Operation Black Gauntlet (campaign)

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Operation Black Gauntlet
Game

ArmA 2's Operation Black Gauntlet campaign continues the story of former British Army paratrooper Brian Frost, who now works as a mercenary as part of callsign Team Sword for the ION Services private military company. It was added with the release of the Private Military Company DLC.

The PMCs were hired to escort a weapons inspection team from the United Nations, who were dispatched to Takistan in order to find evidence of a supposed nuclear weapons programme under the former regime.

Summary

TBA

Timeline

Reception (29th June, 2013) « Pick-up a UN investigator team at a deserted airstrip » ION PMC security detail Team Sword and Team Shield arrive to greet the United Nations weapons inspection team led by Dr. Ivan Ruce. The airfield comes under attack by Takistani insurgents, but are successfully repelled by the mercenaries. Vocation (1st July, 2013) « Ensure the safety of the UN investigators in a factory complex » While waiting for the inspectors to prepare for their investigation, Team Sword are reassigned temporarily to guard an abandoned complex on the outskirts of Zargabad. The team are heckled by a crowd of unarmed civilian protestors, but they manage to break up the crowd non-lethally with smoke grenades. Confirmation (2nd July, 2013) « Protect the UN investigators on their way to an important contact » The ION mercenaries receive word from the UN inspectors that a source was found - Abdul Mussawir Ghafurzai, a former scientist working with the regime on the nuclear program. Regrouping with the inspectors, they travel through the inner sections of the wartorn Zargabad in search of the scientist. Though they locate him successfully, the city comes under artillery bombardment by government forces. Both Abdul and Tanny Radcliffe are subsequently killed during the attack. Inception (2nd July, 2013) « Search for missing documents amidst a Zargabad battle » Regaining consciousness after the artillery strikes, Brian Frost and Henry Asano regroup with the other mercenaries of Team Sword after fighting their way through the remnants of Zargabad, and are evacuated from the city. They also receive word that the inspectors managed to glean some information about the nuclear weapons program, a facility designated as "OKB-754" was located somewhere in the wastelands of Central Takistan. They were to escort the inspectors to their new destination. Transportation (2nd July, 2013) « Travel south through the Takistani mountains » Travelling in a convoy of armed SUVs, Team Sword are forced to wait for several hours at a U.S. checkpoint while Reynolds negotiates with NATO forces for clearance to pass through into dangerous Central region. They fight their way through numerous Takistani insurgent camps along the way, and manage to gain access to the desolate northern area. Elimination (2nd July, 2013) « Neutralize enemy vehicles around a testing facility » Upon arrival, Team Sword discover government forces are guarding the facility's outskirts. Using a thermal scope-equipped anti-material rifle, Frost and Asano destroy several of their armoured vehicles before finishing off the remaining soldiers. Malfunction (3rd July, 2013) « Protect the facility while UN investigators are inside » While the Ruce's team get to work on the nuclear test site, Team Sword come under attack from numerous UCAVs sent by a rival PMC during the night. They manage to shoot down several of the drones and even manage to salvage one from their attackers, though they question why they were attacked in the first place. Preparation (3rd July, 2013) « Survive a guerrilla attack » As morning approaches, the inspection team discover solid evidence of the nuclear material being of Chinese in origin. However before they can begin preparations to head back to civilisation, Team Sword come under attack yet again; this time by numerous insurgent ground forces. Utilising the salvaged drone from the previous attack, Frost succeeds in repelling the attacking vehicles and ground troops. Aviation (3rd July, 2013) « Leave the Proving Grounds and head back to Zargabad. Make sure the radioactive materials get through the Takistani mountains safely » Reynolds arrives in a helicopter with SUVs as backup. Frost overcomes his fear of flying and takes charge of Reynolds' helicopter, while the latter boards the same vehicles as the UN inspectors. With Frost providing air cover for the ground vehicles, they manage to get far enough through hostile territory while under the hot pursuit of more insurgents. Halfway through the escort mission, a U.S. attack jet is dispatched to help clear the remaining path for the rest of the convoy to drive on through safely. Decision (3rd July, 2013) « Make an important decision » Although they reach Zargabad in one piece, Reynolds returns with shocking news that he had gotten his hands on the evidence gathered by the inspectors, and that their new assignment was to silence Ruce's team before they can reveal the truth behind OKB-754. Dixon remains unconvinced and refuses to comply with Reynolds' orders, but Frost sides with the mercenary leader and kills Dixon. Deception (3rd July, 2013) « For the Greater good... » Using disguises provided to them by Reynolds, Frost and Asano ambush Dr. Ruce's convoy and assassinate both him and his escorts. They successfully flee from the scene before NATO forces arrive and rendezvous with Reynolds. The attack is blamed on Takistani insurgents, and the truth behind OKB-754 will now be forever hidden to the world.

Trivia

• Operation Black Gauntlet is the first campaign since Resistance to feature weapon stockpiling (via Team Sword's SUV vehicles) that carry over across the entire campaign.
  • Unlike in Royal Flush, gear is not purchased from a weapons dealer and has to be manually obtained during each mission.
• This is also the first and only campaign in the entire series where the player can "regenerate" health after taking an injury, whether it be from gunfire or accidental falls. It does take time for the health regeneration to take effect however, and the player can still die instantly to explosives and large calibre weapons.
• It is the only campaign in ArmA 2 to feature the same main protagonist (Brian Frost) from a previous campaign (Operation Crimson Lance).

Gallery

See also

• Operation Crimson Lance (previous)
• Silver Lion (previous)
• Beyond Hope (next)
• Prologue (next)
• Remnants of War (next)

Campaigns
Cold War Assault	Resistance (1982) • Cold War Crisis (1985)
Armed Assault	Armed Assault (2006) • Rahmadi Conflict (2006) • Royal Flush (2007)
ArmA 2	Harvest Red (2009) [ Eagle Wing ] • Silver Lion (2010-2012) • Operation Arrowhead (2012) • Operation Crimson Lance (2012) • Operation Black Gauntlet (2013)
Tactics	Operation Tempest (201X) • Operation No Deal (201X)
ArmA 3	Beyond Hope (2026) • Prologue (2034) • The East Wind (2035) [ Survive, Stepping Stone, Adapt, Win, Steel Pegasus, Altis Requiem ] • Remnants of War (2034/2035) • Apex Protocol (2035) • Old Man (2038) • First Contact (2039)
Mobile Ops	Liberator of Lignos (20XX)
Entries are listed in canonical order from left-to-right. [Brackets] denote campaigns taking place concurrently within the same time period. Italics denote spin-off or non-canon campaigns.