You place cubes, not faded figures, when a normal disease outbreaks into a Faded city. The rules state that you place Faded figures in lieu of *COdA* cubes, not other cubes.
Ben’s the smart one with the upgrades. Because the colonel’s power would let him remove faded in any city in the region. If they put bases in Madrid and Los Angeles then the colonel can control the faded situation.
I think y’all will need to get the operations expert out to drop some research stations and military bases around the rest of the world because you’re about to be down to one research base on a border.