[Ricochet]

I myself have seen very few teams that think they are doing military training, but yup, they do exist. I do know teams that run training often, but in an airsoft capacity. Things like bounding, clearing rooms, ..ect. Basically team building exercises. And it shows. Organized and prepared means your team is going to be more effective at a milsim. Things like radios, hand signals, and the like can improve gameplay. For a lot of us it's more of a sport, than just a game.

Having fun is key, but people have different ideas of what's fun. And sometimes we point a player in a direction of a team that may be more fitting. "Casual" players are not necessarily bad at playing. Gear after all doesn't make a player after all. Experience, effort, and having the nak for it does. However there are certain definitive lines as to what your gear is will start making a big difference. Things like finely tuned guns, proper camouflage, night vision, and team based tactics will give players an extreme advantage.

Command structure does become necessary at a point. Teams that play strictly for fun may not find this useful. But depending on the type of team you have it will make a difference. That's not saying a strict "everyone had a rank" system is always the way to go. Everyone who is out there should be there for the team. We treat all of our players with respect, and work together to play the sport. We have a few that are command staff. Players with experience, that are well thought of by the players, and are concerned for the team as a whole. This way someone is on hand to make a decision if a dispute arises, and enforce safety rules, and sportsmanlike conduct. But we do work with all players to take charge in a game scenario.

I personally don't wear anything on my loadout that is strictly for look. All the power to the guys that carry useless equipment, or ballistic plates and things like that. We wear full tactical gear, but nothing that doesn't serve a purpose. We have had players that wanted to run the jeans and t-shirt combo, or wear things because they look cool. This is fine on our weekend skirmishes. But they usually don't hang around long. They are to easily seen, and constantly get ambushed. So we try to find them a group more their speed.

The bigger the game challenge, the more realism, and the tougher the competition is the way we like it. We have had fun at the whole "all are welcome, casual skirmishes". But we find the big multi objective, 24 hour, explosions, complicated mission, tactical milsims are the best. The problems players have is simply attending games, joining teams, or trying to fit into a play style that isn't their speed. I can't stand people who complain about things that don't suit them. If this is the case, then your in the wrong area.

Even things like FPS, equipment of your competitors, and getting slaughtered by better equipt more experienced teams have caused players to whine. Your simply a player that doesn't fit there. Look for players, teams, and games that suit you. Don't expect others to dumb it down, or vise versa. Everyone is allowed to have their own style, and expectations. We generally look at other teams like ours, and share or interact rules and ideas. This is our community, and that's yours.

The most important thing in airsoft is to have fun, respect all, and do our part to keep this sport looking good. It doesn't matter what sub category you fit into; 1, 2, 3, 4 whatever. Look for your "group", and make the best of it. Don't look down on others for their way. Or try to change or complain about others sport, or game style because you don't understand.