thing. They still have at least 3 operational tanks, and 2 Paneurope Gladiators, which are almost as good as tanks in this context.

When does our ceasefire with them end? I'd expect them to pull something shortly before it is over: close enough to the term to not really have any serious reprecussions, but early enough to hope to catch us with our pants down. This is a concern 8-Ball would voice out at a White Hats meeting.

Noted. We won't be interfering with them.

Just keep our (figurative) eyes in Night City open. 

Hmm, could we use a third party front to try and buy some satellite data from Infocomp? Enough to assess what their satellite can and cannot do? 

One more thing that should be possible - telling when the Infocomp sat isn't around (just like they did with our sat support), so it cannot see what we do. A question for someone well-versed in recon satellites and orbital mechanics.

Leo Bloom - I get it. Keep looking, folks. Perhaps something useful will surface, eventually.

Graves & Barker, well... both White Pines and Alpha are outside of our reach at this moment. 

Hmm. That seems like the situation in South Beach is not likely to degenerate. We don't have the power to neutralize criminal element in another neighbourhood in Night City these days. 

Just in case - how are things in our neigboring San Morro district (where the Tong is running things?) - are they okay? 8-Ball could always make another courtesy call (he does these as often as Chinese etiquette mandates) to his Mandarin teacher (well, she was told that should she need assistance, her student is out there).

8-Ball would advise making a contact with the Freedom Park crimelord and:

1. Check what kind of person that is,
2. Pass him salutations and appreciations for his excellent understadning of the delicate balance South Beach maintains. 

Don't give him anything actually useful, but be courteous and let him know that we know (and appreciate) the fact he doesn't want any trouble with us. 

That is, unless 8-Ball's street common sense (Gang Rank / Streetwise) suggests a different course of action.

So, the Desert Devils are apparently arming up. 

As for Infocomp - this sounds to me they're in it merely as provider of services to those who can pay for such. Fine by me. I'd like our hackers so sniff around who is paying: some of these people are intersted parties, other are our potential enemies. Just don't endanger our people, ok?

I'd also like an assessment of what Infocomp satellites can and cannot do, and how to fool them / avoid detection. I mean, if the Desert Devils can do this to use, we can do the same to them. 

Eureka Militia is to be buildt along similar lines as the Trade Town militia.

Continue sniffing about Leo Bloom. We don't need to take him down (as that would make many very important people angry and/or afraid, and we don't need that. Nor actually want that), but if we could pay him a visit and ask him some questions (in exchange for favours, money, or whatever else we could offer him), that might prove beneficial to our cause.

Ah, so no smoking the Church (although the Swede is perfectly ready and willing to smoke a church, he has an appropriate "church key" ready. Y'know, if he gets really pumped up, he may go full Viking on some church...) in Nevada, then. Back to sniffing around it, therefore.  

Nb. any leads as to where the ex-comissioner Graves might've fled? 

Valentine's Day in Night City - 8-Ball would like the local White Hats office to look into it, if they have resources available. Learn what the heck was going on next door to South Beach. Do we need to drop in for a prompt visit and bang some heads...? He'll ask his Chrome Beret friends if they know what is going on, too. They are not unlikely to have an ear to the ground...

Congratulations to the Montello Militia and supporting forces. It may have been 8-Ball (cheifly) who taught them, but they pulled a good job on thier own. 

Nah, Operation Dien Bien Phu is rolling, as long as 8-Ball has any say on that. The question, however, is who is in charge of it now (as Teresa, for obvious reasons, isn't). 8-Ball will re-voice his concerns with the new operation commander. 4th rule of shitflow: the more paper you've used, the cleaner butt you have.

No problem with the weapons captured by Eureka citizens making a reappearance. It would be good to standarize on a single magazine type (or at least ammo) for the Eureka Militia. Perhaps encourage some trade & swap to achieve that. Nb. I keep seeing shitloads of Steyr AUGs around... Sure, they were decent guns, but unless Austrian and Australian Armies have sold their stores wholesale to Nevada...  (this is just a nitpick).

I see we're in agreement on how to staff Eureka. Shiny

Regarding the Desert Devils: we should make use of our superior support, then. That's where the DDs are wanting, and if we can harm their logistics (fuel, ammo, spare parts. 8-Ball would suggest not touching food supplies, if we can avoid it. If we can't, well, shit happens), we we would be bringing them a lot of harm in the longer run. No, we don't break the truce yet. But putting some of our recon abilities to learn where DDs store their supplies, and where (and how, and form whom) they're getting it will pay us a dividend in the future.

As for Venezuela: that's something for the Marshalls to tell. Way above 8-Ball's paygrade, to be honest, but he can see the country tends to pop up pretty often...

The Church - do we have any connections in the State government? A motion to outlaw the Church could, perhaps, be initiated...? I mean, there's some serious dirt on them, isn't it?

I don't expect it to work, not anytime soon, but perhaps we could force the Church's hand. Max Gruik... not likely to pop up anywhere is sight. Not anytime soon. 

Well, Marshal Suarez will be mourned 😢

How does it affect her Plan Dien Bien Phu? It depended pretty heavily on her contacts...

Regarding Eureka - well, sounds like 8-Ball will be shuttling between Wells and Eureka (to form and train a militia there). Also, IIRC, White Hats were to station a platoon in Eureka? 8-Ball would advise sending one of the "old" mechanized platoons there, and keeping the newly raised platoon in Wells. 

Reason: the "old" platoon was in Nevada for almost a year already. They are experienced, they do know their stuff, they don't need to be, in short, babysitted. Any new platoon we raise - even if made of experienced troops - won't have the local knowledge, won't be used to Whyte Hats procedures, and won't be trained in operating as an unit. Serving in Wells, as convoy escorts and general use troops for a few months will give them that. Season them a bit as an unit. 

Regarding the Wendover Source... well, we have Venezuela pop up again. There seemed to be some Venezuelan connections involved before, too. And now we have two cops - one with Venezuealn background, and another who, surprisingly, retired to Venezuela. We don't have any rock-sollid evidence, but I'm pretty sure we should have an eye on that. Just a whisper... I hear it in my ghost.

As for the Church of One True Path - we got almost a hundred of those guys in Eureka. Any chance of squeezing any useful info out of the ones who survived? Also, it is another group we apparently should have an eye for. And look for an opportunity to take them out. Where are they based...?

Okay, so we are having an Eureka! moment...

Seems there were at least 3 groups identifiable:

1. Desert Devils
2. various otherwise unaligned boosters / gangers / desert wackos
3. local insurrectionists.

We surely have some prisoners from group #3, and apparently Mitzi & the Marshals have made them talk. There are at least a few prisoners from the group #2, and they need to be made to talk, too - but I don't think we got any of their leaders. With luck, we have captured Desert Devils as well?

Who do they were waiting for at the airport...?

I'd be interested in the (estimated) tally. It won't be precise, as a number of opponents fled the reinforced position on the hill as we started shelling it, and Whyte Hats weren't able to get them all, as they scattered - but I assume we managed to get some of them anyway. Meaning they got scattered, into the wilderness, and likely without much supplies: not unlike the Jackpot Raiders a year earlier, they may face losses to exposure (thugh, I expect, to a much smaller degree).

Due to connection problems, I believe (or maybe it was never specified?) I missed what happened between our AVX-9 and the Desert Devil air wing. Last thing I remeber was AVX-9 hovering in ambush, and the Alpha being in uproar, with seem commotion at their airfield - likely, an early phase of a scramble. 

Do we get enough info form the prisoners to identify where the attack on Eureka came from? I mean, since we have forces deployed to the area, we might want to follow up with a counterstrike and wreck their homebase perhaps? 

Note on spoils-of-war: I guess this time there aren't many salvageable armors. Close-range fire from 14,5mm rifles and a minigun likely torn the stuff into shreds. But some of the guys e downed were pretty nicely cybered up - some of that might be recovered and put towards Whyte Hats operational fund. Along with a lot of guns...

However, there seem to be quite some RV / motorhomes on the RV park - I assume that's how the Desert Devils, gangers and some insurrectionists came here. If we managed to lay claim to some of these, I suggest filling back our Nomad & Native allies who donated their RVs to the destroyed Trade Town. If there are trailer homes, I guess Trade Town might still need them. I really doubt the town of Eureka would need these.

8-Ball is going to request a file on the Church of One True Path. Those guys seem to pop up from  somewhere, and he needs to have at least an idea what makes them tick. Sure, their chief honcho (Max Gruik) is bad news (well... is he alive and at large, or somebody has put the world out of this misery already...?), but it is a wider thing. 

Well, we'll see who we are up against. But yeah, indirect fire from the 75mm should be useful for pinning the fixed position down. 

I don't think we have enough ammo to really destroy it, but if they are pros, they'll keep their heads own - and if they are amateurs, it should be enough to break their morale and force them to abandon the position.

Regarding ACPA & Martial Arts: how does that affect 8-Ball's Gun-Fu-based ability to operate two handguns?

Understood.

The Mi-26 would be better off carrying the M-75 internally, I think (volume-vise, a Mi-26 can fit two BMDs or BTR-series APCs inside, IIRC. M-75, being a light tank, is likely not much bigger. So it may work.). Bring in as many infantry along as the lift capacity permits: if the pilots know their job, they should be able to tell how much is the weather going to affect it (and still keep a safe margin). 

Consider using the airjeep's second run (the one touching down at 4:20AM) to airlift out members of the loyalist force, which should be by then liberated from the walk-in safe. Some of them are likely to be in a pretty rough shape, and not fit to fight - those should be flown away (bring spare warm clothesin that run, a ride in an open-top airjeep at 200+ kmh on in a freezing weather will be... rough)

Since the airport is being ploughed out of snow, they clearly intend to use it. I expect an aircraft to show up. Likely, a fixed-wing one: AVs, Ospreys and helicopters certainly do like to have landing spaces on a snow-free tarmac, and it helps them taxi around - but they can do without it. Conventional fixed wing aircraft, in general, can't. Two options there:

• either a VIP is coming (by executive jet or maybe a small plane), or
• they expect reinforcements being airlifted in (in a larger transport plane)

and my guess is on the VIP. In either case, we need it spotted and an armed drone ready to intercept. From a military standpoint, it would be advisable to destroy it still in the air, but from a political standpoint the VIP may be allowed to land (we can always cripple their craft once they have disembarked), so we might have a chance of identifying (and, with luck, capturing) them. 

If by the time they arrive we have control of the airport, we should have the aircraft intercepted and forced to land in an airfield controlled by Whyte Hats (perhaps in Wells, if that's feasible - as to isolate them from their support elsewhere), and see what the cat has dragged in. Shot it down if it resists. If it is reinforcements, I expect them to be professionals (think Lazarus or Militech mercs, or other pros) - and as such, we should treat them with professional courtesy: take them POW, and negotiate their release with their parent company for a nominal fee. They're just professionals doing their job, as are we. If it is a VIP, we'll have to deal with it on the political level (I still think the VIP should be detained - under the US Marshall authority - until we can have it sorted out).  

Keep an eye on the fortified positions being constructed. We don't want heavy weapons being set up there. An airstirke may be in order before they finish: I defintiely don't want any ATGMs firing at our forces.

Tactical notes: 

• Insertion by air should be done from the north-west, or preferably from the north-east. Low and fast. As Eureka is located in a hollow between two hill chains, and with more significant mountains to the south, this would allow us to deploy AV-borne forces pretty safely: they'd be visible between the crest of the hill and target destination for a very brief moment, thus minimizing reaction window for any AA fire. The downside is the pilots would have to operate relying on instruments primarily. I wasn't able to locate the courthouse on the Google Maps.
• It is going to be tight down there. Close-in fighting. The streets are short, the city grid small. Watch your fire, people. Or we're going to mess up a lot of civillians. Once hovercraft arrive, we'd better have it sorted out already. Hovers will have trouble maneuvering within the town (they'll have to go very slow, and this makes them vulnerable). 
• It is January in Nevada again. We don't have a weather report yet, but I bet it is damn cold. Possibly quite a lot of snow, too. Anyone with thermal vision capability: this means people (and warm-blooded animals...) should print very distinctively against the (usually) cold background. If the weather is anything close to what we had in Wells a year ago, this means anyone outside of heated buildings is going to wear serious clothing: we can expect a couple degrees into freezing. I wouldn't expect the opposition to be well-disciplined, so likely, after a few hours of siege in the freezing cold, a good number of them might be already hunkered down somewhere warm, and asleep. I wouldn't be surprised if a significant percentage of them have also managed to "warm up" with booze (something everyone says you shouldn't do in such conditions... but people still do), and effectively be not-combat-capable (due to exhaustion, drunkeness and drowsiness... or being soundly asleep. Sure, most of them will wake up once the action starts, but they'll still require time to organize). Of course, once we drop in in an AV, they'll try to get their stuff together, but as I said: a good portion of the mob is likely not-combat-capable.
• OK, so it has been hundreds-strong mob. But they had to come into town shortly before 2:30 AM, meaning they've been on the road before (save for those who are actually locals). I assume we'll show up on the scene at 4AM, maybe a little earlier (the scramble is declared at 2:30 AM, I doubt we could have the advance force ready to deploy within 15 minutes. More likely, 30 minutes. The distance is ~200km as the crow flies, the Airjeep can pull up to 240 km/h all-out speed. Let's say, one hour flight: we'd drop around 4AM in Eureka). They're tired and cold, if they are in the streets. Unless they made some bonfires there, and kept them going (then they are less cold and tired, but still). If the courthouse is still under siege, it means it has been under siege for hours - the defenders might be tired, but they aren't as cold as people in the open. QED.
• Sunrise is coming at about 7 AM. If we scramble at 2:30 AM, we have a good chance of getting there at around 4 AM, thus still having a well over 2 hours of darkness before the sun starts doing anything in the valley. Maybe 2,5 hours. Maybe even more, if there's heavy clouds, but I wouldn't count on that. Actual rain / snow seems to be rare, with 3 days per month on average - as of IRL 2022. The climate might've changed, but I'd doubt there's more rain / snow because of that). This means nightfighting, with all its pros and cons. 

Electric baton for 8-Ball, then. And pack a load of disposable handcuffs / binder strips.

40mm AGL is TJ's call - if he takes it, we have it. Otherwise we don't.

Regarding the pintle guns on the Airjeeps - dumping it and its gunner is an option if we have to balance out the load. If we are well within the specs, then absolutely keep them. Whatever they have, will have to do: we don't have time to waste.

Understood, the intel is inconclusive.

I'm very concerned about overpenetration of the 14,5mm. It is likely to go straight through any target 8-Ball expects to enconuter there, except perhaps large vehicles (think shooting a bus. If you hit the front of it, a 14,5 may not be able to come out of the back of it. If you shoot the side of it, the bullets will come on the other side, and keep going. On pretty unpredictable trajectories, but still able to vent holes in things!) and serious cyborgs. Unless fired over ridiculously long distances, these bullets will readily penetrate any wall we can reasonably expect to see in Eureka. If they have an old-fashioned bank vault there, it is the only thing in a small town I'd expect to be strong enough to withstand that kind of firepower. If we're lucky. Not even reasonably thick brick walls will do.

Therefore, apart from basic kinetic rounds and - perhaps - APs, what is available? Russian military standard for 14,5x114mm covers AP, API, their tracer variants, incendentiaries and explosive - incendiary. APHEI exists, but is of limited issue. I believe we should stay away from anything incendiary, or we have a good chance of burning something down with a stray bullet. 

Safety rounds - if such exist in this caliber, and are in stock for Whyte Hats Vipers - would be good to have for antipersonnel work. Otherwise, I'd like to bring basic kinetic ones, and some AP, should a hard target (eg. an armored vehicle) show up.

Up close anti-personnel, especially indoors, I'd strongly suggest sticking to the handguns. And taser sticks.