Dom, don't forget that you agreed to pin this for me.
The pictures from today are going to take awhile to upload, so I apologize in advance, I'll try to have them posted up sometime tomorrow afternoon. They're large files and I took A LOT OF THEM. Thanks for your patience!
However, you don't have to wait for the post-game review, which I've already written, and will post here. However, I would appreciate it if you would also at least look at it on my site, too, so that I can benefit from the hits. You can do that at the following link:
https://arbeedoesairsoft.wordpress.com/ ... -01242015/
As promised, here it is. It's a little long, so forgive me, but there was a lot to cover, and a bit of sentimental shit on my part:
Rattlesnake Ridge 01/24/2015
Back in the day, when the SCAA was still big and the AOSC wasn't even a gleam in its founders' eyes, I went to a game day at Rattlesnake Ridge, all kitted out in M81 woodland camo and ALICE gear. It was my first organized airsoft game, it's where I met Henry (aka "Dominum"), it's where I got started, and it's funny that it should be the first place for me to try out this newfangled RBDA business. Completely unplanned, by the way.
Today was a good day to dive back into airsoft. There were very few incidents with rule violations and the admin, Matthew Ives (aka "Mives") handled them quickly to the point where they were almost a non-issue. Though conducted with a bit more flair and enthusiasm than in the past, the safety briefing was informative and easy to follow, and Mives made sure that everyone present understood the rules and conditions.
About forty players showed up to play today, and Green and Tan (hereon referred to as Alpha and Bravo, respectively) were evenly matched, eighteen versus nineteen players. There were a handful of new players, a group of them even coming from as far away as Augusta, GA, some veterans and a few old hands. Having been away from the sport so long, I only recognized a few faces, perhaps had some awkward re-introductions, and I apologize to anyone for forgetting who they were, but I was treated very respectfully, only got shot directly a couple of times (the rest were ricochets in the barn). I've got to say that I'm grateful for the receptiveness from the AOSC representatives, as well. It feels nice to actually be
wanted on the field.
Speaking of which, for those of you who don't know, Rattlesnake Ridge is a relatively small field--at least the parts we played on today--that's comprised of dirt roads and woodland surrounding a large sand pit, the rim of which consists of a high ridge and a low ridge. There's a ravine running off of the low ridge, and a wooden bridge over the ravine. The pit has two buildings in it, which were the CPs (control points) for today's game. We were also allowed access to a large barn, surrounded by flat, open horse pens.
The first scenario of the day consisted of capturing the CPs mentioned above. Alpha made a strong push at the beginning and managed to be the first ones to capture the pit. However, Bravo took a large risk and launched an assault on the pit from the lower ridge, pushing up through the ravine and over the rim, and took control of both buildings after ten minutes of fierce close-range fighting. This is where Alpha lost its advantage by becoming overly cautious. Rather than assaulting the pit directly, they attempted to surround it on the ridge before moving in. One soldier, John Butler, made a nice attempt to clear the pit with a far-flung grenade, but the explosive failed to go off. One or two other members of Alpha attempted to rush the buildings, but to no avail. The rest of the force kept its distance and Bravo managed to maintain its hold on the CPs for thirty minutes, thereby winning victory in the first match.
We trooped up to the barn for the second part of the game. The objective was simple: one team, with zero respawns and limited revives, was going to hold the barn while the other team, allowed one respawn per player and limited revives, assaulted it. Whoever had the barn after everyone on the opposite team was killed would win. Bravo held the barn first, but by this point Alpha had revised its tactics and managed to clear the barn rather quickly. Roles were reversed, and Alpha managed to hold out solidly, but not much longer than Bravo had. Alpha's defense finally crumbled as Bravo obscured their vision with smoke grenades and lined up to breach the barn.
There was a small game featuring pistols and shotguns during the lunch break... I don't know what went on, because I was eating and resting, but everyone who participated seemed to have enough fun, which is what matters.
After lunch, we returned to the barn for a new mission. One team would be split up and given a briefcase. One part of the team would be required to secure the barn while the other part of the team moved the briefcase up to it. The other team would attempt to disrupt the defenders and snatch the briefcase for themselves. Bravo started off with the briefcase, but they weren't ready for Alpha, which split into two separate forces themselves. The first group went after the briefcase, the second managed to clear and hold the barn. With that done, Mives attempted to switch things up to make it interesting, swapping the spawn points for Alpha and Bravo, but this backfired due to miscommunication. Alpha managed to get the briefcase and run it to their new spawn, though it was
extremely close. Cleric nearly managed to shoot down the carriers right at the woodline, but despite his efforts, Alpha secured victory.
The roles were reversed, but the spawn switch was not repeated. Bravo moved slowly starting out and Alpha managed to get the briefcase into the barn without any trouble. From there, they managed to effectively hold the barn, despite Bravo's best efforts. With Henry barking orders and the other members of Alpha dominated the field in front of the barn, they mounted a solid defense. Bravo managed to catch them off guard multiple times, charging the front door twice and attempting to rush through the field and to flank around the back, but to no avail.
Mives attempted to spice things up again by taking away Alpha's M60 (even to the point of grabbing it and running off), but it was a done deal. Bravo's resolve had been crushed, they were already feeling defeated, and Alpha had secured a hard-won victory.
After a brief rest to hydrate and reload, Mives called everyone back for the final event of the day, and the one I had been looking forward to the most: Chaos. The players were divided into four-man teams and sent off into the woods around the pit. The teams then hunted each other, and the players they killed were revived and added to their team strength. I came across Team M60, who had just acquired a few new members. They were ambushed by another team, and then again when Team DeathStar came in from the rear and absorbed them. Team DeathStar absorbed a few more teams, but was eventually defeated by Team Turtle, lead by none other than Henry himself.
After Chaos was over, players started to break off and leave. Those who were willing played a small post-game game to unwind, and I stayed long enough to take a couple of team pictures at the end of the day.
I know that this is a lot to read, but there was a lot that went on at today's game. I had fun, despite not playing. I'd like to think the AOSC again for allowing me onto the field, to Mives, who was extremely accomodating and even loaned me a radio after mine crapped out, and to the players who could have easily picked me as a free target and chose not to.
I'll see you all again February 7th. Thanks again for the great day!
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