NEWS

This year for USANA’s “NJ Nam,” many things were askew from what would be considered normal for the game that all tri-state paintballers and beyond wait for year round. From years previous when I played at its numerous locations; USANA decided this year to make the field 1/3 of the size it normally would be. I realize this could be for a number of reasons (easier to get to hurt people, much more work could be done on the field because of its small area, ease of insertions, easier to ref/manage, ect. ect.). This however brought negatives and positives into the game itself.

Vietnam did not have waves of people attaching each other, it instead was mostly patrol VS Patrol in thick jungle. We on the other hand had those waves of people and tanks along with trenches that were big and deep enough to hide a whole team of players. This may have been completely historically accurate; but it worked. It was fun, quick exciting, and a definite change that USANA needed / was looking for.

Another aspect of the game that was changed was the number of tanks on the field. The Americans had three tanks while the VC had five. Now whether these tanks were meant to even the game out when a side needed them or if they just registered to a side I am unsure. But if it was the latter then you can see how this game went in terms of scoring.

The VC was run by Doug Decker of the Red Raiders. While the US forces were lead by Chuck Stone of the 13th Legionnaires. With the powers that be it became evident early in the game as well as pre-game by the arm tape that the US had the teams and numbers advantage. But this did not in any way stop the VC from putting up a fight that I still have a welt or two from on those two faithful days.

I was a tad behind the line during game on because I ran into a few friends at the starting line and proceeded to run up with them as well as my teammates. That and someone wanted to get some pictures of us. Anyhow, when we did get to the front line and see who was pushing the other side back (which shows more than 75% of the time who will win the game) it was the US pushing the VC back.

This is where some of the game rules and structures came into play. Once we pushed for a good way I noticed this huge network of trenches that were dug all over the place. This is something that I have only seen at a very few fields and was very impressed by how much work was put into making the field look like a battlefield. Ahead of us we got held up by a small downward slope of the ground. We held the one side while the VC held the other. In the center was no man’s land. The other issue for us was that at this point we were on the right side tape line, and it then started to sharply turn right. This right where Philly Paintball Group “bunkered” their tank with the support of infantry. Now there were only specific areas where a tank could “bunker” down. Once a tank is bunked the only way to take it out is with a satchel charge, not a rocket.

Idea: neat, what this means for a player: death and pain. Which =’s cool idea that needs work. The tank itself had at least six gunners. But running at it which a satchel charge that you can’t throw is just dumb.

The other issue from this is the tape line. Tape line shooting is a pet peeve of mine; I want to know before the game if we can or cannot shoot over that tape line and I want the refs to know it too. But nobody knew at first. So people were shooting back and forth while others were yelling not to. The first two refs said yes you can, than the other said no you can’t. Radioed it in, and confirmed it. So at this point Philly PB’s tank as well as its supporting inf and I along with some fellow US troops had a nice gun fight along the tape line. But then it changed. The head ref came over explaining something along the lines of: “Well the way I do it is, if they shoot at you over that tape line than so can you.” I stared at him. Turned around, (still behind the tape line) and then got shot from my head to my legs by the tank. I was unhappy to say the least.

After reinsertion and I got back on the field I saw a lot of good play as well as sportsmanship on the field. I was very impressed by this and would expect nothing less from the hardcore and honest paintballers of the tri-state area. There were pushes back and forth from both sides for the good portion of the rest of the day. I managed to run into a number of friends of mine on the US and VC side. Its always a joy to know the person you are shooting at or hear laughing who just shot at you is the person you go out to dinner somewhere or at the camp site with after every game and laugh about it a few hours later. Which brings me to the paint: Marbs, Stinger, and Midnight. All of It shot wonderfully and I only had one person ask me for my squeegee. I never needed it once and from the looks of things around me I wasn’t the only one. It shot straight and true the whole game.

I for a good portion of the mid part of the game decided to take Jincay’s camera from the Night Stalkers (thanks again for letting me use the camera Jincay). I got around two hours of decent footage. Footage of tanks, rushes, me getting shot and cursing out loud even when I was wearing blaze orange. But overall it was a great experience getting footage from both sides of the field. I ran into a number of people such as Pete Murphy and Nasty. Jincay will have some of this footage up at his youtube account here: http://www.youtube.com/user/jincay.

June 1 2009

13th Legionnaires Reaches Sponsorship agreement with Planet Eclipse for 2009 and 2010 Seasons New Jersey June 1, 2009 --- The 13th Legionnaires are pleased to announce we have reached an agreement to shoot Planet Eclipse Egos and Geos for the remainder of the 2009 season continuing through 2010. Planet Eclipse’s premier markers have found a home in the hands of the Northeast’s premier scenario paintball team. After a grueling 26 hour scenario with more than 30 Legionnaires and friends shooting Planet Eclipse Ego and Geo markers there was not a single mechanical failure, broken paintball or marker related issue throughout the event. Each marker was subject to the punishments of constant use, weather and countless cases of paintballs all without missing a beat. The 13th Legionnaires are proud and excited to be shooting Planet Eclipse’s Ego and Geo markers, please look for us coming to a field near you. http://www.13thlegionnaires.com/ http://www.planeteclipse.com/