Well, I'm trying to think of something not necessarily combat-orientated, because this is meant to be the first mission in a series. Plus, the mission is set in 1988, after the Soviets have been allowed to return to Kolgujev (as long as they don't come knocking again). However, things which I have attempted like long, drawn out invasion-by-the-Soviet scenarios and hostage-situation-in-St. Pierre are hard to pull off and script correctly, and end up being a hastily-made unrealistic mess.
The other side of the coin, however, is that without combat the player is likely to be bored, so it boils down to finding the rare balance between realism and gameplay. Any ideas would be extremely useful, as I've really hit a blank spot here.