The day started of like any good paintball scenario, we got up at O-Dawn thirty! What’s the “O” stand for? “Oh my gawd! Is this a meat grinder or WHAT!” Viet Nam Patrol 2008: The Siege of Khe Sahn was one of the better scenario events I have attended in the last year, but contrary to popular theories in physics, you CAN have hills that go up BOTH ways! Command Decisions Wargames Center in Taylorsville, is one of the best fields I have played at, but it is not for the weak of heart… or leg… or lung! But if you were looking for plenty of paintball action on April 26th, and weren’t afraid of a teeny tiny little cardio infarction, then this was the place to be! Click Read More for the details…

Saddle Up and Ride! 

 Team: Tango Alpha converged on Gastonia like a camouflaged pack of wolves looking for gas and Gatorade and then caravanned up to Taylorsville, near Hickory, NC. We arrived at 8 AM to find the parking lot half full already and the line for sign-ins already in progress. Since the game was to start at 10 AM and they notoriously start late at these things, I thought we would have plenty of time to get set up. As if! The check-in went smooth and due to some pre-registration and filling out our waivers in advance, we got through sign up and purchased our paint in less than 15 minutes FOR ALL 18 OF US! Not too shabby. Then we set up our canopies and geared up. At this point, gearing up 18 players is like watching old women get dressed for their big night out on the town. Instead of lipstick and support hose, we were wrestling with pod harnesses and radio earpieces, but eventually we prettied up and got ready to dance. The line to chrono wasn’t too bad, but I ran into my first technical snag of the day. My brand new SP8 had developed an air leak. The staff of CDWC handled it well AND kept the line moving, diagnosed the problem and the Knight Crossing vendors were able to sell me a new regulator O ring and get me on my way. Thanks to Barry of Wolf Creek Paintball (lending a hand for the day) and to Knights Crossing for being good people!

And then… It Begins.

The safety briefing started late, as is pretty typical of these things, but all I could think of was, “Were only going to get 5 hours of play with the 1 o’clock lunch break.” It was already 11 AM and the whole team was itching to get into action. During the safety briefing, I good naturedly put a $10 bounty on Jorge from Phantom Recon Ops (P.R.O.) whom I have played with and against quite a bit. Jorge countered that with a $30 bounty on my head. I offered to shoot myself for $20 and my teammates said they would whack me for $15. I suddenly wasn’t in such a rush to hit the field.

Actually, the field hit me back. After a half hour of humping 20 lbs of paintball gear up and down the hills at CDWC, I was laughing (on the inside) about my “ONLY five hours of play” thought. I wasn’t laughing on the outside because that would require oxygen and my lungs were on fire and my thighs felt like rubber. A bit later I remember checking my watch and thinking “HOLY CRAP! Four more hours of THIS?!” I was a dead man. Between fire fights, I kept trying to imagine how my wife would be spending the insurance money.

And now… back to the War!

Enough about my impending death by lack-of-Stairmaster, you want to read about the battle. The scenario was based on the historical events of U.S. Marines being trapped near Khe Sahn by North Vietnamese tanks and troups. In our scenario, Andrew “Ferg” and Lee Ann Ferguson, the owners of CDWC and the producers, decided that too many “professional” teams had signed up for the NVA side, so they would handicap them by giving the 3 tanks to the U.S. Marines forces.  They also restricted the walk-ons to the Marines side and while providing the Marines with simulated mortar fire and air strikes, the NVA had to earn theirs through missions. There was no lack of action anywhere on the 77 acre field with over 330 players battling it out to hold every inch of land for points. Team: Tango Alpha got off to a slow start, but eventually congealed into pretty effective fighting unit.

The fighting built up to a fever pitch and about 4 o’clock, when we had a torrential downpour for about 15 minutes. I took that as my cue to start bellowing “Singing in the Rain” from behind the tree I was shooting from. Even now, I think one of my own teammates shot me to stop the so-called singing. The rain let up and Team: Tango continued up the hill (without their lead singer) to take the Old French Fort against overwhelming odds. Nice job guys. Another memorable moment included Team Boxer having to surrender a whole squad when “boxed” into an indefensible position.  It was an honorable move and was good for the game. Many teams would have just whined about it, but this team held their guns and chins up and did a dead man’s walk off the field. Congratulations to “X-Man” Jones and Boxer for making such a tough command call.

The majority of the players were regular teams from around the Carolinas and one or two as far as West Virginia or Raleigh: Team Boxer, Rogue Cell, Bravo 2-0, ODX, Recon-1, Fallen Angels, AFC, B Squad, Fire Team Monty, Lincoln’s Assassins, Paintball Soldiers, Team: Tango Alpha 2, Carolina Sabers, Frayed Knot, Lethal Paintball and Phantom Recon Ops. There were over 50 walk-on players and almost no guns were rented. To add to the action, CDWC utilized their three field tanks, “Wallace”, “The Beast”, and the APC. The generals for each side were Bill “Greenman” Ford from Rogue Cell for the NVA and John “Smitty” Smith from Bravo 2-0 for the U.S. Marine forces.

Yeah, But Who Won?

 I am proud to say that the U.S. Marines forces crushed the NVA troops. Team: Tango Alpha had deliberately chosen the side with the least amount of “teams” on it so we could go up against the big dawgs. The NVA army scored 1400 points against the Marines who kicked it with 1800. Now, in all fairness, had the NVA had equal mobile armory and not have to earn their air strike capability, the outcome might have been completely different. As a Marine squad, I felt we fought every battle uphill and all joking aside, I don’t ever remember firing downhill at anyone. The generals awarded Most Valuable Player Awards to Tanner “Hambo” Hamrick from Phantom Recon Ops (P.R.O.) for the NVA and Tommy “The Marine” Tippmann, appropriately enough, for the Marines side. Most Valuable Teams went to Team Boxer for the NVA and Fire Team Monty for the Marines.

Remember the Jorge that I put the bounty on? Jorge was the first to shoot me that day. I just think he was too cheap to pay anyone else the bounty. Tanner “Hambo” Hamrick , his teammate, was the last guy of the day to shoot me. You can almost smell the love from here. Congrats to Phantom Recon Ops for some great plays (did I mention their side lost?)!

All in all, it was a great day of paintball and we heartily recommend you try out Command Decisions Wargames Center.

TATA² for now!