Now hear this...

As I sit here inside, warm and dry, with a cup of hot coffee in hand, I think about patrolling out in the bush.  Now some of you will go: well, no shit, Diz, what's the big deal about being warm, dry and a nice cuppa?  Well, that there, which is considered A Given for lots of folks, is actually "a really good deal" by those who know better.  Knowing smiles from all you bush-bunnies.

I think airsoft/Mil-Sim, here after called Mil-Sim, is developing into a viable training venue.  What was once thought as a bunch of kids playing dress-up army, has morphed into sophisticated training exercises.  I will leave the whys and wherefores for the GD, and try to confine this discussion to the nuts n bolts of it.

In non-permissive societies, world-wide, folks are doing some serious training, that so-called "real-deal" guys on square ranges would do well to emulate.  Well if you're into to that sort of thing, which we are, so let's continue.   It almost seems like this is a no-brainer, right?  But many will still poo-poo this, as they pump rounds into their targets, static, from 5 m.  And no, I am not banging on square range training.  Well sorta, but for the right reasons.  

So again, as I visualize myself on the "jungle trail", as it were.  Which I shouldn't be on, as you well know.  So OK, as I move silently through the bush, I weave my way past trees n shrubs.  Yeah that's better.  I check my azimuth; find a steering point.  Got it.  I check in with the guy behind me.  Everybody still there, ok.  I then scan my surroundings. Left, center, right.  All clear.  I then look where my feet are going to step.  Carefully roll into the next spot.  And repeat.  Can you smell the jungle yet?    Can you hear the birds and other critters?  Maybe you can hear the faint tinkle of the creek up ahead.  Maybe the wind picks up and you hear a rush through the trees.  You step in and out of sunshine and shadows.  You feel the difference on your face.  Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.  Your senses see-saw, from full alert, to dull boredom, as you fight to keep your mind from wondering, and stay focused on the task at hand.  In another few steps I will drop a bead and have a full K.  I will probably call a security halt, re-set my beads, confirm my general location.  

A lot of you haven't done that since your basic training.  Many more haven't done that at all.  No, video games don't count.  For many of you, that may have brought back memories; for many more, you're like WTF?  Of course I'm just visualizing a movement here.   You have to have a point A and a point B you're moving to.  And a reason for doing it as well.  These days something like this is called "an off-set", like hey I want to land on the "X" but someone said we needed to sneakier than that, and boogey through all this brush.  Back "in the day", this was just considered business as usual.  You didn't just "land on the "X", unless you wanted to get your ass shot off, or have a dry hole.  Now I am really getting out into the weeds, huh?

But the point I am trying to make is that it doesn't matter how good of a shot you are, if you can't find the target you're looking for, what good are ya.  Ever since the G-WOT we have had this huge emphasis on highly accurate combat shooting.  Which is fine, but it has also been accompanied by this huge de-emphasis on core fieldcraft skills, for lack of better term.  Again, back in the day, 90% of your training was on fieldcraft, and maybe 10% live fire.   Today that has been reversed.  I think neither outcome is optimal.  Maybe we need to strive for something in between.

This is where Mil-Sim comes in.  When executed properly, it is an awesome venue for folks to acquire these skills, safely, instead of just jerking off at the range.  If you subscribe to a sort of crawl, walk, run approach, which I do, then it is an excellent gate-way into live fire and maneuver training.  Regardless of whether you use airsoft replicas, shooting pellets, or real weapons with blanks, learning these kinds of skill sets is easier, faster, safer than with live fire.  Some will argue that point, but I think, all things considered, it is the best way to roll.  Especially in increasingly non-permissive environments for some.  

And the irony, which I'm sure has not escaped many of you, is that training with real weapons is frowned upon, even prohibited in many places, but playing "airsoft" is OK.  At least right now.  

..That is all.

Hello...is this thing on?

OK, have no clue what that was about.  But here we are.

It's also interesting to note that blank fire is being included in higher level airsoft.  I think the MILES training is superb, but requires access to a good outfit that is using/supporting it.  If I had that near me, I'd do it.  

And for sure, a lot of airsoft is shooter-centric, but higher levels are at least exploring more fieldcraft in multi-day events.

AH what have we here, a K-Bay Alumni?  Our "Alpha" Co was out your way and would come out to the Rock for SubOps once a year.  

Yeah for us it was 90% bush, and 10% (maybe) live fire.  We lived up in the NTA!

Aye, matey, you bring many good thoughts to the party.

And you are right; you must approach the training with the right mindset or you're just jerking off.  Now some people like that, but let's say here we are talking about legit training.

From what I've seen, the higher end gats are using a 35-rd mag and gas charge, so you have to change mags, as in real life.  So I think the attempt is being made, for those who care, to simulate more realistic encounters.  Yes, it's much more expensive, but from my POV, that's the price of admission.  I'm talking about something like the Tokyo Marui M-4 GBBR type rifle.  

Then you have some outfits that are doing blank-fire training, and even MILES training.  And I think you're right; when you want to emphasize more actual maneuver over pure live fire training, it gets the closest to it.

And ultimately, live fire and maneuver is the shit. But also the most dangerous.

So for sure this can be a hobby or fun past time, but, it can also be legit training.

Tagged for interest. I've always thought airsoft looks like a good way to do FoF training. Also a good way to check out new shooters at matches, let them make a few airsoft runs through a couple stages to evaluate their gun handling.