Kit versus Skill: Why does Impressionism Exist

So as I am sitting here reading an article in the New York Times about “Qaeda Militants Seeking Syria Bases” enjoying my subpar Chinese food in a stereotypical box with stereotypical Chinese architecture plastered on the front and back, and Starburst Jelly Beans, I suddenly remembered that my friend and Task Force Kilo XO, Drew Kazanis, has recently posted a blog about some topic I found interesting but just couldn’t find the time to read. It was scandalous. His “Kit versus Skill” post was not good read and not eye opening. It was full of the standard arguments that any other “speedsofter” has. I apologize for the derogatory and offensive term but I am just livid. He dare questions the majestic nature of the Crye CAGE Plate Carrier (CPC) and the godliness of Project: Odin, a “tricked out” m4 as Drew would put it. Everyone knows that you perform as well as your gear and he dare question that logic that has been standing for thousands of years. Wood beat the fist. Stone beat wood. Bronze beat stone. Iron beat bronze. Steel beat Iron. Gun beat steel and Drew is beaten by high grade polymer from a KWA. 

If you couldn’t tell, most of the above was sarcastic. In fact, the only thing that wasn’t sarcastic was the beginning involving the stomach turning Chinese and Drew writing a post about “Kit versus Skill”. You can find the blog post here:

http://justacrazyairsofter.blogspot.com/2014/03/kit-vs-skill.html

Most of his points are valid. In the end, a $100 dollar Crye Precision vertical 5.56 magazine pouch is a pouch that holds magazines. A CPC is a carrier that is designed to hold plates. However, what I will be doing is defending and justifying the “kit” perspective of the argument just to provide a more holistic perspective.

The “hardcore” milsim world can be categorized to be known as impressionism. Impressionists attempt to recreate actual military kits based on reference pictures. These kits can span any decade or era and any military unit around the world. Some of the most popular kits are modern United States Special Forces, including but not limited to Parajumpers, Rangers, Army Special Forces, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Devgru (Seal Team 6), Navy Seals, etc. Other kits span from Russian kits including FSB based kits, as well as SASR, and UKSF. Hardcore impressionists, attempt to recreate the most realistic kits possible regardless of time and money. This includes getting details right down to the pack and the IFAK.

Drew’s argument focuses on the “gearwhoring” portion of an impressionist. Its true, there are people who collect gear and never play or play so poorly that they are routed by six year olds playing cops and robbers with finger pistols. However, that’s mostly not the case. Impressionists are typically motivated to not only creating the most realistic kit possible but they are also motivated to perform in a very organized and militaristic fashion. This motivation spawns from them performing well above average at various large events that require militaristic organization in order to maintain event integrity. I can attest to this with my experience from Milsim West: Crimean Crisis. Our platoon was all extremely motivated Impressionists who drilled during our “off-time” in order to better ourselves for the event. We, then became an extremely effective platoon that was an asset for the Company and before you even argue that impressionists wear pointless gear, all of my “pointless” gear such cobra cuffs and chemlights were used at Crimean Crisis.

This can also be measured with psychology. The behavioral model (the basis of all behavior) argues that there are two routes to determining a person’s behavior, nature and nurture. Nature is more of the “I’m born with it” aspect where behavior is thought to be genetic and there is Nurture where people believe that behavior spawns from “influences and experiences” throughout a person’s life. Both routes do have a motivation factor. No matter if you are “born” with an attitude or you developed an attitude over time, motivation equates to an amplified amount of desire. This desire, then, amplifies the behavior’s quantity and quality. This means that the behavior from impressionists are amplified from motivation and they tend to be the ones who push themselves the hardest on the field and the ones who listens to orders the most.

This off-time drilling did come off at elitist, which is what I think, is the problem with impressionism. Although most are good people, some do come off as elitist and full of themselves. This could be the reason why perception of performance is skewed. The kit, coupled with the typical type A personality, can give the appearance that the person is cocky and elitist.

As much as I debate with Drew, I realize that he does have a point. Impressionism does have weak points. However, comparing kit and skill is like comparing apple and oranges. You can’t really compare them, you can only find a time and a place for them. Milsim type events every weekend would be dull while always having speedsofting games would be very dull as well. No one ever said that having kit and skill was mutually exclusive. You can have kit and the motivation as well as the skill and the tenacity. If you don't agree... well the picture below just says it all. 

Milsim West AAR: 1st Platoon is Best Platoon. Get SAPI. The Medic’s Perspective

I was on the last stretch of my drive. It was a grueling final eight miles until I got home. I just got finished dropping off Sean Lai, who carpooled with me, and I had a trunk full of guns and gear. I remember the iconic Toyota dealership that marked the end of the Pullman/Moscow highway. I noticed that right next to it, there was a completed Time Warner building made of terrible looking Las Vegas like masonry and lined with annoying neon blue lights. I remember thinking “what the actual frick!” I remember seeing construction on the foundation when I left but holy crap they literally erected a building in a span of three days. This blew my mind. It straight up blew my mentally exhausted mind. I didn’t realize how immersed I was at Milsim West. It felt like weeks and in a good way. I felt so engrossed with the fact that we were BB war heroes that my exhausted mind kept telling itself “was I gone three days or a week?”

It was 0430. I was on two hours of sleep and I was wide awake. I was waiting for this moment for months. I was nervous. I didn’t know anyone and I was the least experienced of 1st platoon. How could they expect me to be their medic? I do know my emergency medicine but none of that applied. I had a lot of time to think about this. In fact, I had a full eleven hours to think about this. After picking up Sean, we took a detour up to Spokane to pick up my platoon leader’s (PL) gear as well as Ben Brison’s weapons (enough guns and gear to literally supply our machine gun squad – known as weapons). Ben Brison was originally our weapon’s squad leader but he was injured while working so he had to forfeit his spot to recover.  That made me anxious. Ben, the PL and Nick Day were the only ones I knew on 1st platoon and  only the PL would be there the first day.

After a hectic drive that included a very foggy stretch of road called “the pass” near Seattle, Costco refusing us service as well as being stuck in a one hour traffic jam at the border of Oregon and Washington, Sean and I finally arrived at Camp Rilea. We hustled to unpack our gear and to get checked in. Gear check, chronograph, and being issued BB’s and bandages were incredibly confusing.  This only compounded my anxiety. After finally finishing registration and going to the safety briefing, I finally was sent to bay 1. It seemed like everyone was settled in. I walked past tons of strangers all the way to the end of the bay getting stares and looks. I found an open bunk and began dropping off my gear in the locker when someone excitedly said “hey man!” I turned around and saw Brent Foster, a 9th group member and a person I met during Operation: Blue Devil that was hosted by Eastern Washington Airsoft. This was probably the greatest thing that could happen to me. Literally all my anxiety disappeared. It only got better from there. Hearing my voice, Jacob Rittenhouse broke away from his small leadership meeting and came up to shake my hand and said “we have been waiting for you”. More people started going up to me and shaking my hand and before you knew it, I had met first squad (1-1), and weapons. I had gear for them and apparently I am #internetfamous for my tech work and my impressions. I will not lie, that caught me off guard.

As I began to meet people, I realized that these guys were mostly from Impressions/Gear (I/G). I/G is an impressionist group on Facebook that has a well-spoken “Crye or Die” motto. It stood true. Everyone had either AC or G3 pants and combat shirt as well as either a JPC, AVS, or CPC’s. The amount of gucci gear in our bay alone was too damn high. It was impressive to see almost thirty or so people with just Crye. Impressionists were represented very well.

Our first night was filled with drills and learning how to “form up”. We were slated to providing QRF or quick reaction force to 2nd, 3rd, Task Force 144 (British special forces or SASR), and the MARSOC contingent. This meant that we were literally the only ones not going on mission. Again, this is probably the best thing that could have happened. With an uneventful night full of drills and constant alert. The PL (Jacob), and the first sergeant (BB) used the moment to set the tone to how squared away they wanted us to be and we, as a platoon, used the time to bond and learn about each other. Because of my status as medic, people started referring to me as “doc”. By the end of the night when we were sent out to ensure that 2nd platoon’s index was good to go, I knew these guys like the back of my hand.

Saturday was much more eventful. After waking up in the morning to the A-Team theme song that PL set, we all hustled to get ready for the day. Speed loaders were clicking, guns were being plugged in or gassed up, and all the Crye was being donned. It was a different day. You could just feel it. PL got orders to patrol and control an area known as “training site 8” and recon the area for Russian activity. After being dropped off by two covered 5 tons, and splitting from the MARSOC unit that caught a ride with us, we set up a textbook triangular patrol base and waited. After five minutes, one of the machine gun teams spotted two unidentified units in an set of trees about three hundred feet away. Initially, we believed they were a friendly sniper team but after several failures to identify, 1-1, aka 9th Group, was sent to flex left side. After immediately flexing, 1-1 came under fire. My heart raced as I realized this was my first time in a Milsim West engagement. I raised my rifle and started engaging. After seven or eight rounds, I managed to hit him in the neck area (on accident). Almost instantaneously, I hear the cry “medic” and “doc” from a wounded and BB. I ran over, applied aid as best as I could and moved on to my second patient, who was in the open. He was pretty easily taken care of and from there we moved on. At this point, I realized that my anxiety was pointless and that I have a job to do, make sure these guys don’t die to PKM fire.

 I failed. We were walking in the swamp area only 50 feet from our previous engagement and the PL was trying to navigate past a wall of impenetrable bushes. All of a sudden the Russian whistle sounded, sarcastically known as the “rape whistle”, and blank fire and PKM just started lighting up the area. 1-1 and 1-2 were eliminated almost instantly. I believe that only one person survived the initial contact from 1-1 and 2 survived from 1-2. BB immediately sent 1-3 and weapons right, knowing that there would be an enemy unit sent that direction to attempt their own flanking maneuver. He was right. BB, the veteran sniper – who’s story of the “ESAPI rapist” and war tales gave 1st platoon nightmares, is always right. I learned that pretty damn fast. While 1-2 and 1-3 began engaging the right flank, BB and I moved up, battle buddy style, attempting to recover whoever was left. We got only three people and the PL was MIA. I knew only to trust Rittenhouse and to not worry about him. Instead, our makeshift squad attempted to pull back onto the ridge line, where we were then engaged by a squad of Russians. 1-2 and 1-3 had failed. I was hit and was immediately down, not saying a word. After a… interesting decision by a Russian to shoot me in the face, telling me to “shut the fuck up” BB eliminated him with relative ease. After a bandage wrap over my “laceration” and some Motrin, I was ready to go. I gave BB my gun and he yelled to a group of four of us to recover as many units as possible from the initial point of contact. It dawned on me that it was my job to maintain unit cohesion and to keep the unit going. I was part of the leadership team, not only as a medic, but a motivator. It was my job to keep them going. Immediately, I took the units available to me and pushed up a ways eliminating one or two Russians and had them provide security while I “medic-ed” members of 1-2. I couldn’t get to 1-1 in time. They were gone. I believe the only person alive from 1-1 was Garret. As we traveled back to the CCP on a ridge, we were able to gain environmental advantage and maybe even a numeral advantage against the Russian platoon. After the event, I was told that the Russians retreated because they were no longer “combat effective”. Talk about giving back what they dished out right?

Wrong. Almost instantly after we got a CCP going and when I started taking casualty reports, all hell broke loose. It turns out that the “combat ineffective” platoon called in for QRF so we, the survivors (about 15 or so), stared down a fresh platoon of PKM’s and blank fire. God damn it. This time it went better. BB was able to use the range on my gun to pick a massive amount of people and his grenades were able to eliminate entire squads. This is not to say that his efforts were the sole reason why we won. The rest of 1st platoon kept fighting hard and after a long while, Rittenhouse was able to get a danger close indirect fire mission to eliminate the remaining Russian forces. Like out of the movies, Task Force 144 and 2nd platoon staggered column-ed in on the road behind us. Are you kidding me? They couldn't have walked faster? An admin timeout allowed the Russians and US to resupply on admin gear, such as water bottles, and to allow the Russians to safety travel the roads. In the end, 1st platoon technically won the engagement but with only nine guys up in the end, it didn’t feel like winning.

The rest of the day was full of cat and mouse. After setting up, and then splitting from the Mobile TOC (tactical operations center), we finally got our designated AO (area of operation). It was full of near impenetrable bushes and dirt roads that were in a grid pattern. After setting up and leaving a patrol base, we began traveling to village where we had to do recon. Too bad we never got to do recon. As soon as we turned a corner, we came face to face with a Russian platoon just standing around getting ready to move. Immediately PL had us pull out and started requesting indirect fire missions on the area. While trying to retreat, we realized that we were being pincer-ed by another unit on our 6. It was absolutely nerve racking. Tension was high and unit cohesion was down. PL made an interesting choice to take a left towards the initial contact and BB and I couldn’t help but question this move. We were doubling back to the larger force and we were being trapped like rat. This was the last time I questioned Rittenhouse. He knows what the hell he was doing. Over the admin net, we heard that the platoon we called indirect on had 17 causalities. After double timing it to a new patrol base, we decided to take a break. It was much needed. We were worn out and we weren't as effective as we should be. After a thirty minute break, we were able to push back onto the road and began advancing to our mission location.

Of course, the Russians found us. Somehow, BB, a marksman and I were able to find higher ground without the Russians knowing. We were able to provide valuable intel for PL and even almost began engaging my long range rifle and a crap ton of thunder B’s. Before we were able to engage, a safety cease fire was called and all units were ordered to return to the barracks to rest up and to hydrate and eat. I learned an incredible amount on that hill. The way he (BB) described the environment and how he talked about the situation opened my eyes to what to look for and how to analyze a situation.

 When we got back, we were pretty happy. A break was what we needed to recharge our batteries and get our moral and unit cohesion back. Our next mission was to be a backup QRF. Are you kidding me? We are QRF to the QRF. 3rd platoon was given QRF and Roscoe Leiner, the company’s XO, was commanding the MARSOC and TF144 guys. Their mission was to secure a HVT but instead ended up in direct fire with all of the Russian platoons. The MARSOC and TF144 guys were laying waste to the Russians but as the QRF was sent out on the 5 tons, the Russians were able to eliminate the entire QRF with incredibly accurate mortar fire way before they were able to reach the AO. MARSOC and TF144 apparently had great success eliminating the Russians but the TF144 leader ended up being captured. After everyone returned, we began prepping. It was easy to see what our next mission was. PL and BB started making glass houses and all the squads enthusiastically started learning how to stack up in rooms, large rooms, short rooms, long rooms, and hallways. After collecting back in the bays, Roscoe comes running in yelling “fuck yah you guys got THE mission wooo”. It was about time. Because of the composition of the platoons that consists of Task Force Nessie, and I/G, and because of their reliability and typically being the only NATO platoon squared away, we are given the support tasks, such as QRF or support by fire rather than direct fire missions. To be somewhat opinionated, I feel that this led to a very sever downfall of NATO at the end of the event.

So what was “THE mission”. We were tasked with a rescue mission to recover HVTs including a black operative, and the captured TF144 leader. The TF144 leader was “injured” in the since that he required stabilization. His team noted that he was shot in the leg before being captured so I assumed extensive hemorrhage. Tourniquet.

Just kidding, but we did have “THE mission”. We were inserted by 5 ton at night, and besides being silhouetted by the town’s lighting, it was incredible. 1-3 and machine was able to move up onto the church (where the prisoners were being held) and 1-1 was able to stack up on the church before all hell broke loose. It was actually kind of funny how it started. On the left side of the wall, everyone was prone, aiming through the cracks and holes. Machine gun teams were watching our immediate left. They call contact and BB runs over to find that there is what looks to be a NATO SF unit behind a few buildings. We attempted to verify by calling 4 and received the correct response of 1. One of them runs over and sits next to BB and it turns out the guy was Taters, who was not friendly... at all. BB realized the mistake and pretended to be a good player, letting the Tater walk back, alive, to his CCP. As soon as the Tater was 20 feet away, BB calmly told all our machine guns units “fuck them up (or something to that extent).”

Hell. Broke. Loose.

               After engaging the Tater platoon for a few minutes, PL yelled the words “3rd Litter.” This meant that I became attached to 1-3 and that 1-1 had cleared the Church and had set up security. I can’t say better things about 1-1. They were a group of steady, level headed people that really made a difference in this mission. They trained hard and their communication was incredible. Anyways, I ran into the church, ran down a flight of stairs to the basement where I found the PL going all “marine” on two cobra cuffed Russians, who were spewing Potat’s heresy. That reminded me never to screw with Rittenhouse. You just don’t. In another corner, a member of 1-3 (I believe) was calming down a former Ranger and current black operative wearing a white waffle top who looked strangely like Joshua Warren. It took me only a few seconds to get the stretcher ready to go and we were able to strap in, secure, and stabilize an injured HVT (the TF144 leader). After an administrative intervention (a Russian guy played dead, which is extremely confusing in airsoft), NATO was able to exfil with two Russian prisoners, one black operative, and the injured TF144 leader. We stagger columned back towards the 5 ton and the platoon leadership walked it back with the company CO basking in the glory of finally getting a direct fire mission. I did have issues carrying the TF144 (as part of the litter crew). It turns out that I inhaled in incredible amount of smoke which started up breathing issues. When I got back to the barracks, I immediately contacted the senior medic (Garrett Lukens) who, then, contacted Abraham Inton. We got it all figured out after that.

               The break was eventful. It was longer this time because there were two prisoners that needed to be interrogated. After BB threatened to rape them with ESAPI plates, and after a (fake) waterboarding, we eventually got intel about the whereabouts of a certain HVT… and the RR stash of thunderdrank.

               Sunday started at a solid 0600 for me. I did my basic inventory check as well as packed all non-necessities. We got our orders at 0900 and left promptly. What was the mission? Eliminate a HVT and provide support by fire for the rest of NATO. Yep, another god damn support mission. After walking in a staggered column for some time, we were told to “get on line” on the ridge. I couldn’t help but think about the AAR at 2300 last night where PL was saying that MOUT is a “clusterfuck” and that we needed to just “JDAM the entire town”. I couldn’t help but agree. As we began our push, PL decided to take initiative and try to set up a CCP in a group of containers near the edge of the city. 1-1 and 1-2 both pushed up with great success after being covered by overlapping machine gun and 1-3. Our platoon was in sync. As a medic, I could only stand back and watch the magic unfold. Rittenhouse was telling me how incredible and badass it feels to be part of a team that really synced and how amazing it felt to breach through a hallway where everyone knew what to do. That description of seamless movement was perfect in this situation. As the overlapping fire hit a target, 1-1 would instantly move to it. After 1-1 moved to it, they would breach and clear with great success (because of the glass rooms we had set up). As soon as 1-1 would breach, the overlapping fire would switch to 1-2’s next position, where 1-2 would move to and breach. It was incredible to watch. To take a total of 6 or 7  buildings took roughly five minutes. We did have a decent amount of cas though. Luckily, Baron, the medic from TF144, and I pooled our resources together to move everyone out of the CCP as soon as possible. After setting up a company CCP, our point of insertion into the MOUT, and despite our success, 1st platoon was ordered back to the ridgeline to only provide support by fire. We were relatively ineffective. I had to hand my gun to someone because it was one of the only long guns that could actually hit anyone from our distance. Despite our orders, we took it well (at the time) and moved 1-1 into a group of trees on our left to counter any attempt to flank. This lasted a solid one to two hours. There was action over on the left when RR-COM and 9th Group were engaging each other. It was like I/G’s battle of the century. RR-COM on one side, 9th on the other. Brian Clarkson (or Joshua Warren… I am not sure who the true head of RR is) on one side, and the Welshman himself on the other. It would have been incredible to watch but I didn’t have time for that. I had to run around and put myself in situations to make sure all available rifles were up and ready to go.

               It started ending there. After the rest of NATO lost all of the initiative and the ground that was taken by 1st platoon, it started stalemating. Eventually, in the end (for fun), we bum rushed the middle of the field attempting to skirt past a wall of PKM’s. That wasn’t happening. In the end, the PL was right, MOUT is a clusterfuck.

               What I learned from the event was invaluable. I have worked with the PL before. Jacob Rittenhouse led NATO on my first “milsim” event, Operation Barterwings, hosted by Spokane Airsoft. I thought he was a badass then, and I think he is a bigger badass now. He taught me that being calm and collected really gets the job done and that as a leader, it’s important to set an example with everything you do. He does still need to teach me his mad landnav skills. All of those indirects were spot on and I am straight up jealous of those landnav skills.

               I learned from BB is that I need to look beyond what is obvious. I need to start critically thinking about what normal is. I remember how he showed me where the sniper team (that we engaged on the beginning of Saturday) travelled by just looking around. He was able to point out the trail they took with ease. His battle buddy skills were just unparalleled. He had my back and I had his. I felt that I knew what he wanted before he even asked for it. He kept me safe and I kept him safe. He knew my limits and I think I knew his.

               What I learned from 9th Group is that you just cannot stop pushing. 1-1 did die during our first engagement on Saturday but that pushed them to be better and better. There was a reason why they were selected to breach and why they, along with 1-2, were able to take so much of the town in so little time. They knew their jobs between each other and that chemistry as well as that determination made them Jacob’s utility tool.

               I learned so much at this event. I came in nervous because I knew I knew a lot more than the typical airsofter but a lot less than the military guys and I was right. I have since redone my kit a little bit to focus on  minimizing pointless gear and I took my time trying to balance out Gucci with functionality. I also decided to officially focus on being a medic. I loved my role. Even though I barely shot a mag the entire event, I didn’t want to shoot more. I loved being the medic and I think that I will be making my kit to fit this role.

One more thing I learned. Don't fuck with RR. Just don't.
              

               Will I go back? Yes. Will I recommend it for everyone? No. It requires motivation and dedication. It isn’t for everyone but I’m glad it’s for me.

Task Force Nessie!

KWA: The Successful Marketing Company

I know a lot of you hate KWA... but I love them (from a business standpoint). Here's why!

Why MAP Pricing Exists In Airsoft

My first attempt at a video blog! I hope it gets my thoughts out clearer and with awesome visual aid! If you guys didn't know, I am a Marketing and Economics dual major and I thought I'd share my knowledge about the classic marketing techniques (and mistakes) made in the airsoft industry. 

Hypothermia: Preventing the Silent Killer

Winter airsofting is one heck of an experience. There is no doubt about that. Gameplay is slower, more methodical, and it’s a different kind of fun. Even with this fun, it’s important to prepare yourself appropriately for the weather. Without taking the appropriate precautions, you can fall victim to an environmental emergency.

One of the most common environmental emergencies during the winter is hypothermia. Hypothermia is when the body gives off more heat than it can generate and artificially intake. Hypothermia occurs when the body drops below 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the internal temperature the body needs to maintain in order to function properly. The body can lose heat through four different mechanisms:

• Radiation: When heat is given off into an area or object that has a lower temperature than the radiating object. A person standing outdoors in subfreezing temperatures radiates heat to the surrounding cold atmosphere, primarily through extremities.
• Convection: Convection is the process by which heat is given off into adjacent cold molecules. Thermodynamic laws dictate that heat travels to areas that lack heat (also known as the cold). Convection exists purely because of these thermodynamic laws that exist.
• Conduction: Conduction is when heat is passed through a colder object by direct contact. Water is an excellent conductor of heat. Water will conduct heat 240 times faster than air, which is why a patient immersed in cold water is subjected to more rapid progression of hypothermia than a patient struggling with the cold.
• Evaporation: This is when liquids is heated to a gaseous state, causing a loss in temperature. This is the process of perspiring, which is one of the regulatory mechanisms a body uses to maintain normal temperature.
• Respiration: This is when air heated by the body is exhaled into the atmosphere and replaced with cooler ambient air.

Symptoms of Hypothermia:

The symptoms of hypothermia are categorized in stages in order to make it easier to recognize. These stages can progress at an undetermined rate, especially when liquids are involved.

• First Stage: The body shivers in an attempt to raise its core temperature.
• Second Stage: There is mental apathy and loss of motor functions
• Third Stage: There is a decreased level of responsiveness and freezing of the extremities (fingers, toes, etc).
• Fourth Stage: The vital signs begin to decrease and slow.
• Fifth Stage: Death.

When you are attempting to access body temperature, you should feel the patient’s torso and abdomen. This is the best indicator for body temperature since you are verifying core body temperature. If it is cold to the touch, you should check verbal and motor responses. If the patient is shivering, then they may be in stage one. If shivering is absent, check for stage two and stage three symptoms for motor function and verbal imparities.  

Skin color will progress from normal pink to red then pale then cyan as hypothermia progresses. It will also become stiff and harder.

Caring for a Hypothermic Patient:

Care for patients with hypothermia begins with their removal from a cold environment as well as the removal of any and all wet clothing. The patient should be gradually be warmed by the use of blankets and warm liquids to the groin, axillary (underarm area), and the cervical (neck) regions as well as the core area. Digesting of warm liquids is at the digression of the patient and should never be forced.

Localized cold injuries, such as frostbite, may occur in extreme hypothermic situations. To minimize damage to these extremities, splinting and a gradual rewarming of the injured extremity should be considered.

Ways to Prevent Hypothermia:

Preventing hypothermia is easy and the nature of airsofting lends to the use of effective cold weather gear while staying compliant with stereotypical militaristic looks. Fighting hypothermia means that you are attempting to combat heat transference mechanisms.

• Using Appropriate Layers: This is critical to combat ambient air and water. If you expect the weather to be colder but with dry conditions, consider a soft shell and a waffle layer with a thermal layer. If you expect rain, then consider a hard shell instead of a soft shell or a soft shell with water wicking abilities.
• Staying Dry: Staying dry is extremely important to hypothermia prevention. Note the fact that I stated earlier. “water will conduct heat 240 times faster than air”.
• Redundancies: Bringing extra layers and backup layers is heavily important. These extra layers will determine how well you stay dry and warm in the long term. I personally bring two soft shells just in case my outer layer becomes wet.
• Stay Hydrated: Staying hydrated is extremely important in the summer and the winter. Digestion of warm water is not only better for hydration but, in the winter, it is easier for you to stay warm while having a warm core.
• Be Realistic: Being realistic is easy. If you feel that you are too cold, then stop and warm up. If you feel that you are losing feeling in your fingers, then combat that by warming up your extremities. It’s so important that you are proactive with hypothermia because recovering from hypothermia might involve a trip to the hospital instead of slinging BB’s.

CPR: The Successful Failure

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. CPR. I remember sitting in junior high school and high school health class, rolling my eyes for every “CPR training session”. Secondary education spent entire months dedicated to teaching CPR. Why? I saw no point in them because I thought I’d never end up in a situation where I would need CPR. I thought everyone and everything was invincible. Now, at the end of my 4^th year in college, I can see how important these procedures are. I have also seen a very inconvenient truth about CPR. No matter how much we learn or how much class room time we spend on CPR, its failure rate is definitely higher than its success rate.

The point of CPR is designed to preserve brain function. If done properly it extends the chance for resuscitation through other means, naturally or artificially. Idealistically, the factors of success with CPR include:

• Compression depth of at least two inches
• Compression rate of at least 100 compressions per minute
• Allowing the chest wall to recoil fully between every compression
• Minimizing interruptions

The problem is that CPR is only designed to preserve brain functions in the event of cardiac arrest. The probability of CPR actually restarting the heart is statistically low, in contradictory to Hollywood’s glorification of CPR. It can only limit tissue damage and minimize the amount of damage to the patient’s brain. This problem stems from the manual nature of CPR. It’s similar to putting a Band-Aid on a two inch laceration. You aren’t addressing the main problem, instead you are attempting address the main problem indirectly by attempting to solve a different issue. It will help, there is no doubt in that, but overall it is a daunting task.

So you might be asking, who is this guy to bash on CPR? Well first, finish the paper. I am not bashing CPR but rather I am taking a very critical stance about CPR and two, I have been in 5 separate incidents that required CPR. One of the most notable situations is why I started exploring the realm of emergency medicine. It was a 55 mph head on collision that I ran across. In that situation, CPR was pointless but attempted none the less. I did what I was taught in high school, 30 compressions, 30 breaths. I did not allow the chest to fully decompress because I was in shock and not thinking, and my CPR technique was old. I really can’t help but think “what if” questions, such as, what if I was more up to date and aware about the “advancements” in CPR techniques. The advancements in CPR techniques include the movement towards soley using compression rather than balancing compression and artificial resuscitation (rescue breathing).

The second situation I was in that included CPR was the most recent. I noticed a huge change in my mentality towards medical situations. When I came upon that accident with Sean while driving up to a Spokane Airsoft operation, we ran across the aftermath of a drowsy truck driver. I was calmer and more educated, which led to initial success in quasi-securing the patient without having any of the proper “tools” to C-Spine.  I don’t even think Sean knows this (since he was actively rerouting traffic for first responders) but we had to do a very awkwardly positioned CPR.  I will note that we had no other choice and that we did our best to give the patient proper spine support. We had no choice. I was in the proper position to do compressions so I did so (while my temporary and BLS qualified partner continuously checked C-Spine and her support).  It directly led to success. She began breathing roughly and her pulse became more prominent (although still week). Although it led to initial success, after paramedics and firemen showed up, she died. I did attempt CPR again but to no avail. The blue palm was ominous.

  

CPR isn’t a nuclear option. Nukes work and they work well. Think of CPR as a last resort. I will be blunt; I think CPR is futile but necessary. If you need to do CPR, you have a more critical issue at hand. However, as discouraging as I am, advancement in medical technologies and practices have increased our ability to sustain and even improve brain functions during a medical emergency. It’s not only critical for people to know these potentially life-saving procedures but I feel that it should be a requirement. As negative as I was earlier, I hold the view that if we can spend 50 minutes of our time learning simple techniques can one day save a life, and then it’s worth it. On top of that, public automated electrical defibulators (AED’s)  are becoming more prominent and the technology integrated in these AED’s are simple enough to use that I have seen 10 year old children successfully apply AED’s to dummies.

You may be confused by my point so I will sum everything all together. CPR’s job is to preserve brain functions and is highly unlikely to restart the heart; however CPR is highly glorified. It is not the save all technique. In fact, statistically, it is questionable at best. However, CPR is a necessary failure. CPR can and will continue to save lives. Even with increased availability in AED’s, we need to make sure that we aren’t technologically reliant. We need to take time out in our day to learn life saving techniques, not only CPR, in order to make sure when the time comes, if ever, that we are prepared.  Don’t consider my failure stories as a discouragement to learning CPR; view them as a lesson to be learned from. CPR can potentially be a life-saving technique and it may grant your patient one last chance to say good bye. CPR is a successful failure.

Crye Precision Versus Condor Outdoor: Understand Value and How That Affects Our Decisions

As players continually develop into the airsoft culture, one way or another, they are exposed to two types of players, “speedsofters” and “milsimmers”. These titles aren’t meant to offend anyone but rather they give us a realistic perspective of each group’s ideologies. The hardcore “speedsofter” just wants to play. They don’t care about looks and are dedicated to practicality and sending BB’s down range. The hardcore “milsimmer” not only prefers a different kind of gameplay but a different kind of approach to purchasing gear. Dedicated impressionists will shell out hundreds of dollars to a single plate carrier to reenact military personal for an airsoft game. So why is there such a large difference between the hardcore speedsofting consumer and the hardcore impressionist consumer? Why does one consumer so highly value condor and another so highly value Crye. Well let’s explore this from a consumer behavior point of view.

The first thing we need to go over is how customers process product attributes (feature) to value. By figuring out how people establish values, we will be able to understand how customers make purchases based off of these values. Before that though, I am going to slow way down. There is a lot of business and consumer behavioral terminology that applies to this. I will attempt to simplify everything and break it down piece by piece.

The process of identifying product attribute and creating value out of these attributes is known as the means end chain. The means end chain consists of four parts: product attribute, consumer benefit, executive framework, and personal value. You can see it denoted below.

Product attribute can be defined as the product features and specifications. It’s what the product is at its rawest form. For instance, if we look at Crye G3 combat pants, they offer internal knee pad placement, different pocket placement, breathability, and beaver material as their choice for stretch material.

Now that we established product attributes, we can lead into consumer benefits. The consumer will evaluate product attributes and see if they can gain some kind of benefits from it. For instance, the internal knee pads (an attribute) can be seen by a consumer as a way to add comfort. The “comfort” is a consumer benefit. Since we have comfort, companies can establish executive frameworks. Executive frameworks are basically marketing strategies. I really don’t want to get into that. All you need to know is that executive frameworks gives us our leverage point (a selling point) that we can use to create value. Crye Precision probably recognizes that their internal knee pad slots give consumers more comfort. They basically have found their leverage point. They can how create marketing strategies to brand themselves as “more comfortable” which gives the consumer a numeral value for this comfort. Basically, the price of the item is what we perceive as value. We assume that price is value.

So how does this help us? Price is the key. If we assess both groups, the hardcore speedsofter and the impressionists, we find that their price sensitively is absolutely different from one another. This translates out to that they value different things. As obvious as this is, most debates forget this simple fact. Impressionists believe that quality is the most important attribute to making a purchase decision. They believe in value accrued from the future value gained from that one time purchase. The value of impressions itself cannot be ignored as well. Impressions are the mainstay of military simulation. Without impressions, there would be little physical differentiation between speedsofting and milsim events. The value or enjoyment that people gain from impressions cannot be underestimated. This is why impressionists are relatively price insensitive. They are willing to pay for that additional value gained.

The hardcore speedsofter is a completely different story. They just want to sling BB’s downrange and stay within a reasonable budget. This budget is their consumer benefit and Condor’s leverage point. Condor attempts to address the budget minded airsofter. In fact, a lot of companies try to keep costs down so they don’t have to compete directly with real steel companies or else they will have to provide the same value that the real steel companies provide. They address the need for budget equipment to price sensitive customers.

When one sides argue Condor or Crye, it makes me roll my eyes. There is so much more than just “this is better”. It comes down to what the consumer values the most. Even though this read addresses the extremes of one side or another, we can assume that most players are a little of both. There is a time and place for everything and this rule doesn’t exclude Crye Precision or Condor.