Suggestion : Military Veteran Sub-Forum

[Snake_Eyes]

Hey AP forum goers, Airsofters, and Veterans!

I've been doing a lot of thinking while I've been downrange and there are a few things that I feel would add a lot to this forum and the community in general. It is my belief that any airsofter that is a Military Vet or LE Vet should have the responsibility to mentor our younger Airsoft enthusiasts and teach them what it means to be in the military in a positive way and to also teach them how we do things in the real world which will make them more responsible, critically thinking and tactically proficient players. If we all do this we create not only for ourselves but for the community a larger pool of skilled players who respect the replica weapons as real ones and have a better understanding what the LE and Military Vets go through and respect that.

Many of the players that I've interacted with have great potential to be great soldiers, airmen, sailors and police/firefighers and through airsoft have a confidence other kids their age don't have. Also many have built leadership skills that were tempered in airsoft games.

Essentially I'm saying is Military Vets and LE Vets we should make an effort to interact and mentor the younger players and teach them what we take for basic knowledge.

Also a suggestion is that we should get a subforum for Military/LE veterans so that those that have just come back from a deployment, transitioning from military service to civilian life etc have an outlet to other Veterans. From there we can organize BBQs and other events, get them in touch with our contacts and what not. Also possibly make a forum for people interested in enlisting/commissioning into the Military/LE. There is a wealth of information here that I know many of us would love to share.

Thats just my .50c
SGT Patrick Weber
"Aka SE445"

[Jerm_G]

I wouldn't mind seeing this. I also would like to see the mil section locked out to only mil veteran players.

[Matt]

Sounds like a good idea to me, would somebody be willing to step up to moderate this new forum and also be the gate keeper for entry to the user group?

[Darius137]

I like this idea. Also it would let me make fun of military people without kids chiming in.

[Deep6]

Maybe DJ would be more active if such a forum existed with people who really appreciate his wisdom. I miss good old DJ.

[Mindspeed]

I'm not a vet, so I can't and won't speak on anything related to that, but I am a leader in my workplace.
Just want to throw out the point that, segregating a group of individuals, may have the opposite affect and create clicks and not grow the community.

I'm new here so maybe I'm talking out my arse. Discuss away.

And two, thank you vets for your service.

[Darius137]

Often I see veterans come here looking to play airsoft, only to be turned off by the 4chan atmosphere of the forum. I think a veteran only area would not only help bring in more vets, but also give them a place to blow some steam off and talk to other vets who have also gone through the shock of playing soldier, but acting like a gibbering retard.

Give them six months to a year of playing, and they'll be Nerdy and femme just like the rest of us.

[Matt]

A lot of the discussion topics that may he posted would only be pertinent to current or prior military. The point of having a separate user group is to isolate those topics to people who care about them. Remember - not all Airsoft is mil-sim. What this does is facilitate those individuals who do want to discuss the military with their peers. If they want to discuss Airsoft guns, Airsoft games or Airsoft Gear they'll still us the regular discussion forums like everyone else.

And I would also argue that without groups like these, you actually damage the community even more because Sci-Fi Zombie Gamer kids are clashing with Military Veterans and vice versa.

[Mindspeed]

Good point. I get what you are saying The "4chan" crap can be moderated away if that is not the player base you are looking to attract as well. All though it would take dilligence.

Sorry, I like discussing topics to learn from people. I'm not being argumentative.

[Mindspeed]

And I would also argue that without groups like these, you actually damage the community even more because Sci-Fi Zombie Gamer kids are clashing with Military Veterans and vice versa.

So what about sub groups defined by games and not class of individual? That way I could read about mil-sim and its tactics while being a non vet/ civilian. Or I can read about the end of the world zombie apocalypse if I'm 13. As always they would need to moderated for content, as I always say can't fix stupid.

Like I said above just interested in others opinions. In the end it's your site and community to manage. I'll be back either way

[Orwell]

The "4chan" crap can be moderated away if that is not the player base you are looking to attract as well. All though it would take dilligence.

The problem there is that there are a great many valuable and experienced players who have a habit of acting immaturely on the forums. Unfortunately, that's enough of the population that moderating them away would create a large hole in the userbase.


As to the OP: Way I see it, this is a great idea. I know that I don't know a damn thing about the military, but there are a lot of people like me who think we do. There've been many occasions where I've seen some dumb kid offhandedly contradict the informed opinion of a career soldier on things as simple as "which backpack do specz ops doods carry in the feeld?"

Bravo, Snake_Eyes. Good call.

[Mindspeed]

As to the OP: Way I see it, this is a great idea. I know that I don't know a damn thing about the military, but there are a lot of peoplelike me who think we do. There've been many occasions where I've seen some dumb kid offhandedly contradict the informed opinion of a career soldier on things as simple as "which backpack do specz ops doods carry in the feeld?"

Right, but with the proposed solution you and I would not be able to read the informed opinion of a career soldier unless they chose to post to the Gen. Pop. I don't know about you but I'm dying to know "which backpack do specs ops doods carry in the feeld".

Bored at work.

[Deep6]

Another option is to have a sub-forum be "read only" for non sub-forum members.

[Mindspeed]

Another option is to have a sub-forum be "read only" for non sub-forum members.

Sometimes I am blinded to the simplest solutions. Thanks for the banter back and forth.

[NFS_Shadow]

I think it's a great idea to have a seperate sub-forum for any current or past military personel. I also admit to occasionally saying something stupid and clashing with someone in the military on opinion and/or mistaken fact. The main reason behind me backing this is because I, planning on joining the Marine Corps (signing the 25th and MEPS the 18th of july) would love a "read-only" feature for the non military population and maybe even a "ask a soldier" subforum where you could respectfully ask the military community any question you might have about joining or life in the military. Either way I still think this should be incorporated as soon as possible. We need to support our military, each and every soldier deserves our eternal thanks for what they've done for us.