3 minute read
AIRSOFT COMMANDER
COMMANDING AIRSOFT TEAMS
WE HAVE ALL TAKEN PART OF UNIQUE AIRSOFT GAMES, WITH DIFFERENT STORIES, MISSIONS, SCENARIOS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN BUT, IN MOST CASES, THERE IS ONE THING IN COMMON AND THAT IS THE FACTION COMMANDER; SOMEONE WILLING NOT TO PLAY SO THAT OTHERS CAN HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THEMSELVES! BUT WHAT’S LIKE TO COMMAND A FACTION? WHAT DOES ONE NEED - AND WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON OBSTACLES? AA LEGION MEMBER MIGUEL OLIVERA, FROM PORTUGAL, GIVES US AN IDEA…
Well, let’s talk about the obstacles first and let me tell you straight away, except a few extremely organized events where the teams sometimes are hand-picked, it’s impossible to prepare for everything. You will find teams that you will see at the start of the event, they will receive a mission or an objective and after that they will disappear! There will be teams with no way of communication amongst themselves, so when they start going back to respawns it will be hard to regroup with their own, so after that, they will probably join other groups or wander off aimlessly looking for their team. Sometimes the organization can make mistakes, like handing out wrong coordinates to objectives, placing mission items in the wrong place or just giving information that can have multiple interpretations and this may lead to confusion. So, it’s important to keep in mind that nothing will go 100% as planned.
Now let’s go over what one needs to command a faction, or even a large team. The first and most important resource that you will need is reliable a communication line with your faction, this will be the most important aspect of your “job”. Information needs to be spread out, missions need to be handed out and players need the feeling of an active chain of command, so they don’t feel “lost” or “abandoned” which could lead to demotivation.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a radio, phone calls or chat apps, what’s important is to have a two-way system of comms the whole game. I would recommend the use of chat apps; everyone has a smartphone these days but not everyone has radios, sometimes they might not be within range and there’s always the
issue of many players in the same radio channel. If you have access to the list of players before the event I recommend grouping teams in sections, squads or whatever you may call it, this way you can have a couple of people (Squad Leaders) in charge of each group, instead of having to command each individual team or independent player.
One thing that might also help, especially at larger events, is having a “comms officer”, someone helping you handle radio chatter, phone calls or chat apps. This way you can focus on other aspects of the event, handle information and planning ahead while not missing any important communications. These are the bases of that you need to handle a faction, of course games will differ, scenarios will vary and the teams present will be wildly different from each other. But with these bases you can adapt to each challenge.
Of course, commanding factions has a lot involved. You get to know a lot of teams and a lot of players, learn how they play and which ones commit to the event until the very last BB is fired. Of course, if the event goes wrong it’s always the commander’s fault, even when things go out of his control - and I’ve learned this throughout the years while commanding factions for many games. So I can say that not every experience will go well, so it’s better to prepare for it. But if you think you are up for it, take the challenge!
You can keep up to date with Miguel’s airsoft adventures, along with those of his “GHOST” teammates via their regularly updated Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/GhostOpsPortugal. AA
