Why is it that the JSF must always defend against Europe at Okefenokee in the very first turn? This merely leads to the back and forth repetition we've seen in the past 2 ToWs.

It should alternate, the JSF should be allowed to attack the EFEC at Arrabida rather than the ridiculously repetitive Okefenokee <-> Arrabida back and forth.

Not attacking Arrabida means a faster conclusion, as the JSF will always lose that map without supports.

Exactly, so it's set up more so to help the EFEC right off the bat. If you draw a line from the TOP LEFT corner to the BOTTOM RIGHT corner on the Arrabida layout you can see that it favours the Attacker. The Defender is at a disadvantage immediately.

The EFEC being able to attack Arrabida after a failed attack @ Okefenokee doesn't make sense.