The year is 1966, October 9. You are members of mix band of Green Berets and Cambodian’s (known as Bodes), that forms the secret Mobile Guerilla Force (MGF).

You were flown from your training base at Duc Phong in Vietnam to Song Be and on arrival were ushered into a small briefing room full of important looking people of various ranks and service. There were also some civilians. You learned then that on October 8, 1966, an aircraft of the Strategic Air Command operating in location 20 had crashed approximately 4 miles southeast of Song Be n the Phuoc Long Province. 

It was subsequently discovered that extremely sensitive electronic equipment had been lost during the crash and was very possibly still in good enough condition to be compromised.   The USAF briefer said the compromise of that particular instrument would gravely affect US national Security.  The Fifth Special Forces Group, commanded by Blackjack Kelly, who was present at the briefing, was asked to provide an organised search of the area for the lost instrument.

The search is to take place in practically impenetrable jungle, deep in Viet Cong territory.   Throughout the briefing, the air force was trying to say what they could not say. In spite of our questions that they clarify what we were looking for, Location 20, Colonel Charles D. Rafferty, was evasive. You began to appreciate the profound position in which the air force, and the United States, found themselves, when they indicated that the so-called black box was thought to be intact; that somehow, the instantaneous destruct mechanism attached to the instrument had failed to self-destruct; and that the release of the coded frequency on its transmitter would compromise the entire U.S. strategic reconnaissance system.  Your team is thrilled at the thought of conducting our practice missions as a live scenario. At an appropriate interlude in the briefing, Captain Gritz, in the booming voice for which he is respected and known, said, “Oh, great! You mean you want us to go into an unknown area to find something we have never seen before and which you are reluctant to describe in any detail.” Just then, an air force briefer pointed to an area on the map as the most likely general location of the aircraft. The cone-shaped area encompassed hundreds of square kilometres. When asked again to describe the black box, the briefer divulged more than he had in his earlier statements. He did say that it looked like a radio much larger than a PRC-10, to which we could all relate. But it could be anywhere.

After conferring with Kelly, Gritz told the air force that we would accept the mission. He said that we were organised equipped, and trained for success on such missions. At that point, someone raised the concern that the VC, or the NVA, would undoubtedly be looking for the wrecked plane to record the sequence of numbers that would reveal the code. We all recognized that the likelihood of finding the relatively small piece of electronic gear was improbably small. Not impossible, but almost. And we who would lead the task force clearly thought that, if anyone could accomplish the mission, it would have to be us. You all  are excited by the opportunity, but understand the risks as well.  Captain Yedinak is also pleased that such an opportunity would constitute a good shakeout of the Mobile Guerrilla Force before being committed to Blackjack-31.

Black Box

Since time was a critical factor you moved that MGF from Duc Phong to Song Be the next morning, and spent the rest of the day getting our shit together, marking maps, and briefing the leadership.  The Bodes were excited.

Day 1 – Find the Plane

About 0600 the next morning, you deployed the truck to a staging area near the foothills of the densely jungled mountains of Nu Ba Ra. Your first challenge is to locate the downed aircraft, independent of the search mission to follow. It is important to learn whether the piece of electronic equipment is still in the place or nearby.     MGF start on the track on the far side of the pine forest.    VC and later NVA start at the track leading from Hackett’s.

What happens?

The characters soon make contact with some VC trackers, who break contact and withdrew to the northwest.  Sporadic enemy fire interrupts the search.   The crash site is hidden in the jungle north of the pine forest and is represented by the flag.     Player’s have 15 minutes to find the plane before VC/NVA seriously challenges them.     There is one VC for every MGF member, the VC have 3 hit points and are also in search of the crash site.

At the 15 minute mark, the VC retreat and are replaced by NVA regulars.  NVA Regulars have 5 hit points and also can have 6 replacements.

The player’s can get one helicopter load of replacements i.e. 6 replacements.

MGF Force

All have 5 hit points.

VC Tracker’s

3 hit points. 

NVA Regulars 

5 hit points

Day 1 results

The side that finds the crash site, gets a 5 minute start searching for the black box (represented by the re-positioned flag).   All Casualties are replaced for day 2.

The search confirms the black box is not at the crash site.

Day 2

The black box must be east of the crash site based on direction of flight so that is where you are now to search.   The team that found the crash site first is given a 5 minute head-start and start at the track near the crash site.

The first team to find the hidden flag wins.   The flag will be positioned somewhere in the extended tournament training area. Day 2 sees the NVA in action against the MGF.

Each side gets a maximum of 6 replacements, both available for the entry area from Hackett’s.

Historical Note

Thirty years later, the extremely sensitive mission, now declassified, can be described straightforwardly. Simply put, Operation Black Box was briefed as a United States response to locate, secure and extract the electronic “friend and foe” (IFF) device from a U-2 spy plane.

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