A pipe dream: Unit and Team Cohesion

[Jon The Student]

Note: This is a thread I created on www.sepaairsoft.com, but figured why not get some more input from the nice fellows back in SC, feel free to tear apart my shoddy grammar and convulsed thought process, criticism is almost always appreciated.




Good morning, my name is Jon, and I have been playing airsoft since the beginning of 2011 starting in South Carolina, and granted, while my experience is not nearly as extensive or impressive as most of the members on this board, I do have a question for those who have been around for quite a bit longer.

Is there any reasonable and practical way to have different teams move and operate effectively as a platoon sized unit?

I know of and have been a part of small tight knit fire-teams/squads that work together marvelously, however, this effectiveness has come from time played together and the subsequent synergy of knowing how your teammates will react without communicating that much. There is no firm leadership or defined leader, but rather the group consensus determines what will be done, and in which manner it will be done. This form of democratic leadership seems to work best in groups of 6 or less, any more than that and it seems the group consensus gets alot harder to reach, and the effectiveness of the unit breaks down as arguing, explaining, or disputing what needs to be done occurs.

I have asked my friends in the Marines (1311's, not the POG's they so affectionately separate themselves from lol) how we should attain versatility and effectiveness more akin to the larger platoon sized elements commonly found in the worlds militaries, and they all have the same response: ensure motivation of players to follow a chain of command, practice often, and develop leaders and followers to eliminate micromanagement. Now, I know that there are a few teams across the country that do this, however I do not know of any team that does this that can field more than 8 players at a time.

So, how can we as a community develop and enhance the level of cohesion of the different teams in the area so games can have a strategic aspect in addition to the tactical flux of the game?

Or is this even worth pursuing? Is this taking the game to an extent that most people don't even really wish to bother with, as I can tell whatever needs to be done will be quite extensive, and as such should it be left alone?

I personally think that is would be a worth while pursuit, airsoft as a hobby from what I can tell has not progressed that much in the past few years besides more consistent and affordable products, and the occasional new systems to power these airsoft devices, but it would be nice to take another look at how we actually PLAY the game and work on developing that, instead of solely focusing on how to sling a smooth plastic pellet as far as we can without shooting someones eye out.


Thanks for your time,
Jon

[Echo1 Operator]

So, how can we as a community develop and enhance the level of cohesion of the different teams in the area so games can have a strategic aspect in addition to the tactical flux of the game?

Make games 18 + only, and get rid of high cap magazines.

Thanks for your time,

You're welcome.

[Dominum]

I have rarely seen a team of that size to begin with, much less one operating as you mention. I have, however, seen and employed while in command platoon size groups of teams that worked very effectively as a cohesive unit. I have done so by pairing 2-4 airsoft teams into platoon sized units and appointed a platoon leader (usually the CO of one of the teams comprising the platoon). I usually try to do so in a manner that pairs teams that have already played on the same faction and cooperated with one another several times before. I also try to make sure that the person I appoint as the platoon leader is respected and has seen action with the other teams in his platoon's officers before. This usually means that the entire platoon will readily take orders from the platoon leader and they will be disseminated to the team leaders like they would be to fire teams or squads. Since the multiple teams in the platoon and their officers have all worked together, and/or against each other before, they usually have a good grasp of how to cooperate. This enables me as CO to focus on the larger picture than to micromanage individual teams like I used to in the earlier command positions I held, and I think it can be effectively employed at most large airsoft games, provided you can find groups of teams that meet these criteria.