I feel one of the problems with LOMAC:FC currently is the lack of atmosphere. There's nothign that really sets one mission apart from another.
What would really help is if we had pre-mission briefings. They don't have to be complicated. In fact, the simpler they are, the more effective they will be. This will allow users to set up their own briefings when publishing their missions / campaigns.
My suggestion is to allow the user to use a set of images as slides, similar to a Powerpoint presentation. These would be shown with text subtitles or recorded voice-overs, and music in the background.
The briefing will shown at the start of the mission, while the mission itself loads in the background. Of course, an option to skip it entirely has to be present.
Examples would be:
Graphical slides showing the progression of the war, such as pictures of armored columns, air bases, other aircraft on missions, etc. This will give the user a feeling that there's more going on than just him.
Map slides showing the current mission. They can go from showing the overall flight plan, to more detailed slides showing the target.
Graphical slides showing the objective. If you're attacking a specific location, pictures of the target can be shown.
If anyone's played the game World in Conflict, that's exactly what I'm refering to. A series of simple graphical slides with text/voice-overs setting the atmosphere before a mission. Low system load so the mission loads in the background, and you're in the game as soon as the briefing is over. Very simple, yet very effective.