Military Maps: Camp Lemonier

In case you were wondering what the base of most US actions in HOA looks like, here's the sat view of Camp Lemonier, and the aircraft that were on the tarmac that day.


View Larger Map

By: Brant

GameTalk - Area / Square / Hex / Point-to-Point

What are the inherent strengths or weaknesses of the different types of map movement paradigms?

By: Brant

Sound Off Bonus! Two-Sided Wargaming Maps

poll by twiigs.com

By: Brant

USMA Digital Map Archives

Wow! The History Department at West Point has a fantastic online map archive. {droooool}

By: Brant

Sound Off! Hexes or Areas?

Which makes for a better wargame map?

Hexes - equidistant spacing keeps the math simpler and the map more balanced.

Areas - greater variability in artwork and keeps players from over-tacticizing* the hexgrid.

or, heck, throw in...

Point-to-point - throw out the flyover country and get me straight to the key points on the map.

Sound off in the comments below!

By: Brant


* I'm pretty sure that's not a word, but this is a blog, not the New York Times, so I'm fine with it

The Latest in the DoD Unified Command Plans

With the disestablishment of JFCOM, the DoD has released the latest change to the Unified Command Plan 2011.

The Department of Defense has issued a change to the Unified Command Plan (UCP), a strategic document that establishes the missions, responsibilities, and geographic areas of responsibility (AORs) for commanders of combatant commands. The Unified Command Plan 2011 Change 1, signed by President Obama on Sept. 12 captures administrative changes required to reflect the disestablishment of U.S. Joint Forces Command and several secretary of defense-directed efficiencies initiatives.

Every two years, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is required to review the missions, responsibilities, and geographical boundaries of each combatant command and recommend to the President, through the secretary of defense, any changes that may be necessary.

As in past years, this review process included the combatant commanders, service chiefs, and DoD leadership.

Significant changes made by UCP 2011 Change 1 include:

- Removing language that refers to U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM), which was disestablished on Aug. 31, 2011.

- Removing language for geographic combatant command standing joint force headquarters, which are approved for disestablishment by the end of fiscal 2012.

- Adding responsibility for global standing joint force headquarters to U.S. Transportation Command. These assets will transfer as the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command from USJFCOM.

- Transferring the Joint Warfare Analysis Center missions to U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). Joint Warfare Analysis Center was previously a subordinate command to USJFCOM.

- Removing language and responsibilities for information operations, military deception, and operations security from USSTRATCOM. These missions will transfer to the Joint Staff.

The UCP 2011 continues to support U.S. defense security commitments around the world while improving military responsiveness to emerging crises.

Click to enlarge.  Also available as a PDF from http://www.defense.gov/ucc

As noted on the page with the map, there have been a few boundary shifts:

Significant changes made by UCP 2011 include:

• Shifting AOR boundaries in the Arctic region to leverage long-standing relationships and improve unity of effort.
  
• Giving U.S. Northern Command responsibility to advocate for Arctic capabilities.
  
• Codifying the President's approval to disestablish U.S. Joint Forces Command.
  
• Expanding U.S. Strategic Command’s responsibility for combating weapons of mass destruction and developing Global Missile Defense Concept of Operations.
  
• Giving U.S. Transportation Command responsibility for synchronizing planning of global distribution operations.

The UCP 2011 continues to support U.S. defense security commitments around the world while improving military responsiveness to emerging crises.

By: Brant

Military Maps: Current ISAF Placemat

So it looks like we can put together a funny-looking platoon with one squad from Luxembourg, and another of Austrians, Irish, and Icelandians.

BTW, if Luxembourg has 10 guys deployed in Afghanistan, how many do they actually have left at home? 12? 16?

Click to enlarge

By: Brant

Military Maps: D-Day

How to get there from here, courtesy of 4ID at Utah Beach.

We found this map at the Zulu Kilo blog, which includes an outstanding narrative, with modern-day photos, of the actions on the road to Ste Mere Eglise

By: Brant

A Map Site Full of Awesome

Wow... want to see interactive maps of wars you've never heard of? You've got to check out Conflict History. Holy crap, it's awesome.

By: Brant

Maps: Europe in the 1800s, a Treasure Trove!

Wow. I mean, really, WOW.

Go check out this online atlas you can leaf through, and see a collections of maps of Europe in the 1800s. The main maps start around page 15 or so. Back up 2 pages for a diagram of military fortifications and map symbols. Daddy like!


edit: here's a link to high-res single pages. Daddy like more!

By: Brant

Military Maps: MAR '11 ISAF Placemat

click to enlarge

By: Brant

Military Maps: FEB ISAF Placemat

Click to enlarge

By: Brant

Military Maps: WWIII in Europe?

What would the first strike have looked like?



map from Pakalert Press, and yes, they're a little nuts...

By: Brant

Military Maps: DEC ISAF Placemat

Here's the current "placemat" for ISAF forces, effective 14 DEC 10




By: Brant

Military Maps: Afghanistan NATO/ISAF Current Troop Levels

Here's the latest NATO/ISAF "placemat" for troop levels in Afghanistan (click to enlarge)







Source: NATO/ISAF pdf

By: Brant

Military Maps: Gettysburg

Yes, yes, everyone knows everything there is to know about Gettysburg. But today is the anniversary of the Gettysburg address, so we've got the Gettysburg map for you.



Map is from americancivilwar.com

By: Brant

Invasion USA: 1942 Style

Science-fiction blog io9 has an interesting little article featuring maps from a 1942 issue of Life magazine depicting hypothetical Axis strategies to attack the mainland US (or "CONUS," as we call it nowadays).

By: Guardian

Military Maps: The Durand Line

How did the AfPak border come into being? On this day in 1893, the Durand Line came into being in a treaty, dividing 2 countries and a whole lot of ethnic groups.


The Durand Line is in red on this map.
image: Wikimedia


By: Brant

Military Maps: The National Training Center - in hexes!

Bust out the wargaming dice folks! Here's the 'large' version of the NTC hex map from the old Movement to Contact game. It's scaled down significantly to fix on the screen, but feel free to blow it up yourselves for full-on NTC wargaming :)
Note that the resolution won't really support a good-looking enlargement to a 36x48 map or anything, but the higher resolutions would've made this image take forever to load for you.
Click on it to enlarge the image.



Map is copyright 2002-2010, BayonetGames

By: Brant

Military Maps: White Plains

Contested during the American War of Independence, the Battle of White Plains was fought on October 28, 1776.




image: britishbattles.com

By: Brant