Within Reach

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Kerry joins a small team bound for Stratis. Mission Description

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Within Reach
Time	06:05 PM
Date	02-08-2035
Location	South-west Altis, Republic of Altis and Stratis
Previous	Exit Strategy
Next	Attention Deficit

Within Reach is the fifteenth mission of ArmA 3's The East Wind campaign.

Quotation

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Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Sun Tzu, 'VI: Weak Points and Strong', The Art of War

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Overview

The player controls FIA squad leader Ben Kerry. Intel provided by Orestes has helped pinpoint the location of Nikos Panagopoulos, the FIA's key representative and arms supplier, to a remote camp on the island of Stratis.

However, time is of the essence as Orestes has warned that the AAF plan to relocate him to another facility deep within CSAT-held territory. Kerry has been asked to link up with Captain Miller's strike force as they prepare for the rescue operation.

Kerry's role/class:

• Infantry / Grenadier

Default loadout:*

• Primary weapon: TRG-21 EGLM (6× magazines)
  • MRCO
• Secondary weapon: ACP-C2 (2× magazines)
  • No attachments fitted
• Equipment: RGO (2×), Smoke Grenade (White) (1×), 40 mm 1Rnd HE Grenade (3×), Smoke Round (White) (1×), Smoke Round (Green) (1×), Chemlight (Blue) (2×)
• Backpack: None

(*) This is the default loadout assuming that the player has not customised or collected different items from the previous mission.

Objectives

Primary

• (1) Meet CTRG

Optional

• (2) Stay Undetected

Mandatory

• Kerry must survive
• Avoid detection by the enemy
• You must link up with Miller's team in 20 minutes or less
• Avoid collateral damage/friendly fire
• Remain within the combat area

Walkthrough

NOTE:

• Remember to bring a pair of night vision goggles.
• From this point forward, scouting missions around the FIA camp at Gori will no longer be possible to complete. If you wanted to go on any of the Gori-specific side missions, make sure you complete them BEFORE initiating Within Reach.
• Whichever weapons and/or equipment you choose prior to starting the mission at the Armoury or Briefing will carry onto the following mission (Attention Deficit). Select your loadout with this next mission in mind as you will not be able to modify it once the mission commences.

Primary 1: Meet CTRG

After the driver drops you off into the AO (or on the outskirts), you will have a total of 1,200 seconds (20 minutes) to link up with Capt. Miller's team at grid coordinates 034-098. Sounds simple enough...aside from fact that there happens to be an entire garrison of AAF/CSAT soldiers in Athanos who won't be happy to see Kerry waltzing through the settlement.

The difficulty of this mission depends entirely on the outcome of Bingo Fuel and what route you chose:

• If you delivered the fuel truck to the FIA, then you will begin closer to the AO but must now face additional sentries on patrol. A CSAT helicopter will similarly patrol the surrounding area, and the skill level of all AI units, both CSAT and AAF, are significantly increased (from 0.2 to 0.6).
  • Their detection capabilities are also raised and can spot you from a substantial distance away.
• If you gave Miller's team the fuel then all AAF/CSAT forces in the town will be in disarray; there will be no extra patrols to encounter and their skill levels remain at 0.2. Their detection skills are significantly reduced and cannot spot you at long distances unless you draw their attention.
  • You start off further away from the town, however, and must make your way towards Miller's rendezvous point while facing the increased risk of being spotted by roaming helicopters or vehicles.
• If you assassinated the CSAT officer yourself then you will get the best of both choices: facing minimal patrols and less skilled resistance while starting off close to the town.

LEGEND
Blue: Starting location (you)
Violet: AAF vehicle spawn points
Yellow: AAF vehicle routes
Green: AAF patrols*
Red: CSAT patrols*
Orange: Miller's location (goal)

(*) Note that the location of these patrols is always fixed and does not account for the additional teams that are spawned if the player did not assassinate the CSAT officer in Bingo Fuel

At the start of the mission, you may want to take cover behind the one of the nearby buildings or the unfinished construction site as two AAF MRAPs will drive through shortly.

It may be wise to wait for them to pass before you proceed any further. With regards to actual routing there is no fixed path to take. You can sneak through the town (not recommended) or move along its outskirts to the west below or over the mountain, though don't go too far out of bounds or you'll die to landmines.

Do be careful of the three minefields on top of the hill at 033-105, near the town at 037-104 (note the warning signs posted around both) and lastly, along the beach at 037-101. Once you're less than 200 metres away from the rendezvous, sprint the remainder of the way to the boats where Miller and his team are waiting for you. The mission will end once you get close enough to them.

Optional 2: Stay Undetected

Note that you will not actually fail the mission if Kerry gets detected. However, being spotted by the town's garrison significantly increases the difficulty of the mission as all AI units will switch to COMBAT mode as opposed to their default AWARE or SAFE modes.

In addition, the crewmen at the checkpoint with the parked IFV will immediately hop into it and begin driving around the area. Worst of all, a gunship - alternating between a Hellcat or an Mi-48 depending on the choice you made for Bingo Fuel, will now loiter over the AO. Getting spotted by its gunner or pilot is essentially a death sentence for Kerry, so do yourself a favour and stick to the cover of the town's buildings.

That being said, if you get detected it's better to simply restart the mission or reload from a save/checkpoint as you won't be able to tackle all the threats on your own. You can certainly attempt to finish the mission with the town alerted but it's largely a waste of time and effort.

Tips

• If you aren't using a 5.56 mm-chambered weapon like the TRG-21/Mk20, ensure that you bring a suppressor with you as it'll be a crucial accessory for the next mission.
  • Anti-tank launchers like the RPG-42 will also help, though don't forget to take HE grenades rather than AT and store them inside a sufficiently large backpack.
• Do not use explosives, underbarrel grenade launchers or any kind of non-suppressed firearm. AI units inside the town can hear your gunshots from a fair distance away and will instantly raise the alarm.
• Sticking to the western coastline will allow you to avoid all patrols completely, though it will take longer to complete the mission this way and places you within firing distance of the AAF attack boat.

Trivia

• If you gave the fuel to the FIA, a recon team of CSAT operatives can be seen readying to execute two fugitives at grid 037-104 and will quickly succeed in doing so if the player doesn't intervene. However, there is no reward for saving the civilians.
• Ambient AAF/CSAT jets and helicopters will periodically fly past the AO once every 2-5 minutes. They will only stop spawning if Kerry is discovered.
• Miller's ending dialogue will change if Kerry alerts the entire town to his presence (accidentally or otherwise).
• A trawler ship is actually present off the coast of Athanos, approximately 500 metres to the south of Miller's rendezvous point. It normally cannot be seen from land due to the thickness of the fog but can be clearly seen if the player swims for ~ 100 or so metres in its direction.
  • Because the ship is not actually located outside of the playable area (it lies within the bounds of the Zone Restrictions module), the player can swim towards the ship and physically come into contact with the vessel. However, they will need to be careful to avoid detection by the AAF boat that patrols the Panochori Bay.