Meeting/Practice, Sat Dec 8

Rangerballers,

Its been a long time since we had a Regimental meeting, and this coming Saturday is the last real chance we'll have until after the new year. So, we're setting up an early morning meeting/practice session for as many Regiment members and perspective members as we can get (Ghost Echo/Kanab guys, I hope a few of you can make it).

This also gives everyone a chance to PAY YOUR DUES, and get that taken care of. $25 for current members, $45 for new members.

We'll start the meeting at 0700, prob at some place we can sit and talk and maybe even eat something. Then prob at 0900 we'll go out and have an organized tactics/techniques training session, with two training "lanes". Soulman and I will be the instructors. General format will be: Soulman teaches individual techniques (winning the 1on1 and 2on1 fights. And I'll take the lane on squad tactics, and executing the diamond formation.

The most likely place for all this is Green Valley Market, and the Pit. But it still needs to be pinned down, so stay tuned for more info. We'll prob end at 1030-1100, and then have some kind of simple, fun tactical exercise for those who choose to stay beyond that.

More details/directions will follow soon, but keep your schedules open next Sat morning. It's important we get together.

Some of the agenda items for the meeting portion:

• S1 area (admin) - Welcome to new members. Soulman leaving town. Congrats to Kunia. Pay your dues!! Financial report. Rangerballhq.com. Nonprofit status. 

• S2 area (intel) - Discussion of staff function areas. Looking for volunteers to fill positions. (not really an S2 topic, but had to go somewhere) 

• S3 area (ops and training) - Q Course. Rangerball tabs. Monthly practice sessions. The Pit. 

• S4 area (supply, logistics) - What should we buy next? Scuba tanks? More ACUs? Omnicam? Soulman and Mayhem are distrubutors. Good deals on equip/paint. 

• S5 area (plans) - Upcoming events. Possible SWAT scenario inside W.Elementary, January event in Apple Valley, Suribachi Feb 23, D-Day Oklahoma?

• S6 area (communications) - Callsigns. Need to get a suitable two syllable callsign. Current listing. 

• CDR (Regiment Commander) - Commander's role. Regiment/Company structures. Welcome to Ghost Echo. The way ahead. 3rd Company? Standards. 

Other announcements:

TIME TO PAY YOUR DUES! If you’re not going to make it this Saturday (you really should), send a check to me at: Rangerball Regiment, 3768 Windmill Dr., Santa Clara, UT 84765. It will be deposited promptly in the Regiment account.

If you haven’t accepted an invite to the Rangerball blog, you need to do that ASAP (contact me if you haven’t gotten an invitation email). That’s our main way of mass, electronic communication right now.

We’ve been able to recapture the rangerballhq.com forum contents, and I have those posted at www.westrim.net/rangerball

If anyone knows how to post a QuickTime video (of the helicopter medevac) online, please contact me. Badfinch?
-- Ajax

Training

I think it would be fun to make a confidence course and do some squad based tactical traing (courses/manuvers)

Lets start communicating

Hey all,

We need to get back into mass communicatin' and this was the best way I could figure out how to do that quickly. Until we get a forum back up and operational, this will have to do.

Some simple guidelines:

- Keep it civil and respectful
- Keep your comments on topic
- Don't just post something to agree. Try to add to the discussion

-- Ajax

Regiment, Battalion, Company Structures

Since there are quite a few new/aspiring Regiment members, this is to help clarify the structure and organization of the Regiment, as I have envisioned it from the beginning. To start with, here's something I posted on this blog last Oct, under "Rangerball Regiment". I'll skip to the relevant part:

----

The Regiment members are those serious about advancing Rangerball, and working towards the larger vision.

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta Companies
Knowing not everyone can dedicate tons of time to this, I’m thinking we form sub-units for different levels of involvement. Alpha Company is the competitive team, that practices regularly, goes to SPPL and other scenario events, and goes as high-speed as they can. They might even have tryouts. Then, Bravo, Charlie and Delta Companies (could keep going with Echo, Foxtrot, etc.) can be less intensive, but still serious teams that play together whenever possible. Maybe they’re based geographically (i.e. guys in Washington) or on groups that have played together (like Jason’s “Sandtown” group). For Delta Company, I’m thinking about a youth team (12-16?). Let’s train these young Rangerballers up right. Also, nothing says a Charlie or Hotel Company can’t get really competitive either. Just that Alpha Company is supposed to be the “best of the best”.

Rangerball Battalions in other areas?
Right now Rangerball is really just a southern Utah thing (BTW, that makes us the 1st Rangerball Battalion of the Rangerball Regiment), but obviously word is spreading fast. I can see the day when groups/teams in other areas may want to get into it. They could form their own Battalion, as part of the Regiment. And they’d have their own Alpha, Bravo, Charlie companies. For example, a team like Desert Edge could also be (based on certain criteria we establish) the 2nd Rangerball Battalion, with an Alpha and Bravo Company. They could still keep their original team name, but also adopt the Rangerball ethos as their own. (Don’t mean to pressure you Dan, just using you as a hypothetical).

Rangerball Association
This would be a larger body of people that maybe aren’t ready to commit to the Regiment, or perhaps aren’t yet up to standards (still to be determined). The Association people want to get notifications of events, or maybe they are in the process of “qualifying” for the Regiment. In a way, this is an smaller equivalent of the SpecOps Brigade. Not sure if these guys would pay anything. Then again, maybe they pay to get the newsletter, After Action Reports, Lessons Learned, special discounts, etc.

Three Tiers
So, basically we have a 3-tier system/organization. The Association for the casually-interested. The Regiment for the dedicated Rangerballer. And the Companies (within the Regiment) for those playing as a team, and at higher levels—possibly very competitive.

----

I've realized that several of you aren't familiar with military units/terms, which has caused some confusion. Some have mixed terms around, and used other terms like "Brigade", or "Team", or "Core/Corps". But also, this early post left some things unclear, and my thoughts have evolved somewhat since then.

Three Levels of Involvement

First, the "three tiers" mentioned at the end are really referring to 3 levels of interest/involvement in Rangerball.

• The "Association" (or as Hell Boy called it "Friends of Rangerball") are those not actually in the Regiment. They might be regulars at our events, or even former Regiment members that are too busy. But they're not active/paying members. We haven't really put much thought into establishing the Association yet.

• Then there are full-fledged members of the Regiment, their dues paid up for the year. They've bought into the concept, and want to participate regularly AND are willing to contribute time/effort/money to build up the sport. This is where most of us have been. There can only be ONE Rangerball Regiment, and its the overarching national (international?) organization.

• Then, WITHIN the Regiment, there can be many Rangerball Companies. These can be very competitive teams (like a Desert Edge) with regular practices, tryouts, roadtrips and their own operating funds. Or they might be a group of friends who can't dedicate the time to compete at that level, but are excited about Rangerball. Or a Company could be an independent team (like Ghost Echo) that decides they want to be part of the Regiment without giving up their identity. And, there can also be Regiment members who aren't part of a Company -- at least not yet.

Right now, we basically have the Regiment and two Companies. The original Regiment members fm the St. George area (no real designation yet, maybe "Bravo"? "Hotel" for HQs?), and Ghost Echo (mostly from Kanab) who now form the "Echo Company" of the Regiment. The "Alpha Company" we talked about initially as a serious, competitive scenario/SPPL team, has yet to really take shape. More on that later.

Three Levels of Command/Organization

There are also 3 levels of command, emulating a military organization:

• The Rangerball Regiment (RGT), as I said, is the one-of-a-kind overarching organization. In a way, it is parallel to the Special Ops Brigade, but much smaller and more select. It exists to promote and advance Rangerball as a sport/movement/branch of paintball. I don't think it should be a business, but I can see related (not in a legal sense) businesses stemming from it.

• A Rangerball Battalion (BN) is an intermediate command, subordinate to the Regiment. Although I've mentioned that the 1st Rangerball Battalion is here in southern Utah, we haven't defined it at all. For all practical purposes, we don't have Battalions yet. But I can see how that would work -- for example, if a group wants to start Rangerball in some other state, or even in N.Utah.

• A Rangerball Company (CO) is as I've described above. Could be completely independent, or part of a Battalion. In my mind, a Company could be as few as 4 guys. If they're motivated, they'll grow.

Anyway, gotta go. Hope this helps.

-- Ajax

About the Real Army Rangers

If you're going to be playing Rangerball, and belong to something called the Rangerball Regiment, then you should have some familiarity with actual U.S. Army Rangers, the 75th Ranger Regiment, what it takes to earn the Ranger "tab", the Ranger Creed, and some Ranger heritage.

First, most people don't realize there is a difference between a "Ranger-qualified" soldier (wears the tab) and a member of the Ranger Regiment. Many Army soldiers, and members of other services, go to Ranger School, earn the tab, and become "Rangers". But only a few actually qualify to join the 75th Ranger Regiment, and earn the "scroll". They say the tab is a school, but the scroll is a way of life.

Here are some links where you can learn a lot more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Rangers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_School
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/75th_Ranger_Regiment
http://www.soc.mil/75thrr/75th_home.htm

Also, a word on our connection to the real Army Rangers. We are NOT Army Rangers, or in any way sanctioned or officially connected to them. The men of the 75th Ranger Regiment, and the many who have won the coveted Ranger "tab", are among the world's most elite soldiers. As Rangerballers, we respect and emulate the Rangers, but we are not imitating or pretending to be them.

In the paintball world, however, our events and scenarios are among the toughest (perhaps THE toughest) and we tend to attract the most dedicated and motivated players. We have also had a few active or former Rangers participate in our events, and they found what we do challenging and enjoyable. We certainly welcome others.

-- Ajax

What Cammo Pattern?

[NOTE: Just for clarification, this is an old topic--see date above. The Regiment voted in early 2007 to adopt the ACU pattern as the standard. There is now further discussion of Companies adopting different patterns, and the merits of a new pattern called OmniPat, made by Special Ops Paintball.]

Uniforms:

My thought is to ensure each member of the Regt has the same pattern shirt/jacket--along with team patches. Whether we get matching pants for everyone is not as important, in my mind. That can come later.

To start, we should get a vote on going with the digital ACU (Army Combat Uniform) cammo pattern.

As a primer, here are the most prevalent cammo patterns, both in military use and the paintball/airsoft world. There are literally hundreds of other patterns, but these are the ones you hear about most.

• BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) This is what most everyone gets for playing paintball.

• DCU (Desert Combat Uniform) Around here, lots of guys get these instead of BDUs.

• ACU (Army Combat Uniform) The new US Army pattern, replacing both BDUs and DCUs.

• MARPAT (Marine Pattern) This is what started the digicammo trend.

• Desert MARPAT For, um, the desert.

• Multicam This was the competitor to the ACU pattern, but lost. Multicam is not a digicammo pattern, but its very good and popular among airsoft clubs. It's also very expensive, at least $100 per set and up for a knockoff. The genuine stuff is more like $300 per set. Their website is impressive.
  

Here are the pros of ACUs, as I see them.

- Work well in our environment. With all the sage and scattered brush we have here, the ACU works very well. Better than DCU desert cammies, which are too light, and better than green/black/brown BDUs which are too dark.

- They also work passably well in heavier vegetation. It was designed as an all-around pattern.

- At night, or any reduced light environment, they work great. Early morning, or at dusk, they tend to disappear into whatever background you have.

- Digital patterns are the future. In a couple of years, the BDU and DCU patterns will be all phased out and will start looking dated. The US Army has invested big in ACUs, and you'll see more and more stuff made in this pattern. It is the "cool" thing going forward.

- There are some real technical advantage to a digital pattern, although I don't understand them all. Both the human eye, and modern sensors, have a harder time detecting them. And, EVEN when the subject is moving they're harder to detect. So I've read anyway.

- The real Army Rangers are using ACUs. So we should too.

Here are the cons.

- The biggest hit on the ACU pattern is that it's too light. In deep woods, that is true. They don't have enough black and green in them.

- MARPAT (the digi cammo the US Marines wear) is better. This may be true, especially where there is more vegetation. MARPAT has blacks and greens, so works better in the woods. For desert terrain, the Marines decided to use different pattern.

- There aren't a lot of accessories made in the ACU pattern yet. (True, but more appear every day.)

- There is a RUMOR, but with little to back it up, that the real Rangers may choose another cammo pattern in the future. If that were to happen, we could be stuck with an old pattern. To me that's a risk we have to take anyway.

So, let's get everyone's input on this. What do you guys think? Is ACU the pattern for us? I'm convinced it is, but I want to get a say from everyone.

Mt. Suribachi

I'm starting this topic to capture the email discussions we've been having about the Mt. Suribachi scenario. This was an idea I raised in the Strictly Scenarios topic, and then was brought up again by Mikhail. I'll post Mikhail's email here, and then add various comments.

We have decided to hold this scenario on 24 Feb, which is one day after the actual anniversary (23 Feb) of the famous flag-raising on Iwo Jima's Mt. Suribachi. Hopefully, others will post further comments here as well, so everyone can get the benefit of them.

[Mikhail, 18 Dec 06:]

I have a game for the hill out by gunlock that I would love to try. It is a take on the battle for Iwo Jima, specifically for Mount Suribachi. . .

This I believe would make a great scenario to be fought around the hill to the southeast (in Black Thorn) where blue was to retreat with the nuke. I am calling it Mount Suribachi. The scenario would have three units that would be about 12 men each representing the 3rd, 4th , and 5th marine divisions, this would be blue team. They would try to reach the top and plant a flag, they also have to get a photographer to the top by a certain time in order to win. We can discuss this and add objectives if need be.

The Japanese force is to defend and die doing so. They should be outnumbered at a three to one ratio but that too is a discussion point. This what I have and I would like some feedback. I would like to get the 5150 guys from Vegas and the Desert Edge guys to come and play if possible. I would like the Regiment to defend. Anyway I would like to know what you think.

Tactics Training

[Note: To keep this blog streamlined, I hijacked Michael's first comment, to start a new topic. Sorry Michael.]

Michael Riel said:

I agree vigorously that we should begin squad/team tactic training. We (I) could really benefit from the workup and familiarization activities, then apply them to the field during our scenarios.

Strictly Scenarios!!

We have put alot of info onto this blog, and some of it spills from one topic to the next. This topic is strictly for Scenarios. I want ideas for future scenarios, possible story lines, maybe a really good combat movie, possible props that could be used. As we develop Rangerball, we need to plan ahead. Since the Scenario is the meat and potatoes, we need to develop them well in advance. When we have well thought out scenarios, and can advertise them well in advance it pays back in tons of players wanting to play. Operation Black Thorn has got their attention, but now we really need to plan for the next big one to really sink the hook in deep. Our next big scenario should be the one that really gets attention and has everyone for hundreds of miles talking. So we need to start brainstorming, and making a record of the ideas, so we don't lose any of them. And all the ones that don't quite measure up to a really great scenario, well we develop those ones for our small scale scenarios to build our skills. I would really like to see everyone in the Rangerball community put their "two cents" in here. And don't be afraid to share your ideas, the only dumb ideas are the ones not shared. So soldier up, Rangers

Equipment & Materials

Another transplanted comment from Brian. Hmmm. . . I can see we need to have an actual forum, not just a blog. Working on it. . .

Brian Hastings said...
Well since this one is for disscussing what is needed, I would say that the RangerBall Regiment needs to make its first purchase be a quality Chrono. This item being used at every event will let everyone playing know that there are rules and they are expected to play by them. Besides it is also a question of safe gaming, nobody wants to see a injury on the field resulting from a marker turned up to high. There is my two cents.
3:56 PM

Organizational Matters

This deserves a thread of its own, so I'm transplanting comments from Brian and myself here. Feel free to expound.

Brian Hastings said...
I agree with Mikhail on this, it is in essence a breed apart from the rest. As for the yearly dues for a Paintball club, I think that a charter should be down up. This makes it a formal club, Also another thing that will needed to be looked at, is going to be a non-profit organization that is simply furthering the sport of Paintball. Or a for profit oganization, looking to benefit its members? Both have some pretty serious Tax considerations to take into account. I am all for having dues to belong to such a club, and perhaps charge the $20 a year amount for Rangerball Members, and the $40 a year amount for the elite members. Either way we will have to look at the formal legalities of forming a club that takes in dues and if it can or cannot take actions that would result in profits.
11:18 PM

TT said...
As for profit vs. nonprofit, I definitely want to pursue both. The Association and the Regiment can be under a nonprofit, but I see some sort of associated business growing out of this--as do several others of you.
3:54 AM

Brian Hastings said...
The thing with getting a non-profit designation is that you have to obtain a 501c(3) from the IRS to be considered a nonprofit entity. If we go for the For-Profit aspect, then we need to look at forming a corporation so that the Rangerball Association is seperate from all of us from a Legal and Financial aspect. Either way I am good with it, we just need to address the details.
3:51 PM

A New Kind of Paintball?

Here's an email I got from Mikhail, which touches on something I've been thinking about for some time. I'm not so presumptive to think Rangerball is completely unique (there are probably other "milsim" groups doing similar things), but I do think we've touched on something that lots of paintballers are craving.

"I think this is the beginning of a new division in the paintball world. There exists now speedball, recball and scenario ball. There is some play out there of military-style games but it is really small-scale. Rangerball is the key to getting a crossbreed of all styles. It incorporates using speedball tactics in one area, with the slower pace of recball in others. All with using a tactical, military type approach. I think charging a fee is a good idea for certain events that are on the larger side, although from now on they all may be larger scale. A regimental due I believe is a good idea. The $20 tag I think might be on the low side, I was thinking more in the $30-40 range. It is a discussion point that we will all have to agree upon. The word IS getting out and as time goes on Rangerball will grow into the next generation of paintball. This is going to be big. I will see you on the beach!"
-- Mikhail

Any thoughts from you others?

T.T.

What is Rangerball?

In my view, four things make Rangerball different from other forms of scenario/recball.

1. Rangerball is very focused on realistic military tactics, as much as possible in the paintball world. It might be short of true "milsim", since we accept players using less-than-tactical clothing and gear, and standard paintball markers instead of high-priced recreations of military weapons. But in EFFECT (not just in appearance), Rangerballers are always pushing towards playing tactical paintball, where effective formations, camouflage, fieldcraft, communications, and equipment are used. Our scenarios are almost always military-related, instead of sci-fi, fantasy, or some other genre.

2. Rangerball is properly played in very large areas, measured in miles, not acres or yards. We try to avoid using artificial boundaries, because it constrains our tactical choices and decisions. Instead, in designing our scenarios and tactical exercises, we try to use geographical features, objectives, and time constraints to naturally limit the area of operation (AO). This seems most realistic to us, and we are constantly looking for great new areas, and interesting and challenging terrain to play in.

3. Rangerball requires players to pack everything they need along with them into the AO--paint, air, parts, tools, water, food, etc--and to be ready to move through the terrain, on foot, for at least a mile or more. This puts great emphasis on proper gear (vests, hydration, backpacks, etc.) and on physical stamina. Rangerball is very physically demanding, even extremely so, and we actually take pride in making it tough. It is definitely "Not for the Weak or Fainthearted".

4. Rangerball is also about instilling discipline, teamwork, esprit-de-corps and fostering leadership qualities. This in particular really sets us apart from most paintball groups and events. We strive to be organized, start on time, have our gun and gear ready to go, and to be a positive influence on whatever event we participate in. Just as the real Rangers of the U.S. Army pride themselves on being the world's most elite light infantry, we strive to be the most elite scenario paintball players.

Any thoughts?

Purpose of This Blog

This Blog is for members of the Rangerball Regiment to discuss how to advance this crazy obsession we have with playing tactically-oriented paintball. Also how to organize ourselves, how to set up new scenarios, what kinds of equipment we need, upcoming events, paintball tactics, markers and gear, etc.

I'm hoping we can use it as our Regimental forum, at least for now, where we can easily exchange ideas and information. If it doesn't serve our purposes, we can look at other options.

T.T.

Rangerball Regiment

This wasn’t going to be so long, but it captures some of my thinking on where we’re going with all this Rangerball craziness. I’ve shared parts of this with some of you, but its time to start writing it down.

Rangerball Regiment Formed
I just formed an email group "Rangerball Regiment" for internal communications about the upcoming Operation Black Thorn (20-21 Oct), and other Rangerball issues. You have been the core guys helping me get the whole concept rolling, and we've sweat and bled together on the field (OK, maybe not so much blood, but a little!) So, I’m now declaring the “Rangerball Regiment” formed, and you are the charter members.

I'm also adding to the list Dan Saunders, aka "Danger Dan", the commander of Team Desert Edge up in SLC. He’s not yet eligible to be in the Regiment (hasn't played Rangerball yet, but will soon), but we're in virtual mind-meld about the kind of paintball we want to play, and he's going to be a valuable resource as we grow. Thanks already Dan, I'm glad you found us!

Regimental Dues
Now is probably the time to determine yearly dues for Regiment members. I’m thinking $20 would be a reasonable amount (for starters). But am willing to hear other ideas. I figure that would include entry into all Rangerball events for a year, including Black Thorn. Maybe other stuff, like patches, a newsletter, etc. The Regiment members are those serious about advancing Rangerball, and working towards the larger vision (bigger even than paintball—deserves a separate email).

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta Companies
Knowing not everyone can dedicate tons of time to this, I’m thinking we form sub-units for different levels of involvement. Alpha Company is the competitive team, that practices regularly, goes to SPPL and other scenario events, and goes as high-speed as they can. They might even have tryouts. Then, Bravo, Charlie and Delta Companies (could keep going with Echo, Foxtrot, etc.) can be less intensive, but still serious teams that play together whenever possible. Maybe they’re based geographically (i.e. guys in Washington) or on groups that have played together (like Jason’s “Sandtown” group). For Delta Company, I’m thinking about a youth team (12-16?). Let’s train these young Rangerballers up right. Also, nothing says a Charlie or Hotel Company can’t get really competitive either. Just that Alpha Company is supposed to be the “best of the best”.

Rangerball Battalions in other areas?
Right now Rangerball is really just a southern Utah thing (BTW, that makes us the 1st Rangerball Battalion of the Rangerball Regiment), but obviously word is spreading fast. I can see the day when groups/teams in other areas may want to get into it. They could form their own Battalion, as part of the Regiment. And they’d have their own Alpha, Bravo, Charlie companies. For example, a team like Desert Edge could also be (based on certain criteria we establish) the 2nd Rangerball Battalion, with an Alpha and Bravo Company. They could still keep their original team name, but also adopt the Rangerball ethos as their own. (Don’t mean to pressure you Dan, just using you as a hypothetical).

Rangerball Association
This would be a larger body of people that maybe aren’t ready to commit to the Regiment, or perhaps aren’t yet up to standards (still to be determined). The Association people want to get notifications of events, or maybe they are in the process of “qualifying” for the Regiment. In a way, this is an smaller equivalent of the SpecOps Brigade. Not sure if these guys would pay anything. Then again, maybe they pay to get the newsletter, After Action Reports, Lessons Learned, special discounts, etc.

Three Tiers
So, basically we have a 3-tier system/organization. The Association for the casually-interested. The Regiment for the dedicated Rangerballer. And the Companies for those playing as a team, and at higher levels—possibly very competitive.

OK, what are your thoughts?

T.T.