No, I'm not going to be an ossifer. m r medic.
They're doing what is known as lanes: practicing various skills, tactics, and doctrines. They're mostly supposed to be practicing how to receive an operations order, glean what is relevant for their particular element, formulate a plan and execute. Eighty percent of what they get graded on will occur before they ever hit their line of departure.
The lane I'm parked at 5 OpFor (Opposing Forces personnel) are supposed to meet the OCs (Officer Candidates). Hostilities are supposed to escalate and once it turns into a firefight the OCs are under orders to break contact; the skill they are supposed to be practicing.
Sunday, the first iteration ended with a handshake. So much for the scenario objective. Being part Irish I consider myself an expert on how to start a fight. So...
...I talked the OpFor into summarily executing the young medic who was accompanying me. It created the requisite level of tension and became so popular it is now the scenario for that lane.
In fact, the OCs were so discombobulated the 5 OpFor dominated a squad of 12.
Today was different.
Today me and my medic were both on the chopping block. The responses are always different but you learn real fast want constitutes dominance and what doesn't. What tweaks people mentally and what they will shrug off.
In 2 of the 4 iteration, 1 or both of the hostages bolted for the Americans. In the earlier iterations once the hostages died the OCs had no compunctions about assaulting but if a hostage was suddenly in their care they were willing to fire but mostly to cover a retreat to get the hostages to safety.
One time after being executed I took a stray paint ball to the right eye. I was wearing a mask but even then it takes a while for the ringing in your ears to subside. Once the scenario indexed (ended) an OC came up to me and asked if I had been hit during the firefight. I showed her my mask with the big green splooge over the right lens and then asked her, with a knowing glower, how she knew I had been hit.
"I'm a really bad shot, sergeant," she offered sheepishly.
I told her to push and not stop until she makes O-4 (Major).
In another iteration we saw the effects of too many chiefs and not enough indians.
OpFor approached with their weapons slung and were trying to be relatively friendly (intel said they should be friendly local police). As they approached one of the OCs leveled his weapon. The OpFor stopped dead in their tracks and complained to the squad leader, showing their hands were empty. I don't know where it came from and the offender never admitted it but someone on the OC side fired a round. All hell broke loose. That was the iteration where the OpFor dominated. It is amazing how a force outnumbered 2:1 facing an enemy that had the drop on them could still roll them up so decisively.
[youtube=425,350]Ff5DlpZiMZ0[/youtube]
The last 2 iterations today the OCs dominated before the first shot was ever fired. They had the spacing. They held the flanks. They kept OpFor at a distance. They communicated. When the shooting started it wasn't a staccato response but a singular wall of projectiles filling the air.
My young private was hyper-charged on the drive back to the billets. She had a blast and wanted to give up her day-off tomorrow just to go back out.
We're trying to bring 'em up right for y'all.
