5 minute read
AA LEGION: PORTUGAL
OP INTERIOR
MIGUEL IS FAST BECOMING A “SEASONED VET” IN THE AA LEGION AND WHEN HE POSES QUESTIONS LIKE “DO YOU LIKE AIRSOFT? DO YOU LIKE A GREAT GET-TOGETHER WITH PLAYERS FROM OTHER PARTS OF YOUR COUNTRY? AND ALL THIS WITH GOOD FOOD AND DRINKS?” YOU CAN SEE WHY AS HIS ENTHUSIASM FOR ALL THINGS AIRSOFT JUST KEEPS ON SHINING THROUGH!
In the past month of May, my team “The Ghosts” travelled to a town in Portugal called Castelo Branco, where we were invited by our friends from the USAC Airsoft Team to take part in an event. We arrived on Saturday and by the end of the afternoon we were welcomed in a pavilion equipped with most of what we needed, from WCs, kitchen appliances, electricity, and of course food and drinks! We had a great time talking with players until late at night. The next morning we woke up to a great breakfast and coffee!
But now let’s talk about the game, and we can’t talk about with without looking at the field! And oh boy, what a field! Over 1000 hectares (yes, one thousand), with pine and eucalyptus forests, rocky areas, buildings, a small river, and even a lake! The game itself had a simple “recipe”, two opposing factions fighting to collect artefacts around a specific, but big, area of the map, along with special missions that took place outside that area.
Each objective and mission had a certain score to it and in the end, the faction with the most points would win. Now, my team wasn’t part of any of these two factions, we were under the direct “orders” from the game’s organization (the USAC Team) and our goal was to be a balancing force in the game, so if one of the factions started to take a big lead we would be ordered to strike at them by being an OPFOR.
HOT LZ!
So, most of the time we were dropped by a jeep in a random position close to one of the faction’s objectives and proceeded to create chaos! We were even tasked once to attack one of the main bases and it was a memorable situation; we were dropped way behind enemy lines and proceded with a careful approach to the Blue base.
We got to 20-25 meters without being noticed and when we opened fire there were even screams from two photographers that were there at the moment! We eliminated everyone present in a flash attack, stole everything possible, and ran out before reinforcements arrived, then we hid in the woods and called our extraction; truly an Airsoft moment for the books!
After the game ended we had a great lunch (BBQ of course!) together with everyone present, followed by a giveaway with goodies from Gunfire! I want to make a special mention of this event as we welcomed into our midst the Serbian player Elvis Varcelija. He was invited by the organization but since we are close, and we already had a great connection with him, we picked him up at the airport; he stayed and travelled with us, and played along with my team in the event. It was great to learn about airsoft from Serbia, change opinions and show him a bit of Portugal and even how we play Airsoft here.
Elvis I know you are reading this, you will always be welcomed here!
ENDEX
To finish I asked my good friend Miguel Barata aka Snowhead, team leader of the USAC Airsoft team, and the organizer of Op. Interior for a few words about the event.
“Operation Interior aims to promote airsoft in Portugal and particularly in the Beira Baixa area, we aim to create a memorable game for all players who participate, and at the same time create something different in Portugal. We want to have a big game in Portugal where anyone from Portugal or even other European countries can come to play and get to know this beautiful part of our country.
Regarding the first edition of OP INTERIOR, we want to point out that the event went well; there were some technical flaws that were promptly resolved. During the course of the game we tried to create a model completely different from anything we’ve played before, giving the “faction leaders “ the ability to make decisions with the possibility of benefit or hazard at the same time; we also created a “Task Force” that was under the control of the organization in order to balance the game in case there was a big difference in the score.
We would like to thank our great friends from the “Ghost Ops” team for accepting the challenge of playing as a “Task Force”, you guys are the best! We also want to leave a shout-out to Elvis Varcelija for accepting our invitation to come to Portugal to play; I think it was very important to compare the airsoft that is practiced in the two countries. Elvis Varcelija, it was an honour for us to receive you in our house, and you already know our house is yours! Thanks for the opportunity.”
So, who knows, this could be the start of something for airsoft in Portugal, and perhaps next time we may even host some of the AA Legion to come and join us… and you too if the thought of playing airsoft with fellow enthusiasts in our beautiful country is attractive to you!
To keep an eye on what Miguel and his fellow “Ghosts” are up to next, be sure to check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ ghostopsairsoft AA
