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MISSION STATEMENT

The objectives of the Pacific Thunder Campaign are to have fun, to recreate the events of the submarine war in the Pacific in a historically accurate manner, and to learn and share new strategies and tactics for Silent Hunter. Participants shall endeavor to emulate tactics, methods and procedures employed by United States submarine commanders during World War II combat patrols. High tonnage scores are not the goal of this campaign or of the individual skipper. Silent Victory - the U.S. Submarine War Against Japan, by Clay Blair, Jr., will be used as the authoritative reference for the historical guidance of this campaign.

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SECTIONS

1.0 The following abbreviations will be used in this document and in other Pacific Thunder Campaign communications:

1.1 The campaign will consist of one war patrol per month. Each patrol cycle will run from the 1st day of the month through the 25th day of the month, and will cover a period of three months of historical game time. ComSubPac will issue patrol orders to SubRon COs, who will, in turn, issue patrol orders to submarine commanders. Additional information on the PTC Chain of Command structure is available on the BuPers Web site.

1.2 Any participant who repeatedly fails to acknowledge communications or who repeatedly violates the ROE may face possible suspension or termination of their commission. Any officer who fails to acknowledge official orders will receive a follow up reminder from a Fleet Officer. If an officer fails to respond to the follow up communication, his Pacific Thunder Campaign commission will be terminated.

1.3 All campaign participants shall subscribe to the Pacific Thunder Campaign Newsletter. This Yahoo!® group serves as the official communications network for the Pacific Thunder Campaign.

2.0 A patrol will be defined as the beginning of a mission in Silent Hunter game play (departing port graphic) through the mission's conclusion (return to port graphic).

3.0 The campaign shall use the Advanced Combat Level and 100% realism. At a minimum, "Realism" must be set at "Expert" with "Limited Depth Data" de-selected. This will allow use of the fathometer during a patrol, and will show an overall realism setting of 95 percent. However, the game will still play at the 100 percent level. Certain add-ons, patches and editors are obtained from Hawk's Silent Hunter Utilities Web page. The add-ons, patches and editors needed for the Pacific Thunder Campaign are as follows:

There is a detailed description of each program, with download and installation instructions, on Hawk's Web site. Other excellent downloads for Silent Hunter are available on Hawk's site as well. They are optional. The ones itemized above are mandatory for the Pacific Thunder Campaign.

3.1 After each merchant ship convoy encounter, the game should be saved using the ALT-O option and exited. The game should then be re-started to allow the Merchant Ship Add On program to run before the next convoy encounter, thereby randomizing the makeup of ships in the next encounter.

3.2 All missions will be generated using the Career Mode in Silent Hunter. A new career shall be started for each patrol so that all dates, crew experience levels and equipment upgrades remain consistent for each skipper.

3.3 The crew experience level to be used depends on whether it is an officer's first command, like when an officer graduates from Submarine School, or a new command, like a new boat assignment after an officer's first four patrols. A new boat assignment after being sunk or captured is the same as a first command, therefore an officer starts out green.

First Command New Boat Assignment
Patrol 1 Green Patrols 1-2 Veteran
Patrols 2-3 Veteran Patrols 3-? Elite
Patrols 4-? Elite  

3.4 All escort-type vessels (Destroyers, Destroyer Escorts and Patrol Boats), whether escorting merchant ships, capital ships, patrolling alone, appearing alone, at anchor or in motion, are off limits unless otherwise specifically authorized. Any unauthorized attack on an enemy escort will result in no tonnage being awarded, regardless of the circumstances or the outcome of the attack. Sinking escorts could also adversely impact the awarding of promotions, medals or citations by the Promotions Board. Actions against sampans are to be reported if the commanding officer chooses to engage them. However, their tonnage figures shall not be included in the patrol report.

3.5 Deck gun attacks shall only be carried out under favorable conditions, e.g., unescorted merchants, to finish off a crippled target, etc. Under no circumstances shall the deck gun be used to attack a warship no matter how damaged it is. However, the deck gun may be used in self defense during evasive maneuvers when a boat is unable to submerge due to damage or depth conditions.

3.6 The WRL will be used throughout the campaign. Each SubRon shall maintain an up-to-date WRL, listing all enemy warships that may be targeted during combat patrols. As specific warship classes are eliminated as a result of combat actions during the campaign, the SubRon CO will update the WRL. When all warships in a particular class have been eliminated, subsequent attacks against that class will be restricted and any additional sinkings will not be credited.

3.7 Harbor attacks are prohibited. Photo Recons shall be employed as intelligence gathering operations only, and only in the patrol area assigned by the SubRon CO. Officers shall not leave an assigned patrol area for another area in order to conduct a Photo Recon. Expenditure of ordnance at targets within ports during a Photo Recon mission is prohibited unless specifically authorized by ComSubPac before the start of the mission (i.e., a special mission ordered by ComSubPac, etc.). Lifeguard Duty shall only be performed if the target is in an officer's assigned patrol area. Officers shall not leave an assigned patrol area to perform Lifeguard Duty in another area. The only exception to this rule is if an officer is assigned to perform Lifeguard Duty at a target within his assigned patrol area and a pilot lands at a location outside of his assigned patrol area, then the officer may enter the other patrol area to rescue the pilot, but must leave the other patrol area and return to his assigned patrol area immediately after the pilot has been rescued.

3.8 Until Midway becomes a forward operating base boats departing Pearl may refuel at Midway using Kim's TCT refuel button at the Captains discretion and in keeping with the Pacific Thunder 'Mission Statement' in order to remain on station for a reasonable period of time.

4.0 At specific times throughout the campaign, a boat or squadron may be ordered to undertake a special assignment (custom scenario). These may include a wolf pack mission, lifeguard duty, or the hunting of a specific convoy or capital ship, etc.

5.0 All newly commissioned officers shall report to the Submarine School with the rank of Lieutenant prior to receiving a permanent command assignment. Upon successful completion of the school, these officers will remain a Lieutenant and be assigned to the Fleet as per Section 5.3. Returning officers will be initially appointed as Lieutenants. Advancement in rank will be determined by the Promotions Board and judged using the following criteria: active participation in the campaign (minimum of 6 successful patrols), compliance with orders issued by ComSubPac, combat service record, and the needs of the campaign. Promotions, medals and citations will be awarded at the discretion of the Promotions Board using a scoring system that will remain TOP SECRET INFORMATION and known only to the Promotions Board, which will be the sole and final judge as to the method of scoring employed.

5.1 Squadron Commanders will hold the initial rank of Lt. Commander.

5.2 Fleet Officers will hold the minimum rank of Rear Admiral. When conducting a war patrol as a member of a SubRon they will initially hold the rank of Lieutenant. It is recommended that Fleet Officers develop a nickname to be used for either position.

5.3 Following successful completion of the PTC Submarine School, officers will be assigned to command a specific boat for four missions, or as determined by ComSubPac.

5.4 BuPers will make all boat assignments. Requests for a specific boat assignment are permitted provided the boat was active during the historical time frame of the campaign.

5.5 All boats will be assigned to a specific SubRon depending on the officer's TDC preference.

5.6 Transfers by a skipper to a different squadron are permitted and will be dependent upon the needs of the SubRon or Fleet. Requests for transfer to a different SubRon shall be submitted to ComSubPac and BuPers.

6.0 Campaign participants shall submit patrol reports that are honest and without regard for individual scoring. Officers shall submit a war patrol report by 2400 hrs on 25th day of the month to ComSubPac and their SubRon CO via email. The report shall contain the information specified in the sample patrol report posted on the fleet web site. All war patrol reports must be filed by the 25th of the month or a request for RWCL, as described in Section 7.0, must be submitted prior to the 25th day of the month. Any report being filed after the 25th will have part or all of the tonnage rescinded for that cycle, at the discretion of ComSubPac. Late reporting on a regular basis could result in removal from active service and will affect awards and promotions.  Any submarine commander not reporting in by the end of a cycle will be listed as MIA. Two such listings in a row will result in the commander being moved to an inactive SubRon and in his boat being reassigned.

6.1 By no later than the last day of each month, each SubRon CO shall submit an endorsement report via email to ComSubPac. The report shall contain an endorsement of his squadron's patrol results, any exceptions to the SubRon CO's full endorsement, and any recommendations for awards or other actions.

6.2 ComSubPac will review the SubRon CO's endorsement reports, will make any required adjustments, and will forward the adjusted cycle totals to the Fleet Information Officer for inclusion into the official running totals data base.

7.0 Real world commitments may prevent an officer from participating in a mission cycle. Any officer wishing to take RWCL shall notify their SubRon CO, BuPers, and ComSubPac in writing at the earliest opportunity. Any officer who wishes to take leave for more than one cycle will be transferred to SubRonv00 (inactive SubRon). When an officer wishes to be re-assigned to the fleet they shall contact BuPers and ComSubPac. Every effort will be made by BuPers to assign returning officers to their former SubRon.

8.0 Loss of a command shall be reported to BuPers immediately, when possible, and without exception, by no later than 2359 hours on the 25th day of the month. When a skipper loses his boat, he shall report the loss immediately in writing to his SubRon CO, BuPers, and ComSubPac. The quicker BuPers knows of the loss, the quicker a new boat assignment can be made. When the loss is reported, the following information shall be provided: 1. The skipper's name and rank; 2. the lost boat's name and hull number; 3. the area where the boat was lost, i.e., the patrol zone and, if possible, the latitude and longitude; 4. the cause of the loss, i.e., depth charges, aircraft attack, etc.; and, 5. the status of the crew, i.e., rescued, POW, or KIA. Additional information is available on the BuPers Web site.

9.0 In Silent Hunter, use of the TDC in manual mode poses a higher degree of difficulty than does using it in automatic mode. Statistics from PTC 4 show that on average, boats using automatic TDC sank about 30 percent more ships as did their manual TDC counterparts. The total tonnage figures reflect a comparable ratio. In World War 2, submarine commanders did not have the option of using the TDC in automatic mode. In keeping with our emphasis on historical realism, it is therefore necessary to adjust automatic TDC tonnage figures in order to compensate for this bias. Beginning with PTC 5, automatic TDC tonnages shall be reduced by 30%, i.e., multiplied by .7.  Submarine COs shall adjust their totals on their patrol reports before submitting them. The SubRon COs or ComSubPac may also make additional adjustments. As in past campaigns, manual TDC tonnages shall be credited at 100%.