US Forces Deploy to Chernarus Exclusion Zone

Leaked footage of an MH-60M carrying a Chalk of Army Rangers from 2/75th Ranger Regiment leaving the USS Freedom stationed off the coast of the Chernarus Exclusion Zone on Sep 12th at around 04:30 AM

US Army Rangers from 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, have been deployed into the CEZ (Chernarus Exclusion Zone), which was formed over 3 years ago due to the Omega-6 Virus Outbreak in the area.

The ex-Soviet country of Chernarus has had a turbulent history since its separation from the USSR in 1991, having a clear divide between the pro-west and pro-Russia ideologies which often lead to violent protests or even a few coups. It’s an open secret that the Kremlin has funded separatist groups in the area since the early 2000s and even sent PMCs and Spesnaz to train these groups, although Russia denies these claims.

On February 18th, 2020, the world was shocked by a horrific outbreak in southern Chernarus resulting in cannibalistic behavior in humans and rabies-like symptoms in animals (This Virus was later named Omega-6). The Chernarus Defense Force (CDF) and local police forces reacted swiftly, quarantined a large zone around the virus, and blockaded anyway in or out.

CDF Soldiers organizing a Checkpoint during the early stages of the outbreak in 2020

Shortly after, President Nikolai Svárovský made a statement:

“People of Chernarus, we will stand strong together against this adversity, we have made it through tougher times before and we will continue to prove our strength to the world. Glory to our fine people and our nation!”

However, the severity of the situation was not reported in order to save face but, behind the scenes, the Chernarus Government called for NATO and Russia’s assistance to contain the outbreak.

NATO secured the South and West while Russia secured the North and East. Since then, it has been a constant deployment rotation for both, currently 1st Battalion, 10th Mountain Division and 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit from the USA represent NATO and 170th Motor Rifle Battalion, and a Naval/Infantry Strike Group “Vasily-Anya” represent the Russian Federation.

After the global panic had ended, the UN and international community started to look into the cause of the Omega-6 Virus and determined it was unlikely to have naturally formed; a few theories began to emerge.

Some believed that Chernarussian scientists had secretly been making a bioweapon and it escaped containment, some believed that it was the wrath of god but the most common theory was that Russia had orchestrated the Virus in order to gain control of the nation, and in some ways, they have succeeded. Russia has gained a more significant following in Chernarus, particularly the North, and now has a favor it can hold over the nation’s head.

In order to prove this, either way, research and medical teams needed to be sent into the CEZ, the USA sent groups into the zone in April 2020 with military escort and Russia did the same a few weeks later with the goal of disproving the claims.

Progress has been slow, and no real cause had been found until July 2023 when a few groundbreaking discoveries were uncovered, such as the existence of phenomena in the area such as heat hazes which when interacted with ignite in flame, or strange beings that don’t seem to follow the rules of nature.

This brief spike in progress was crushed when the research teams and their escort completely vanished at the beginning of September. We believe this is why the 2nd Ranger Battalion was mobilized in the area.

The Army Chief of Staff, General James C. McConville addressed this in an interview with AAN World News just after these photos were leaked:

“We will find these fine men and women who rushed into the unknown for the betterment of humanity. We have sent the best we have available and we are certain they will bring them back safely. That’s all I can say at this time.”