VORSK VISION

IT’S TIME TO HEAD BACK TO PORTUGAL WITH MIGUEL TO CHECK OUT THE LATEST ITERATION OF THE “KIA” GAME THAT HE AND HIS FELLOW “GHOSTS” ATTEND EACH YEAR, MIXING IT UP WITH PLAYERS AND OTHER TEAMS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY! THIS IS WHAT THE AA LEGION IS ALL ABOUT, BRINGING STORIES FROM COMMUNITIES AROUND THE GLOBE TO ENLIGHTEN, ENTERTAIN, AND EXCITE, AND MIGUEL ALWAYS BRINGS US A LITTLE OF EACH ASPECT IN HIS OWN UNIQUE FASHION!

At the end of 2023, the national Association (ASSOCIAÇÃO NACIONAL DE AIRSOFT) that my team is part of normally divulges their calendar for the next year, and the “KIA” became the first event that they organize. It’s a special event for the community itself, since it pays homage to all players who are no longer among us, hence, the name, K.I.A. which we all know means “Killed In Action”.

We arrived early, even before the gates opened, so we could park and gear up with time to spare; of course it’s also crucial to engage in a few conversations with players from all over the country too! It’s great to see some players who you have known for years, trade a few words, laugh and check out new gear (it’s mandatory!). After gearing up, it was time to hit the check-in and chrono booths, and as always you get a bag with some trinkets, tickets for the post-game BBQ, a dog tag and this year a scratch card for the giveaways at the end. The chrono booths were divided by BB weight, and they would chrono your replica with the BBs that the players use.

Since the guys and I were some of the first to complete the check-in, we had some spare time to socialize a bit more, talk with the staff and even get a few photos done. But that’s not all, we also took some time in preparing our own booth to showcase some gear from Viper Tactical. The staff invited the ambassadors present at the game to set up a small stand and show the players the brand’s gear, and with many giveaways from Viper at the end, the players could see what they could win, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

As time went on, more and more players arrived at the area for the briefing; with that I also had the chance of talking a bit with the teams that were part of our “platoon”, since the factions were divided that way, and we would be doing missions together, it’s also important to have some organization among us. The guys and I were in the Tactical Faction (noncamo) and part of the 1st Platoon, along with the teams F.O.E., BTA and Tactical Triggers.

The briefing started with a few ceremonies with “awards” for the oldest Association member present, the team with the most members in game and the player who travelled the most. After this we got to meet our faction commanders, who were all active members of the Portuguese Armed Forces, invited specially for the event, and something that has become a tradition in KIA. And of course, the reading of the names of those who are no longer among us followed by a minute of silence; a moment with a heavy symbolism that all respected.

Getting The Game On

Since ANA does an online briefing about the game mechanics and rules, not much was needed in this respect during the game day. In my opinion, it’s a good way to help the players’ preparations for the game; as you already know what you may find, you can prepare your loadout accordingly.

After the briefing and ceremonies ended, the players lined up at the gate and started walking toward the field itself. Once we arrived at our HQ, our commander gathered the group leaders in order to organize our starting strategy and assign missions. I was leading the Charlie group, which was part of the 1st Platoon, and the first mission of the game, giving our faction access to Ares Alpha, was given to us. The objective was simple, but speed was key! We had to get the activation keys (two of them) and use them in an antenna device in order to get access to the navigation app and complete the mission. But since the other two factions (CAMO and BLUE JEANS) were also on the move, it would be best if we didn’t get caught in time-consuming combat, so we planned our route fast and moved to pick up the keys which were close to our HQ.

After getting the keys, which were really close by, we moved in a fast pace toward the antenna; my group was in front trying to get ahead of any potential enemy and set up a perimeter around the objective, but the whole platoon wasn’t far behind, and as soon as we found the antenna we quickly activated it and called in informing our HQ that the mission was completed. But, there was no time to rest, with the other platoons also on the move; we got the order to attack and control the Northern point (controlled by an Ares Alpha ATB), which was close to the CAMO faction HQ.

As we moved toward the Northern point, I noticed (in the Ares Alpha app) that the area was under the control of the CAMO faction, so we were up against an enemy force in a defensive position. With that in mind, we moved to a higher position and opened up a line to try and overwhelm the enemy, but with no luck. The “fight” lasted almost 40 minutes, with heavy casualties on both sides, but we were against the clock, because at 1200 we had to be present at

“AS WE MOVED SOUTH WE TRIED TO AVOID CONTACT AND GET TO THE MISSION AREA AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. OUR PLAN WAS TO BAIT THE ENEMY DEFENDERS TOWARDS THEIR NORTHERN FLANK, WHILE THE REST OF THE PLATOON MOVED FROM THE WEST. AND IT WORKED…” our HQ to receive our next main assignment. Great job by the CAMO faction, they held their positions well and forced us to retreat.

After returning to our HQ, we got an urgent mission, the BLUE JEANS faction were going to sabotage our Ares Alpha app, meaning that we couldn’t use it for some time and that would hinder use, so we had to stop them. The bad news was that to stop them, we had to get deep inside their territory and “short-circuit” the ATB box that was in their control at the time, and we had only 15 minutes to do it, which was almost impossible! We started moving, even without the whole of 1st Platoon present, but we didn’t get far. The BLUE JEANS HQ was in our way, and with a misunderstanding in the rules (since the HQ couldn’t be attacked), we lost some precious time and our Ares Alpha got sabotaged.

That didn’t mean that the mission was completely lost, we could still get it back if we completed the objective. But now we couldn’t navigate with the app, we had to use a good old map! Fortunately for us, the location of the objective was close to our HQ in the previous edition of the game, so we know our way around! The area was defended by some enemies, but with an attack from several angles, and some knowledge of the area, some guys were able to reach the ATB and short-circuit it. Hence, mission completed!

RESUPPLY, REHYDRATE, BUT NO REST!

We returned to our HQ, and at this time the day’s heat was rising fast, and some players were feeling it! We had a few minutes to hydrate and eat something quick, but soon after we were called back to the commander’s tent. The mission that we just completed not only gave us navigation back, it also allowed the faction to get ahead in the score, but the BLUE JEANS were right behind us, and everything could change fast. So we were tasked with capturing the southern ATB point (the same point from the previous mission), and stop the enemy from gathering the points that it gives while under control. Once the 1st Platoon had gathered, we set out southwards, but this time through a path far from the enemy HQ. At this time in the game, the CAMO faction was almost a no show, they were far behind in the score, and had pretty much no way of catching up with the TACTICAL and BLUE JEANS factions.

As we moved South we tried to avoid contact and get to the mission area as fast as possible. Our plan was to bait the enemy defenders towards their northern flank, while the rest of the platoon moved from the West. And it worked, while the enemy focused on our positions, and even advanced after us like crazy (some players are like that), they created a huge gap in their defences, and that allowed the rest of 1st Platoon to capture and control the objective. Of course, our bait group was completely eliminated, and since we had to be in our HQ by 1400, we returned and took some time to recharge our batteries and hydrate again.

The last mission was close; the faction in the lead would have to defend their commander in a last skirmish against the two other factions at the same time, until the end of the game. And with a strong shout, the commander ordered everyone to get ready and gather around for the last briefing. Our faction was in the lead (cheers all around!) and we had to set up defences, each platoon (from the 1st to the 4th) was assigned a specific area to defend, and 1st Platoon was in charge of defending the Northern sector, probably against the CAMO faction, since their HQ was in that direction.

It was time to defend, and it was our first time during the whole event! We designed a two line defence, with group Alpha and Bravo ahead of us, and Charlie (Ghost Ops and Tactical Triggers) entrenched behind them, in case they needed to ball back to a new position. Not long after, we could hear the fighting, coming mostly from the Eastern flank, but it didn’t take long for enemies to appear in our sector; fortunately for us, we had good defensive positions and even an LMG. The enemy had no chance, the defenders were well positioned, and until the end of the event we never had to fall back, and the mission was completed with success! It was time to head back…

The way back was tough, we were close to 30ºC and the players were tired; some even had to get a ride from the staff because they weren’t feeling well. As soon as I got to the “village” (the safe zone) I took my vest off and sat on the ground against a wall in the shade, it felt like heaven! But the event wasn’t over! We still had the BBQ, giveaways, and I was invited by the staff to set up a stand showcasing Viper Tactical gear. So there was still work to do!

With the help of my guys and Almeida (who is also an ambassador for Viper) we set up the stand and welcomed all who wanted to learn more about the brand, at the same time some of my guys brought me some most welcome food ...and a cold beer!

As always I am happy to put some words here from the event organisers themselves, the great team from ANA that made this game possible!

“Killed in action 4 – Next Gen, was once again developed to be more than just a game. In KIA, we want to create an Airsoft Festival Environment to complement the game experience. Every year we celebrate our community, and the Portuguese players or ex-players who passed away recently. And the best way to celebrate life and one community is with fun and good vibes!

This edition of KIA was named Next Gen. We wanted to modernize the military identity of this series for the new ages. War is way more modern now, with drones, technology and ways of battling as units. And we wanted to develop missions and ambiance set on modern days’ warfare. Players used several technology props, launched UAV, used Drone teams, dig up graves to confirm victims identities, etc. And we wanted to give teams the Choice to select which missions to make. At the command center, all missions were showcased with a short synopsis tagged along and the distance to the objective. So, they would get the choice to do what they feel like it.

It was also Next Gen because we wanted to modernize and make Airsoft attractive to people who still don’t know this exists and are curious by action games. Weeks before the event, we worked together with video maker partners to develop social media clips and full-blown airsoft videos with KIA setting as a background. The reach of the videos was amazing, our metrics show that we made Airsoft reach several new targets outside the sport, that will ultimately grow our Portuguese community. Portugal’s Airsoft Scene is getting larger every week!

And it was Next Gen because new people reached our organization recently, new people volunteered to work with us, and new partners are now closer to us. The amount of sponsors that were part of this project was amazing! Together we were all able to create an amazing experience for all participants. 30+ giveaways was a record in our events, and you know how we drafted it? With a KIA 4 Prize Scratch Card. Now, that’s NEXT GEN!”

The event ended with some great giveaways, using a scratch system, and then it was time for all the factions to head home and get some well-earned rest… until the next time! AA