AAR Return to the Mountians 8.7.10

[Komissar]

This Sierra Summit Airsoft event was run by Alex and Kevin (ScottishFlamethrower), and held near Alta off of Airport Road (exit 155). It was a day event including Force on Force, Force Breakthrough, and some Recon
and Evasion missions.

Diamond Corps operators involved: Ken, Phoenix, Tristan, and Komissar. Blazed and FlapJack were called away by work at the last minute. Also attended were Maverick, Seven, and Bluewolf.

This post is to report what went well, and what didn't, so that we might learn and become better for our battles to come.

Aug. 7 Saturday:
The event was posted well in advance allowing operators ample time to arrange their calendars
and be fully prepared to meet the minimal requirements for this event.

Transportation was arranged thanks to Bluewolf, and a great breakfast provided by Tristan. Thank you both. All operators arrived on time at 1030 for the briefing and
event start at 1100.

 

The event location was well planned, in a recently cleared, (slash and burn with new-growth) area near the airport off Hwy 80. It was easy to find and well
marked in national forestry property, with tall pines and sparse low brush.  A few undulations were found in the approx. 5
acres marked for the area of operations.

 

It was nice to see that there was a chrono available for the operators who were to ensure that their weapons were not firing above 400fps. The engagement distance
rule for the day was that there would be no firing within 40 feet unless the
weapon was a pistol or shotgun.

This was an unusual ruling, however due to the openness of the field it didn’t have an effect on game-play. It is my experience that most pistols and even shotguns fire over 300 fps when stock. Operators
throughout the day performed honorably and safely.

 

Upon arriving we were instructed to chrono, and stand ready for the briefing. The intro and briefing were kept simple and fun.

It was an intro to Airsoft by design, lending itself well to the beginners, and those who are not aware of Mil-Sim style play. Had it been advertised as a Mil-Sim or veteran operator event many would
have been upset and disappointed, however, it was clearly stated as ‘open to
all’. A relaxing day in the cool temperatures.

 

We were divided into Woodland (Corps), and those in everything else. Tristan was separated from the troop at this point and by proxy took ‘control’ of the non-woodland group.

The forces being split resulted in woodland (Corps) having around 14, and the non-woodland around 18.

The troop size didn’t matter much due to the fact that at least 6 of the Woodland team knew each other and worked well together on a regular basis. They were at no disadvantage, and in fact proved to be
unfairly overmatched considering many of the newer opposition. This was no
challenge, just a day to relax, work together as a team, and have fun.

 

I will not give an itemized account of the four missions run. They were each basic, well explained, and fun. This was what the hosts had advertised and delivered.
They included Force on Force, a version of Breakthrough, and a bold intro of
Search and Rescue/ Escape and Evade. Great missions which lent themselves
perfectly for the new operators and an easy day of Airsofting.

As for our ‘team’, we worked well together. No use in hand signals, very little use of the radios, but we did communicate amongst all the full-auto fire.
Unfortunately for our training, full-auto was the style of the event. Our team
did well covering, moving, and responded well to orders, but it did not run
smooth.

We could definitely benefit from some time on the field doing training before going back to LZ-5 or maybe even Cimmerians. Not a bad day at all, just not a challenge.

 

We had a good time. Simple. By the way operators; this event was at absolutely no charge. The hosts gave their time and effort so you and I didn’t have to do
anything but show up and pull the trigger. Beat that.

 

For the hosts of the event, I will do my best to create an objective list of CONS.

1.       I might work to create more balanced forces after the first mission so not to demoralize
any one side. This can be done by arm bands, or building greater challenges into
one teams mission objectives.

2.       Choosing an area for the event that has diversity of terrain. This event was well suited
to the rifles which took advantage of the sparse cover and open ground. The
result was uneven opportunity and some frustration for the opposing team who
would have been better equipped for the heavy cover found east of the AO.

3.       Perhaps introducing the ‘Red Rag’ system. This was not critical to your particular
event, but it may be found helpful in future events. It is a standard.

4.       I would ask that you introduce more props into some well designed missions. Both
of you have created amazing and functional weapons for use in Airsoft! I can’t
imagine what you could invent and employ when putting that same energy into
your missions.

 

Well Alex, Keven, this is the best I could do. I thank you guys for a great time, and look forward to the next.

Well troops I am too tired to do more of an AAR write up at this late hour.
I am posting this so that you have a place to post your opinion of the event.
G-night gentlemen.

[Phoenix]

I was gonna sit down and do one up, but I felt I wouldn't be as objective as I like. I'll wait to see what you toss up and go from there.

[Joseph Aguilar]

I really enjoyed this event for what it delivered. It was well-organized and at most times smoothly run (except during game two when Doc had to clarify rules for ACU on the field, and even then it was handled quickly and efficiently). Another problem i had was that i missed the memo for the chrono zipties. Although we did chrono under 400 i was unaware that after we were supposed to tie zipties to a section on our gun to show that it shot the legal field limit. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire day, and it was a good introduction fo a friend i brought over who had participated in mainly small skirmishes with less than 15 people. The closest we got to a mil-sim mission was the Search-and rescue mission which was one of the higlights of the day. Well thats my 2 cents hope it helps.