A Farewell to Arms: The Last D-DAy
The Gates of D-Day Welcome You
There are certain rare games that everyone in paintball knows. Living Legends. SuperGame. Fulda Gap. And the one that might be the most famous, Oklahoma D-Day. I've been reading about the game for well over a decade, and had talked about going for the last few years with a friend that had fallen out of playing. We had read about it in awe when we were kids starting to play, and his kid just graduated from high school, to put that in perspective. When I heard that it was going to be the final one, I connected with him to see if he might be interested in playing. I definitely wanted to make it out---I consider it a bucket list game. While he couldn't make it, I got myself a week long pass, started prepping myself for the game, and got my ass out there.
Tanky tank tank tank
A Different Kind of Game
For those that don't know about D-Day, understand that it's a true, large scenario. This means that it's very different from many in that it operates with a military-style command structure, meaning that there is a General, XO, and then many, many direct commands under them. This includes multiple large groups (literally up to hundreds of players) that operate as infantry, special forces, tanks, recon, and the Tactical Operations Command, aka communications.
This command unit requires experience, strategic minds, discipline, and trust. It is not a couple hundred players under a General and XO with missions that are for the full team saying go here and hold territory X or pick up this prop. It's a lot more complex than that at the command level. If haven't played in something like this before, seeing it for the first time is impressive. The only other big scenario I have personally played like this is Fulda, and they seem very similar in that right.
Each unit has it's own goals within the over-arching team goals, and they can vary greatly. Sometimes you're going to be the focus. Sometimes you'll be on the side. And sometimes you're the sacrificial lamb. And that's okay. Any and all of those spots can be fun and useful to the team. The important thing is that the entire side is pulling the same direction.
For me, after checking out possible units, I had an idea of where I'd want to go. I posted on Facebook, and was contacted about going German Special Forces. And so I went.
For those that don't know about D-Day, understand that it's a true, large scenario. This means that it's very different from many in that it operates with a military-style command structure, meaning that there is a General, XO, and then many, many direct commands under them. This includes multiple large groups (literally up to hundreds of players) that operate as infantry, special forces, tanks, recon, and the Tactical Operations Command, aka communications.
This command unit requires experience, strategic minds, discipline, and trust. It is not a couple hundred players under a General and XO with missions that are for the full team saying go here and hold territory X or pick up this prop. It's a lot more complex than that at the command level. If haven't played in something like this before, seeing it for the first time is impressive. The only other big scenario I have personally played like this is Fulda, and they seem very similar in that right.
Each unit has it's own goals within the over-arching team goals, and they can vary greatly. Sometimes you're going to be the focus. Sometimes you'll be on the side. And sometimes you're the sacrificial lamb. And that's okay. Any and all of those spots can be fun and useful to the team. The important thing is that the entire side is pulling the same direction.
For me, after checking out possible units, I had an idea of where I'd want to go. I posted on Facebook, and was contacted about going German Special Forces. And so I went.
The line of old military trucks in front of the tower at D-Day Adventure Park
Prepping for War
I know, dramatic title here, right? Well, what I am taking about is a multi-front war, and not the one that you're thinking of. This war involved two enemies, both of which come from mother nature---ticks and heat.
If you read any Facebook postings prior to the game, they SCREAM about two things to take seriously, and neither are the other team's players. There was post after post in the Facebook groups about murdering ticks through several tricks, and hydrating. It cannot be stressed enough, and was beaten into the ground prior to the week's events. Both needed to be taken seriously.
The tick prep was pretty simple. Everyone hates those little bastards, so I wanted to give them the death that they deserved. Deet was my friend. I took all my gear, doused it in tick repellent (liquid bug murder), and got dog collars for around my boots. I also got myself tick spray, and Under Armor for under my pants and shirt.
Speaking of Under Armor, the second enemy is a hell of a lot more dangerous, and it is heat. It's hotter than balls out. Quite literally. It's a heat index of 105-110 between the heat and humidity, and frankly made for some dangerous conditions for the players. Multiple players, by Thursday, had already suffered heat stroke, with multiple putting themselves into situations considered critical. Hydration was constantly stressed, and not being honest with yourself and failing to absolutely load up on water put several peeople into dangerous situations. It's hot. The field is big. There's an assload of walking. Shade and liquid were absolutely, not remotely kidding, 100% necessary. If you somehow didn't get the message from other players, mother nature was more than willing to do so in a punishing fashion.
I know, dramatic title here, right? Well, what I am taking about is a multi-front war, and not the one that you're thinking of. This war involved two enemies, both of which come from mother nature---ticks and heat.
If you read any Facebook postings prior to the game, they SCREAM about two things to take seriously, and neither are the other team's players. There was post after post in the Facebook groups about murdering ticks through several tricks, and hydrating. It cannot be stressed enough, and was beaten into the ground prior to the week's events. Both needed to be taken seriously.
The tick prep was pretty simple. Everyone hates those little bastards, so I wanted to give them the death that they deserved. Deet was my friend. I took all my gear, doused it in tick repellent (liquid bug murder), and got dog collars for around my boots. I also got myself tick spray, and Under Armor for under my pants and shirt.
Speaking of Under Armor, the second enemy is a hell of a lot more dangerous, and it is heat. It's hotter than balls out. Quite literally. It's a heat index of 105-110 between the heat and humidity, and frankly made for some dangerous conditions for the players. Multiple players, by Thursday, had already suffered heat stroke, with multiple putting themselves into situations considered critical. Hydration was constantly stressed, and not being honest with yourself and failing to absolutely load up on water put several peeople into dangerous situations. It's hot. The field is big. There's an assload of walking. Shade and liquid were absolutely, not remotely kidding, 100% necessary. If you somehow didn't get the message from other players, mother nature was more than willing to do so in a punishing fashion.
Our limos to the field
Checking Out
Just a warning---this section isn't going to be pretty, and does need to be said. Some prep that really didn't seem to be done---at all---was handled (or really, not handled) by the field. This doesn't give me even a little pleasure to write, but frankly the field put people in real, physical danger with what I would only call negligence. This is the last year for the event here, which everyone knows. The field also has had two years, due to Covid, to prep for it. Very little prep seems to have actually happened.
Why do I say that? The field, including major areas of conflict, hadn't been fixed up leading up to the event. Players and volunteers were fixing major buildings during the week of the games. Major things like the second floor of the church in the center of the field were structurally unsound (yet still being put into play) and had holes in the ramp leading up to said second floor. Huge swathes of brambles across a beach head, with several other areas being overgrown. There are also multiple areas with rebar just sticking out of bunkers all over the field. Know what no one likes? A frickin' one inch hole added to their bodies involuntarily.
Which brings me to the most dangerous oversight---complete lack of medical care for the event at all for almost of the event. Honestly, this was egregious. As I've established, it was hotter than hell (multiple days of 100+ degree heat index), and multiple people went down because of it. It was just flat-out dangerous. For every day of a week long event except Saturday, the care for these players wasn't taken care of by the field, and local emergency units weren't told of the event with any advanced notice. If you're wondering how I know this, it would be because I spoke with a local EMT directly after the event at my hotel. His unit sent 4 people on Saturday, and he told me, "We would have sent more if we had more notice. We normally have 20 people available. We only had 4 because of the late notice."
There was no one onsite at all Monday through Friday, and we were told the absolute fastest any ambulance would make it to the field is 20 minutes. With heat stroke, that can be the difference between life and death---quite literally. The players, instead of being taken care of by medical personnel onsite, were being taken to the German High Command tent, which happened to have multiple people who professionally do this on their team. Other players were literally donating medical supplies, coolers, water, and other equipment to the GHC tent to try and help.
Frankly, this never should have happened. These injuries were entirely predictable for this event. Everyone knew it going in. Yet no one was brought in for 5 days of play despite there being several with 110-115 degree heat index weather, as had been done in years past. There was a tent ready for emergency medical services set up, but no one was hired or alerted for the first 5 days of dangerously hot play. Instead, nothing was done and it fell on players who then had to take time out of their vacations to keep players from literally dying at the field. And those players that could help did just that. But it never, ever should have fallen on them.
Beyond being a morally questionable move at best---being too cheap to actually protect your customers---it's also shocking from a liability standpoint. While everyone signs a waiver, pretty much everyone also knows professional negligence from things like not taking care of field and not having medical services onsite in a somewhat dangerous environment sure as hell isn't going to be covered in that waiver. This was actually pretty jarring and extremely disappointing to see.
The last point of contention was the chrono use, or lack thereof. The refs wandering the field and with some reinsertions had a chrono. However, most spawn points did not, and all it took was either a standard hole punch or one visit at any point of the week with any gun you happened to have in your hand to the chrono to get your card punched. In other words, if you chrono'ed on Monday, that meant you were good for the week whenever you entered the field and with any gun in your gear bag. I've actually never seen a scenario this lax about velocity checks. Ever.
And if you think that there was a ref normally stationed at the chrono, think again. German High Command literally had to bring a Big Red Chrono over and man it for a while to get some people checked, as there was an extremely long line in one of the times that there was one there, and there was a traffic jam. Yet another safety issue that should have been addressed.
Just a warning---this section isn't going to be pretty, and does need to be said. Some prep that really didn't seem to be done---at all---was handled (or really, not handled) by the field. This doesn't give me even a little pleasure to write, but frankly the field put people in real, physical danger with what I would only call negligence. This is the last year for the event here, which everyone knows. The field also has had two years, due to Covid, to prep for it. Very little prep seems to have actually happened.
Why do I say that? The field, including major areas of conflict, hadn't been fixed up leading up to the event. Players and volunteers were fixing major buildings during the week of the games. Major things like the second floor of the church in the center of the field were structurally unsound (yet still being put into play) and had holes in the ramp leading up to said second floor. Huge swathes of brambles across a beach head, with several other areas being overgrown. There are also multiple areas with rebar just sticking out of bunkers all over the field. Know what no one likes? A frickin' one inch hole added to their bodies involuntarily.
Which brings me to the most dangerous oversight---complete lack of medical care for the event at all for almost of the event. Honestly, this was egregious. As I've established, it was hotter than hell (multiple days of 100+ degree heat index), and multiple people went down because of it. It was just flat-out dangerous. For every day of a week long event except Saturday, the care for these players wasn't taken care of by the field, and local emergency units weren't told of the event with any advanced notice. If you're wondering how I know this, it would be because I spoke with a local EMT directly after the event at my hotel. His unit sent 4 people on Saturday, and he told me, "We would have sent more if we had more notice. We normally have 20 people available. We only had 4 because of the late notice."
There was no one onsite at all Monday through Friday, and we were told the absolute fastest any ambulance would make it to the field is 20 minutes. With heat stroke, that can be the difference between life and death---quite literally. The players, instead of being taken care of by medical personnel onsite, were being taken to the German High Command tent, which happened to have multiple people who professionally do this on their team. Other players were literally donating medical supplies, coolers, water, and other equipment to the GHC tent to try and help.
Frankly, this never should have happened. These injuries were entirely predictable for this event. Everyone knew it going in. Yet no one was brought in for 5 days of play despite there being several with 110-115 degree heat index weather, as had been done in years past. There was a tent ready for emergency medical services set up, but no one was hired or alerted for the first 5 days of dangerously hot play. Instead, nothing was done and it fell on players who then had to take time out of their vacations to keep players from literally dying at the field. And those players that could help did just that. But it never, ever should have fallen on them.
Beyond being a morally questionable move at best---being too cheap to actually protect your customers---it's also shocking from a liability standpoint. While everyone signs a waiver, pretty much everyone also knows professional negligence from things like not taking care of field and not having medical services onsite in a somewhat dangerous environment sure as hell isn't going to be covered in that waiver. This was actually pretty jarring and extremely disappointing to see.
The last point of contention was the chrono use, or lack thereof. The refs wandering the field and with some reinsertions had a chrono. However, most spawn points did not, and all it took was either a standard hole punch or one visit at any point of the week with any gun you happened to have in your hand to the chrono to get your card punched. In other words, if you chrono'ed on Monday, that meant you were good for the week whenever you entered the field and with any gun in your gear bag. I've actually never seen a scenario this lax about velocity checks. Ever.
And if you think that there was a ref normally stationed at the chrono, think again. German High Command literally had to bring a Big Red Chrono over and man it for a while to get some people checked, as there was an extremely long line in one of the times that there was one there, and there was a traffic jam. Yet another safety issue that should have been addressed.
A highlight of the event: Meeting and playing with a couple of the Venomous Ducks. Really good dudes I would play with anytime!
Play Time
So I arrived late Monday night, and spent my first few minutes trying to figure out exactly where the hell I was. The field is in the middle of nowhere, on hills, and has a rolling road going up to the parking lot---which is massive. I ended up signing up with German Special Forces, who told me to sign in with the German High Command upon arrival. I did, but not before running into an Allied player who gave me directions (Thanks!!) and then told me about an open bar (Thanks again!!). After checking in and meeting my new teammates, we had our first mission---go to said open bar on the Allied side and get free drinks from them. Happy to say myself and my new German brothers and sister were able to make that happen. While there, we witnessed a Hall of Fame induction, a General being promoted, and found out who several of our opposing forces officers were and what they looked like.
Day 2 was a bit different. As I mentioned, I signed up for German SpecOps. These units actually did training during the week, leading up to the main games. I am not going into exactly what the training was, just in case another ownership group takes over and runs the game back, but I can tell you it was run by several former and active military personnel, and covered things like CQB and tactics that we would use in coordinated fashion on the field.
And it wasn't just classroom training. We did it during the day, multiple times, and did field walks to figure out how we would handle our objectives prior to us getting tossed into the fire on Saturday. While it definitely used up a lot of time and effort, it was also a good learning experience, helped you to get to know your teammates better, and was good to help you get to visualize your objectives. It was well worth doing.
So I arrived late Monday night, and spent my first few minutes trying to figure out exactly where the hell I was. The field is in the middle of nowhere, on hills, and has a rolling road going up to the parking lot---which is massive. I ended up signing up with German Special Forces, who told me to sign in with the German High Command upon arrival. I did, but not before running into an Allied player who gave me directions (Thanks!!) and then told me about an open bar (Thanks again!!). After checking in and meeting my new teammates, we had our first mission---go to said open bar on the Allied side and get free drinks from them. Happy to say myself and my new German brothers and sister were able to make that happen. While there, we witnessed a Hall of Fame induction, a General being promoted, and found out who several of our opposing forces officers were and what they looked like.
Day 2 was a bit different. As I mentioned, I signed up for German SpecOps. These units actually did training during the week, leading up to the main games. I am not going into exactly what the training was, just in case another ownership group takes over and runs the game back, but I can tell you it was run by several former and active military personnel, and covered things like CQB and tactics that we would use in coordinated fashion on the field.
And it wasn't just classroom training. We did it during the day, multiple times, and did field walks to figure out how we would handle our objectives prior to us getting tossed into the fire on Saturday. While it definitely used up a lot of time and effort, it was also a good learning experience, helped you to get to know your teammates better, and was good to help you get to visualize your objectives. It was well worth doing.
Troop Transport!
As for the mini games during the week---the were exactly that. They were only a couple of hours a day, and are just for fun. They don't count for points. They mix teams between Allies and Germans, and were honestly like glorified rec ball. There's nothing wrong with that, and I get it---they couldn't expect even teams in games on a Wednesday morning at 10AM. A lot of players don't have the week off, and were arriving at random times. They were fun to play in. But weren't overly special, and they were only for an hour or so a day. They were a nice warm up and 'welcome back to paintball' moment for me, since I hadn't been able to do much since Covid started. But I would be lying if I didn't say I was expecting more.
Also of note---in terms of just basics of running a game. Again, there was almost never a ref at the chrono station, and when one was there might only be one ref total. There are over 1400 pre-registered players for the event, and it was expected to have between 1,500 and 2,000 players. Go read what I just said about the chrono station and refs again. Does this make any sense to you?
Police your kiddos
And, as a parent, there was a moment that did bother me that I saw while with the German High Command during the week. A young boy who had played on the Allied side had taken some tough hits during play, and needed to come in. After taking those hits, he looked up and had been completely lost by his unit. He couldn't find them and had no idea where they went.
He was brought to the GHC tent by two players who had gone out of their way to take care of him after his own unit had lost him. The German High Command helped him get to where he needed to be, but it was painfully obvious that he was hurt and confused by being left behind, and did not know what to do. He literally could not speak when people tried to introduce themselves, calm him down, and comfort him. This shouldn't have happened. I am glad that the German officers got him back to his campsite, but bothered that his own people weren't able to keep tabs on him or give him a way to find them. Please, remember that if you have kiddos with you to stick with them and have a plan for what to do that they are capable of for when you do get split up.
Magfed Players
There was supposed to be some nice stuff for the magfed crowd, but that didn't really go as planned. The organizers did change a magfed/pump game that was supposed to be an hour, and then open class after that, to just a one hour open game with no notice. Not at all cool, and several magfed players weren't thrilled with that move. They also got the additional slap of an extremely limited amount of First Strikes, which were sold out by Tuesday. Again, not cool, and if you're noticing a pattern of not seeming to give a damn about the players, you've been paying attention.
Also of note---in terms of just basics of running a game. Again, there was almost never a ref at the chrono station, and when one was there might only be one ref total. There are over 1400 pre-registered players for the event, and it was expected to have between 1,500 and 2,000 players. Go read what I just said about the chrono station and refs again. Does this make any sense to you?
Police your kiddos
And, as a parent, there was a moment that did bother me that I saw while with the German High Command during the week. A young boy who had played on the Allied side had taken some tough hits during play, and needed to come in. After taking those hits, he looked up and had been completely lost by his unit. He couldn't find them and had no idea where they went.
He was brought to the GHC tent by two players who had gone out of their way to take care of him after his own unit had lost him. The German High Command helped him get to where he needed to be, but it was painfully obvious that he was hurt and confused by being left behind, and did not know what to do. He literally could not speak when people tried to introduce themselves, calm him down, and comfort him. This shouldn't have happened. I am glad that the German officers got him back to his campsite, but bothered that his own people weren't able to keep tabs on him or give him a way to find them. Please, remember that if you have kiddos with you to stick with them and have a plan for what to do that they are capable of for when you do get split up.
Magfed Players
There was supposed to be some nice stuff for the magfed crowd, but that didn't really go as planned. The organizers did change a magfed/pump game that was supposed to be an hour, and then open class after that, to just a one hour open game with no notice. Not at all cool, and several magfed players weren't thrilled with that move. They also got the additional slap of an extremely limited amount of First Strikes, which were sold out by Tuesday. Again, not cool, and if you're noticing a pattern of not seeming to give a damn about the players, you've been paying attention.
I will stab a bitch for my magfed game
Friday
One of the beach landings that is supposed to determine the Allies starting location takes place on Friday, and lasts for 3 hours with lots of gun fights and huge masses of people coming up the beachhead. The ground taken here then sets the Saturday starting spots for the Allies, and strategies for the beginning of Saturday are then tweaked by Generals as needed. I was actually really excited and had a hard time sleeping for this, as it was the kick off of the game in earnest.
Or at least it was supposed to.
Remember the theme of not giving a damn about players? It came to a head on Friday.
As everyone knows and it had been beaten into every single players' head over social media, it's extremely, dangerously hot at D-Day. This was very well known for years, and it's not like the game was suddenly being hosted in Duluth, Minnesota. Players, organizers, vendors---everyone---knew it would be extremely hot. Yet again, the owner made no preparations to have medics on-hand. That decision, along with the weather being exactly as hot and humid as expected, forced Friday's kick off of the scenario to be entirely canceled.
I actually can't think of a way to tell the players that you didn't give a damn about them any more directly.
One of the beach landings that is supposed to determine the Allies starting location takes place on Friday, and lasts for 3 hours with lots of gun fights and huge masses of people coming up the beachhead. The ground taken here then sets the Saturday starting spots for the Allies, and strategies for the beginning of Saturday are then tweaked by Generals as needed. I was actually really excited and had a hard time sleeping for this, as it was the kick off of the game in earnest.
Or at least it was supposed to.
Remember the theme of not giving a damn about players? It came to a head on Friday.
As everyone knows and it had been beaten into every single players' head over social media, it's extremely, dangerously hot at D-Day. This was very well known for years, and it's not like the game was suddenly being hosted in Duluth, Minnesota. Players, organizers, vendors---everyone---knew it would be extremely hot. Yet again, the owner made no preparations to have medics on-hand. That decision, along with the weather being exactly as hot and humid as expected, forced Friday's kick off of the scenario to be entirely canceled.
I actually can't think of a way to tell the players that you didn't give a damn about them any more directly.
Evan, left, one of the really good guys here who actually did give a damn about other players and took care of those who were in danger from heat stroke
To those that had paid for the week long pass, this meant that they essentially took a week off of work and paid either hundreds or thousands for travel and hotels in order to basically play a one day scenario and a couple of glorified pick up events. Those with a three day pass got off slightly cheaper, but likely only got to play for a day, as Thursday was an early morning game (that kicked off late), and a tank battle. Every single part of Friday was insulting to the players. All of it.
Friday was a giant middle finger to the players that had taken the time to travel out to the game and to the officers on both sides. After the cancellation took place, the field owner released a statement trying to act as though he was the good guy, saying that he was trying to keep people safe by cancelling Friday since they had not been able to get medics. This statement completely ignored the fact that they made very little effort to get one for any of the week leading up to Friday (which it wasn't at all addressed, even though there had been people in critical condition from the heat stroke, with literally dozens more on Thursday that had less severe heat stroke), did mention that he had tried to get EMTs with very little notice (under 10 days) when people were dropping like flies, and that they had two years to secure those services.
Beyond that, he called any games besides Saturday a "bonus," implying that the only game that mattered was Saturday's.
That claim is flat-out bullshit.
It was incredibly insulting to the 2,000 players who had made the efforts to be there. Tickets were sold as 3 day or 1 week passes---not Saturday, along with other days if you're lucky. The event is literally advertised as a week long event. It's a week of scheduled games and events that players had come to play for throughout the week. They paid to play for a 3 or 6 days. It's could not be more apparent that the owner put in the bare minimum amount of efforts for the week's events and didn't care about them when a dismissive statement like that comes out of their mouths.
It was condescending and insulted the intelligence of the players he was directing it to, and showed a complete lack of willingness to own up to any responsibility whatsoever for an entirely preventable situation by the person who was most directly the cause of the week's problems.
Friday was a giant middle finger to the players that had taken the time to travel out to the game and to the officers on both sides. After the cancellation took place, the field owner released a statement trying to act as though he was the good guy, saying that he was trying to keep people safe by cancelling Friday since they had not been able to get medics. This statement completely ignored the fact that they made very little effort to get one for any of the week leading up to Friday (which it wasn't at all addressed, even though there had been people in critical condition from the heat stroke, with literally dozens more on Thursday that had less severe heat stroke), did mention that he had tried to get EMTs with very little notice (under 10 days) when people were dropping like flies, and that they had two years to secure those services.
Beyond that, he called any games besides Saturday a "bonus," implying that the only game that mattered was Saturday's.
That claim is flat-out bullshit.
It was incredibly insulting to the 2,000 players who had made the efforts to be there. Tickets were sold as 3 day or 1 week passes---not Saturday, along with other days if you're lucky. The event is literally advertised as a week long event. It's a week of scheduled games and events that players had come to play for throughout the week. They paid to play for a 3 or 6 days. It's could not be more apparent that the owner put in the bare minimum amount of efforts for the week's events and didn't care about them when a dismissive statement like that comes out of their mouths.
It was condescending and insulted the intelligence of the players he was directing it to, and showed a complete lack of willingness to own up to any responsibility whatsoever for an entirely preventable situation by the person who was most directly the cause of the week's problems.
GerSoc Unit Commander Eric Langkamp looking commander-y, with longtime D-Day veteran and GHC member Psycho in the background
Saturday
The final battle was finally here, and started differently because of the shitshow on Friday. The organizers had decided to play it from 9AM to 5PM, with beachhead assaults that normally would have taken place Friday moved to Saturday instead, and game time kicking the entire field off. In case you were wonder, yes, hotter than balls again.
My unit was sent to an area of the field to watch for where we thought that there might be an Allied drop to light them up as they entered play, or to look for an opposing push. While neither event happened, what we did get fed was a steady diet of armor. The eight of us didn't have an A/T pipe, but a guy wandered over to us who definitely did, and we protected him while he went to work.
A/T launchers here are different than an event like Fulda, where Havoc launchers are a way of life. At D-Day, they use PVC tubes, a different color of paint, and ten round tubes feeding into a regular paintball marker. To kill armor, you needed to hit a 5 x 5 square. That meant that they tend to be some of the most accurate shooters on the field. Our guy lived up to that, knocking out almost a half dozen of their tanks and planes in under an hour while we were there. We lit up the tank gunners. He dropped the armor.
After that, we were sent to Omaha beach. There we found the drop we had been expecting at our previous area of operation. This was where we got into our first real gun fights. Omaha Beach, for those that have not been to D-Day, is an absolute bitch to take. It's extremely steep, isn't exactly laden with cover, and the terrain does you zero favors. While I could go more into what I was doing, instead I want to pivot to this and give the Allied players some props.
They managed to score on this beach head. I can tell you that I took one look at it in a field walk and was glad I had no part in trying to attack it. It looks like an absolute bitch to fight uphill against, and from all accounts it is just that. They put in a hell of a lot of efforts, and did manage to score points there. For that, a tip of the mask.
And that's how the morning went. Allies spent the morning hammering away, and frankly doing a lot of damage. They were effective all over the field, and should be extremely proud of that effort.
The final battle was finally here, and started differently because of the shitshow on Friday. The organizers had decided to play it from 9AM to 5PM, with beachhead assaults that normally would have taken place Friday moved to Saturday instead, and game time kicking the entire field off. In case you were wonder, yes, hotter than balls again.
My unit was sent to an area of the field to watch for where we thought that there might be an Allied drop to light them up as they entered play, or to look for an opposing push. While neither event happened, what we did get fed was a steady diet of armor. The eight of us didn't have an A/T pipe, but a guy wandered over to us who definitely did, and we protected him while he went to work.
A/T launchers here are different than an event like Fulda, where Havoc launchers are a way of life. At D-Day, they use PVC tubes, a different color of paint, and ten round tubes feeding into a regular paintball marker. To kill armor, you needed to hit a 5 x 5 square. That meant that they tend to be some of the most accurate shooters on the field. Our guy lived up to that, knocking out almost a half dozen of their tanks and planes in under an hour while we were there. We lit up the tank gunners. He dropped the armor.
After that, we were sent to Omaha beach. There we found the drop we had been expecting at our previous area of operation. This was where we got into our first real gun fights. Omaha Beach, for those that have not been to D-Day, is an absolute bitch to take. It's extremely steep, isn't exactly laden with cover, and the terrain does you zero favors. While I could go more into what I was doing, instead I want to pivot to this and give the Allied players some props.
They managed to score on this beach head. I can tell you that I took one look at it in a field walk and was glad I had no part in trying to attack it. It looks like an absolute bitch to fight uphill against, and from all accounts it is just that. They put in a hell of a lot of efforts, and did manage to score points there. For that, a tip of the mask.
And that's how the morning went. Allies spent the morning hammering away, and frankly doing a lot of damage. They were effective all over the field, and should be extremely proud of that effort.
And now, it's time to Hail Hydra
Then, the afternoon came and the Hailing of Hydra began. The Germans side pushed back---hard. They held two major areas of conflict, not allowing points at the Airfield and dominating the Strip Malls and Church. There were times that these areas were actually being held with very few players, but the Allies didn't seem to know when and where to actually make what would have been valuable, winnable pushes when they would have severely outnumbered the Germans with nearby forces.
Other German forces ran missions and pushed hard for points, and Hydra came roaring back. The Allies early gains were wiped out in the afternoon, and ultimately the Germans pulled ahead and kicked the window of opportunity that the Allies had opened shut.
And while that matters, a hell of a lot more important was that both sides were in the fight and seemed to be having a lot of fun all day. It was a competitive game, played (mostly) cleanly, and was a really great day of play. Paint flew everywhere. People were shot. Hills were climbed. Smoke was popped. Scouts passed information. Tanks rolled. Planes also rolled. It was the kind of stuff that you play scenario games to do. And for this day, and it was great (at least for me, mileage may vary) and all was right in the world.
Other German forces ran missions and pushed hard for points, and Hydra came roaring back. The Allies early gains were wiped out in the afternoon, and ultimately the Germans pulled ahead and kicked the window of opportunity that the Allies had opened shut.
And while that matters, a hell of a lot more important was that both sides were in the fight and seemed to be having a lot of fun all day. It was a competitive game, played (mostly) cleanly, and was a really great day of play. Paint flew everywhere. People were shot. Hills were climbed. Smoke was popped. Scouts passed information. Tanks rolled. Planes also rolled. It was the kind of stuff that you play scenario games to do. And for this day, and it was great (at least for me, mileage may vary) and all was right in the world.
Check out my unit
So what do you make of this?
So how do you sum this up? How do you wrap up the the final D-Day? I'm a FNG who only got to play it once, so my opinion will likely differ greatly from those who spent years there. But from my perspective it just offered some of the best and worst of all things paintball.
I'll start with the bad. The heat was hell, and almost nothing was done to prepare for very obvious incoming overexertion. There was little-to-no effort seemingly put into the weekday games, beyond 'toss the players into a bus and drop them off at the field.' The field was in rough shape when players arrived, with major problems being very apparent and not being fixed prior to the event. The chrono-ing---ugh. Magfed players had very little done to cater to them and their style of play. There were some Mike Tyson-level dick punches thrown at players here.
Then, there's the good. The Saturday game itself was extremely fun, at least for me. I can honestly say that until Saturday, I had never deployed from a tank, let alone in a hot zone. I can say that I have now. And yep, it's fun. Killing pushes in their cribs from the strip mall was great. Lighting up tank gunners while a buddy takes them out is also my bag. I had a great time.
And more importantly, I'll remember the guys I met there. The German High Command and the players I met in Ger Soc were exactly what I hoped to see. The guys from Venomous Ducks, who were funny as hell off the field and nasty on it. The guys from Mitten Men, who not only had another pink gun enthusiast, but could kick copious amounts of ass when called upon. The Central Arkansas crew who didn't have a person among them that couldn't sling it. My unit commander Eric, who got to know us on and off the field, put us in positions to had a great time, would constantly lose all his gear one piece at a time for Mike to find, and do damage where we could. Our XO and his boys, who were great dudes to just be around and play with. Ivan, the German General, who has the personality and enthusiasm to make people want to follow him, and the brain to back it up. Pyscho, who had great stories, helped out a scared kid, and helped the team win. AJ, who ran comms like a machine. Head Hunter, who taught us how to clear rooms in CQB and backed it up with one hell of a real life example. Treebeard, who despite being an absolute rock on Saturday, is still likely OSS. Kat and Ron, who were willing to hang out with ticks and surrounded by blue to get us the info the team needed. Evan, who could make you laugh off the field and who you wanted to follow onto it. And Gunny, who kept us fed with great food and laughing with stories. The players were what made this event fun for me.
As one of the Mitten Men mentioned, you can look at the positive or look at the negative. He chooses to look at the positives. There were a hell of a lot of negatives for this event, most of which came be laid directly at the feet of the outgoing owner. But there were also over 1,500+ positives out there too in the players that played. I completely get if you see the negatives here, and the whole thing leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I really, really get that. I personally am going to remember those, but also see the reflections off that cloud's silver lining and smile about them too.
I truly hope that someone picks up D-Day that gives a damn, and does something great with it. It may be dead right now, but would make one hell of a resurrection. And if the players involved are any indication, it could be amazing.
So how do you sum this up? How do you wrap up the the final D-Day? I'm a FNG who only got to play it once, so my opinion will likely differ greatly from those who spent years there. But from my perspective it just offered some of the best and worst of all things paintball.
I'll start with the bad. The heat was hell, and almost nothing was done to prepare for very obvious incoming overexertion. There was little-to-no effort seemingly put into the weekday games, beyond 'toss the players into a bus and drop them off at the field.' The field was in rough shape when players arrived, with major problems being very apparent and not being fixed prior to the event. The chrono-ing---ugh. Magfed players had very little done to cater to them and their style of play. There were some Mike Tyson-level dick punches thrown at players here.
Then, there's the good. The Saturday game itself was extremely fun, at least for me. I can honestly say that until Saturday, I had never deployed from a tank, let alone in a hot zone. I can say that I have now. And yep, it's fun. Killing pushes in their cribs from the strip mall was great. Lighting up tank gunners while a buddy takes them out is also my bag. I had a great time.
And more importantly, I'll remember the guys I met there. The German High Command and the players I met in Ger Soc were exactly what I hoped to see. The guys from Venomous Ducks, who were funny as hell off the field and nasty on it. The guys from Mitten Men, who not only had another pink gun enthusiast, but could kick copious amounts of ass when called upon. The Central Arkansas crew who didn't have a person among them that couldn't sling it. My unit commander Eric, who got to know us on and off the field, put us in positions to had a great time, would constantly lose all his gear one piece at a time for Mike to find, and do damage where we could. Our XO and his boys, who were great dudes to just be around and play with. Ivan, the German General, who has the personality and enthusiasm to make people want to follow him, and the brain to back it up. Pyscho, who had great stories, helped out a scared kid, and helped the team win. AJ, who ran comms like a machine. Head Hunter, who taught us how to clear rooms in CQB and backed it up with one hell of a real life example. Treebeard, who despite being an absolute rock on Saturday, is still likely OSS. Kat and Ron, who were willing to hang out with ticks and surrounded by blue to get us the info the team needed. Evan, who could make you laugh off the field and who you wanted to follow onto it. And Gunny, who kept us fed with great food and laughing with stories. The players were what made this event fun for me.
As one of the Mitten Men mentioned, you can look at the positive or look at the negative. He chooses to look at the positives. There were a hell of a lot of negatives for this event, most of which came be laid directly at the feet of the outgoing owner. But there were also over 1,500+ positives out there too in the players that played. I completely get if you see the negatives here, and the whole thing leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I really, really get that. I personally am going to remember those, but also see the reflections off that cloud's silver lining and smile about them too.
I truly hope that someone picks up D-Day that gives a damn, and does something great with it. It may be dead right now, but would make one hell of a resurrection. And if the players involved are any indication, it could be amazing.