It's mid-1944. The Axis and Allied high commands have recieved vague intel reports that something is brewing in Northern Europe. Bad weather, effective anti-intelligence rings, and deliberate false information plants have thrown the intelligence systems of both sides into a state of chaos. Something definately IS about to happen, but what that is, is still uncertain....... Welcome to "Hostile Shores"!
The Aces High Scenario Corps is pleased to announce that the next large, multi-frame scenario has been finalized. We're calling it "Hostile Shores". "Hostile Shores" is an orignal design, based on historical events. The designer of the scenario is Bart "Fd-ski" Rajewski.
Hostile Shores will be a four-frame scenario:
Frame 1: Saturday, April 7 4:00pm EST
Frame 2: Saturday, April 21 4:00pm EST
Frame 3: Saturday, April 28 4:00pm EST
Frame 4: Saturday, May 5 4:00pm EST
This time provides the greatest amount of opportunity for all AH pilots from around the world to participate in Hostile Shores, without having to get up at 2:00am. It's late afternoon for US pilots, late evening for European pilots, and early morning for Pacific rim pilots. I realize this may make it difficult for some people who have active social lives, but it's the best compromise I could come up with and still keep the schedule simple.
The scenario will take place in the Special Events Arena.
We are pleased to announce that U.S. Air Force Academy Cadets will be filling the roles of leadership of the Axis side, as the Axis command staff(CO, XO, some FL's). The Cadets will be using the Hostile Shores scenario as a learning tool as part of their studies. The rest of the Axis participents, and all of the Allied participents will be taken from the AH general public. Thanks to Major Rich "Sabre" Jernejcic for acting as the liason between Aces High and the U.S. Air Force Cadets. The Axis flight makeup will be of a slightly different nature than the typical FL and pilots that we're used to. In some Axis flights, there will be an Air Force cadet designated the Flight CO. His XO for the flight will be that squad's AH CO. The cadet will have tactical control over the flight, with the AH squad CO acting as a mentor, being privately tuned to the cadet. This will allow a very experienced AH squad CO to prevent a young cadet from leading the flight to slaughter. To make this arrangement work, it will require enormous tact on the part of the AH squad CO and the cadet, so we don't get any bruised egos. As a reminder, some LW flights will be led with this special arrangement, and some will be led normally by the AH squad CO. Your positive attitude and willingness to cooperate will be greatly appreciated.
Registration for Hostile Shores will open on Monday, March 19 and close on Friday, March 23. For this event, you may register one of two ways. You may register as an individual participant, or if you are a CO of a squadron, you may register your whole squad or parts of your squad as a whole unit. For squads that sign up as a unit, we will most likely assign a few individual participants with you so that you have the chance to meet new people. When registering, you will select a primary choice and a sceondary choice for side(Axis or Allied) and aircraft type(Fighter, Bomber, Fighter/Bomber). The CM staff will do it's best to give everyone their primary choice, but there is no guarantee that you will get what you put down as a primary choice. The actual aircraft assigned to each person or squad will remain a secret until shortly after registration closes. In an effort to encourage registration of bomber pilots, HTC is offering three(3) one-month complimentray AH accounts to three separate registered bomber pilots of Hostile Shores. The accounts will be awarded to people in three catagories:
Best Bomber Pilot (Axis)
Best Bomner Pilot (Allied)
Bomber Survival(either country, drawn at random from those bomber pilots who have survived every frame of Hostil Shores)
To be eligible, you must have registered for bombers and have actually participated in all four frames of Hostile Shores. Walkons will not be eligible for prizes.
For fighters, HTC will award one(1) one-month complimentary AH account to the registered fighter pilot who has the most kills during the scenario, with no deaths or captures. To be eligible, you must have registered for fighters or fighter/bombers and have participated in all four frames of Hostile Shores.
Walkons will not be eligible for prizes.
We are in need of a Commanding Officer and an Executive Officer for the Allied side in Hostile Shores. These two people will be responsible for organizing, planning and executing the actions of the Allied side. These jobs are extremely demanding upon your time and your nerves. The successful candidates will posses strong communication and organizational skills, A calm, rational mind under extreme duress, and the ability to work well with others. If you think you have what it takes to do the job, please email me at dahlen@home.com I will accept applicants starting immediately, until we find the right person for the job.
I can't stress to you strongly enough how important this scenario is to the Air Force Cadets, HiTech Creations, and the CM staff. This scenario is being taken very seriously by the Air Force cadets, and they should do a great job. The attitude and flexibility demonstrated by the AH community will make or break this scenario. As a participant in the Hostile Shores scenario, the CM staff is expecting you to cooperate with the cadets and help them succeed(unless you're flying for the Allies, of course). We understand that we'll be asking some AH squads to bite the bullet and allow themselves to be led by a stranger. And yet, we know there are squads out there that have the maturity to handle this arrangement.
To add another new element to this scenario, the CM staff will be purposely giving out vague or even inaccurate intel reports to both sides. As in real life(tm), some of the intel each side gets may be accurate, some of it may be only partially accurate, and some may be out and out wrong. We're hoping this will enhance the pucker factor, and the "fear of the unknown". Don't expect to know every little detail about yourself and your enemy during this scenario. Things will not be laid out for you as nicely as they were in Afrika Corps.
Be watching on Monday, March 19, as I will annnounce the opening of registration(and the link to the registration) at some time on that date.
<S>
John "banana" Dahlen
Multi-Frame Team Leader
Aces High Scenario Corp.
