Outstanding post Apocalypse. Great observations and lessons learned for everyone to hopefully read and put into action.
A few observations for my part (from the rotary wing perspective).
1. Stand-Off Distance.
After being hit by a SAM at the first set of objectives I kept the range to the target area at 1.0 to 1.5 KM and didn't have anymore trouble with SAMs. Another factor to consider is we were already set up at those ranges before the ground element approached the objective. As soon as the ground element came into range to "activate" the enemy, Assassin was able to engage those targets in our LOS to good effect. Maybe the SAM gunners never had a chance to employ their weapon?
2. Route Selection and Ingress/Egress to Target Area.
Basically, keeping away from all the pink zones and avoid making them go hot. This is equivalent to Minimum Risk Routes. Also, being aware of the ground picture and avoiding fratricide by employing a gun-target-line from the flanks or overhead, and not head-on.
I agree completely with the group progressing well. We were knocking down grid squares at the cyclic rate. As you so adeptly point out we were employing the right equipment in a coordinated manner.
