@Harry_Bumcrack, I’m glad my wife wasn’t home, because she would have wanted to know why I suddenly yelled “Harry F***'ing Bumcrack!” when I saw you log in.
Syria is pretty detailed map, and when you logged on there was a lot going on. It can take 2-5 minutes when I log on for things to load up and stabilize even with no one else on, and if there’s a lot going on sometimes DCS will crash out on me. I’ve only got 32gb of RAM, so I’m sure that’s part of it.
Depending on what exactly happened, you probably hit a bit of lag, and then hit the ground. It happens unfortunately, even with Google Fiber. I’d try logging on at some time when there’s only 1 or 2 people on, and away from any big towns/cities. See if you still have issues controlling the CH-47 due to lag or connection. You might also try using one of the Flaming Cliffs aircraft like the A-10A, see if that runs okay.
So the missions are optional basically, and they are as far as I know all strike missions. The Other - Missions - list what is currently available. These are kind of generic missions that are present all the time (Attack XXX is kinda the whole point of everything). These can be accomplished at anytime by anyone. For the S"trike Missions", you got to the missions chunk of the radio menu, and pick which one you want to go for (warehouse strike, bridge strike, etc). I believe it activates the mission for BLUFOR as a whole, so anyone can work on them.
On the logistics side if you look at the map you’ll see some place like Incirlik has “1/3” or something next to it’s label. Sites are captured by delivering “zone cargo” to them via logistics flights (C-130’s, CH-47, etc). Each site takes a particular number of crates of zone cargo to be fully upgraded, which adds air and ground defenses. If the site receive damage from REDFOR (bombed runway, blown,up SAM site, etc) they lose “crates.” And if they get to 0 they are neutral and Red can recapture them. The crates also provide munitions for BLUFOR (us) to use, so getting the site initially captured and then fully upgrade has multiple benefits.
For a how to: Foothold - Logistics How To - Flight Sims - Mudspike Forums
You’ll also see “Resupply” “Warehouse low” and few others I can’t remember off the top of my head. These are basically the script that runs the Foothold mission saying that base is either actually low on munitions, or it has generated a “supply run” mission for someone to do for extra points.