Operation Cobalt

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**Operation Cobalt**, also referred to as the "**Sunset Protocol**" by the US Marines, is the name given to the plan devised by the U.S. Military in order to contain the spread of the Wildfire Virus. Operation Cobalt was enacted on September 9, 2010 at 0900 PDT - and ended in the early hours of September 10, 2010 with the bombing of major infected areas and cities as indicated by the contingency plan, enacted after the military lost control of the situation on the field. It is assumed that Operation Cobalt was drafted by the General Secretary of Defense and then approved by the President of the United States.

## Initial Stage

The initial stage of Operation Cobalt was initiated three days after the outbreak of the Wildfire Virus began in the United States of America, with the deployment of military units into major urban areas after local law enforcement failed to contain the disorders. Once deployed, the units established up easily defensible safe-zones, or quarantine zones, in urban areas. Medical facilities and refugee centers, such as those in the Los Angeles Arena and Raynard Community College, were also set up to secure those believed to be infected, provide screenings for the injured and sick, and to act as a base of operations.

Despite not being mentioned, the Federal Government enacted a nationwide State of Emergency on August 29, only to be followed by Martial Law on early September, four days after the Wildfire Virus was declared a global pandemic by the WHO and CDC. There has been an active collaboration between the 50 states and the Department of Defence, as the governors would give domestic information on the epidemic and then the DOD would take the proper measures to act. All military reservists would be called, National Guard units mobilized (as seen in FTWD Season 1) and overseas military assets recalled.

Once these areas were set up, the safe zones would be used as a spring board to try to take back major metropolitan areas. The plan for the initial stage of Operation Cobalt can be described as follows:

* Selected, easily defensible areas to be chosen for safe zones.
* Medical facilities to be established for treating the ill and possibly infected.
* Those brought to the medical facilities would be held in custody until either seen by a doctor or symptoms of the infection manifested.
* Those who have either turned or showed signs of infection are to be humanely terminated, with their bodies being cremated.
* National Guard/Army units to use safe zones to retake city.
* The termination of infected outside the safe zones to commence. For unknown reasons, survivors remaining inside the city but outside of the safe zones would be terminated as well.
* Be prepared to enact the **Contingency Plan**.

## Contingency Plan

On September 9, 2010, the United States Army Command drafted a Contingency Plan in case the main operation should fail or safezones proven to be hard to defend. The plan was enacted a day later, and major urban centers were bombarded. The overall purposes of this emergency operation can be listed below;

* Individuals in medical facilities to be immediately terminated, soldiers to use protective suits and gas masks
* Military units to withdraw from the various safezones previously established and approach military bases for further re-collocation of troops
* Infected zones to be disintegrated with air vehicles and massive use of explosive material

## Outcome

The overall outcome of Operation Cobalt is a strategic military failure, due to the safezones being abandoned and overran, military facilities destroyed and massive losses of troops and equipment. While the Contingency Plan had few chances to limit the number of infected people in the United States, it was not enough to completely halt the spead of the Wildfire Virus. As a result, large groups of infected individuals were terminated but an insane number were still on foot. The most marked outcome of Operation Cobalt (at least in the California area) seems to be ecological, however. According to a park ranger broadcasting from Shuteye Peak, the forests of Yosemite National Park and the Serra Nevada mountain range were on fire and likely to be gone in a week.

One significant outcome that occurred after the fall of California and other states west of the continental divide, is that National Guard units were now actively working alongside, if not subordinate to/entirely replaced by, the regular military. It can be assumed that this is why a helicopter from the 7th Cavalry is seen abandoned outside the hospital where Rick was recovering.

Another factor which remains unknown is what, if any changes, took place to Operation Cobalt after they abandoned Los Angeles. For example, in Lincoln, Nebraska, a commercial airline is seen crashed in the streets. It is unknown whether or not this plane came down due to any infected on board (as in the case of TruWest Airlines Flight 462) or whether or not it was shot down by the jets overhead. Also, in episode five of The Walking Dead: World Beyond, it is stated that the military destroyed all the bridges over the Mississippi River.

In the aftermath of Operation Cobalt, the U.S Army disintegrated at a rapid pace as military action failed to contain the virus, with amounts of desertions increasing day-by-day. It is unknown if the U.S Navy had any particular role inside Operation Cobalt, but it is assumed that few days after the infection started in Los Angeles all naval battlegroups and aircraft carriers were recalled to the United States (USS Pennsylvania was recalled in the Gulf of Mexico) and had the important mission to use their airplanes to bomb the infected zones. The fate of all these ships after Operation Cobalt is unknown, likely to wander around oceans trying to survive or tried to took the matter on their hands and attempted to restore contact with a centralized command.

It is assumed that the Federal Government withdrew firstly to the Presidential Bunker under the White House, then fled to a more secure location attempting to contact units of the now disintegrated U.S Army and Federal Emergency Agencies.

## Operation N.O.A.H.

According to conspiracy theorists broadcasting in the weeks following the collapse, the U.S. government was responsible for the outbreak, which was an attempt at population control that went wrong. It is suggested that they had a plan should the contingency of Operation Cobalt fail. The plan was entitled Operation N.O.A.H. and it matches the real life continuity of government plan. Little is known about Operation N.O.A.H. other than it authorized the evacuation of government figures to locations unknown.