Operation Neptune Dawn

Operation Neptune Dawn is the name of the third phase of the Patagonian Relief Efforts, Neptune Dawn is a full fledged Combat Operation.

Luis-Beltran Offensive
Tarakian Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 175th Airborne Division dropped into Luis Beltran in the early morning of January 31 and encountered no resistance and began to repurpose an Office Building into a In-Field Command Post(IFCP), The various teams known as Puma followed by a numeral, we're setting up defenses and also repurposing Civilian Ford F-150 type trucks into Technicals with a .50cal Machine gun on a 360 degree flex mount bolted to the truck beds and 3 inch thick steel plates to form a protective box around the gunner, 5 Inch thick steel plates with cut outs were installed on the windows so the driver could see where he was going, Additionally the grills have a welded applique slate cage/armored radiator to defeat explosive weapons fired at the engine block.

The call for light tanks
1st Lieutenant Huntt had requested from Military Airlift Command to bring them in some M35A1-120 Panther Airborne Light Tanks and a M35-AMOS II Tracked Mortar carrier, C-5M Galaxys Callsign Atlas One-Seven and Atlas One-Eight made the trip landing on umiproved surfaces at the edge of Luis-Beltra, they quickly offloaded the two M35A1-120 Panther and the one M35-AMOS II Panther, all three vehicles were unloaded and crewed by Airborne Tankers and moved towards the edge of town to clear the unimproved runway.

A Catastrophic Loss
Before Atlas One-Eight could take off, it was hit by 3 missiles launched from a TAM VLCL, the Missiles impacted the left wing and both Turboshafts flamed out and caught on fire, the automated suppression System was also destroyed, the third missile hit right in the Cargo Cabin prompting the 7 crew(5 Males, 2 Females) to bail out and run towards the Airborne Tankers, the Tankers contacted Overlord Actual and requested Evac for the crew instead of having to walk them out due to the dangerous situation, Overlord Actual acknowlegdes and scrambles two V-22 Goshawks from Forward Operating Base Cerrera with an AH-64E Apache Guardian running escort.

Final Preparations and Battle Plan
Puma 2 part of what is known as Task Force Puma had brought their Light Tanks and one Mortar carrier up to the command post to drop the air crew off for safety, 1st Lieutenant Andre Huntt made final plans and began to send them over the Brigade Combat Network System, during this time the Patagonian Commander for his Area of Responsibilty(Luis-Beltran) had giving the green light to assault Choele-Choel. Lieutenant Huntt issued the Battle Plan and soldiers began mounting up on their Technicals and followed both of the M35A1-120 Panthers.

Operation Valiant Marksmen
At Approx, 1648 Zulu Operation Valiant Marksmen began, the Objective was to assault Choele-Choel and capture the airport and also capture High Value Target Rodrigo "El Jefe" Cruz alive and bring him in alive, The Mortar Carriers primary task is to shell the Neuquen Mortar crews and also shell any hostile AT Units, Both M35A1-120 Panthers will assault heavily defended positions and will also destroy the TAM Multiple Launch Rocket System.

Future Support Request
Due to the lose of Atlas One-Eight and such a huge aircraft, Military Air Lift Command has opted to use the C-130J-30(Extended Cargo Variant) to deliver supplies via LAPES. LAPES is an acronym for Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System it is a risky maneuver and usually requires flying only a could meters above ground, there is no room for pilot error, the Landing Gear is also deployed in case of a touch to the ground while performing the LAPES maneuver.

Tarakian Enforced No-Fly Zone
The Tarakian Airforce enforced a 60 Mile Radius around Luis-Beltran and anything entering the No-Fly Zone other than friendly aircraft were to be either flown out or shot down if not complied, a such instance occured at 1335 Hours on Februrary 2, 2046. Two F-16F Desert Vipers were scrambled from the captured airbase and ordered to fly the aircraft out of the No-Fly zone, this aircraft did not respond to the orders giving by Captain Emily "Archangel" Banning, she then was forced to shoot down the the Airliner with her cannon at close range. That is the only recorded instance of a downing on a civilian airliner not responding.

No-Fly Zone Incidents
Tarakian Airforce Pilot, Captain Emily "Archangel" Banning shot down a civilian airliner after the pilot did not comply with her orders to be flown out of the zone.
 * February 2, 2046, 1335 Zulu

Operation Raptor
After receiving vital intel, The Tarakian Airforces 754th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Black Sharks" took off from Varcheta Airbase and headed off to their objective, the Patagonians had P.I.D a Hydro Dam as a High Value Target and did not have time to deal with it, it was then that the Black Sharks were briefed and then scrambled to target this Dam. Operation Raptor was cancelled as the Patagonians would rather take the Dam, instead Elements of Task Force Grizzly(Marines) were tasked with capturing the Dam.

Puerto Octay Defense
With Patagonian forces leaving Octay for the Battle, Elements of the 175th Airborne Division and also 26th Mechanized Infantry Division were tasked with moving into the Town, Marines from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force are also tasked with deploying and defending the town.