Filed by Samuel Zentner
Fort Ord, Monterey
AAR: Ord – The First Trip
If we tried this in 1942 we would have been shot as spies. It was planned as a clandestine operation from the onset. That meant that we would have to enter Fort Ord without being seen. Thanks to the 1st squad having to gas-up(C02) on sight before we entered, we were pinpointed and detained by an agent of the Department of the Interior. After a short interrogation, we were allowed to pass. The agent’s main concern was if we had any firearms. But since we had all our hardware (pneumatic paint throwers) hidden in our kit she did not register an alarm.
The patrol was not easy. Everything that we needed had to be carried in. Gas, Balls, and Beverage. Wizard stayed behind and guided the uninitiated First Squad to he machine gun range that would be the game field. The trail was long. When we finally crossed the nearly one mile to get to the location, we climbed the last long grade to see a beautiful sight; acres and acres of top quality game field. An Army Corps of Engineers type of course that went forever. see photos Fort Ord
We marched down and set up the bivouac, then decided to play “Capture the Flag”; The First against the Fourth Squad. . Wizard had fielded an entire squad of Monterey players that knew the terrain quite well. There was six of the Fourth and five of the First. The First moved out to defend the flag as the Forth made ready.
On the first game the Fourth made a gallant try against the flag but was eliminated with the help of Widow Maker on a hard charge using support from the rest of the fire team. The most notable event of that action was the command by Maj,D, Saster,”volley fire” The idea came to flower later that day in a big way.
In the second game, the First Squad had the job of the attack. We decided to go right up the middle with Widow Maker and Tanker on our hard right flank. Pacman was on the inside position of the picket line and came under heavy fire. From a position on Pacman’s right the Predator was working angles on the offenders. As the two teams closed on each other, the fire grew in intensity. At one point as the First Squad was closing the button hook on the Fourth, a grenade flew over the hedge in a tall arch towards Pacman. Before it could come down and cause any damage, Predator shouted a warning and Pacman had time to flatten down and escape elimination
Predator was in a direct gunfight with a member of the Fourth Squad. He finally landed a “hit” before he was eliminated by the player he didn’t see. (Good tactics by the 4th) Widowmaker closed in on the player who shot Predator and completed a crossfire that eliminated him in short order. Widowmaker then fought his way to the flag, grabbed it, and made the long haul to the “Free Line”.
The First squad had its hands full that day with the Fourth Squad on their own home turf. The action was superb and the scenery was without parallel. We used a tactic that never failed to cause an elimination on the opposition; VOLLEY FIRE – (Battle Positions/Roles/Communications)