Airsoft Players, Egos, and Rank

[Cougar]

Growing up in the Military my entire life, I've been in direct contact with this idea of Rank. I've noticed, in airsoft, Rank is just a thing to tag before your name.

Maybe, it's just in my area, but I think this obsession with Rank is nothing but a big old ego-trip.

Basically what I've seen is, "If you have a higher rank, you have the right to treat people like crap". Along with that, I've noticed that people who are older think they have more rights to a team than younger players.

I just don't understand it. Leaders turn on leaders and sit around and analyze eachother. They attack eachother and throw eachother to the wolves just to get this role of dominance. They push and push until someone backs down and does something that, in reality, they shouldn't do just to make another person happy. This idea of trying to create a top dog of some sort is, in my opinion, stupid. In the Military, that's not how it works and last time I checked, airsoft is military simulation. If you want to simulate military situations, team members need to respect eachother and drop the egotistical acts that a lot of people practically live in. All it does is frustrate the other people that you call teammates and, hopefully, friends.

I don't think Rank is what airsoft should be about! It's like whoever gets the most kills deserves the highest rank and that's rediculous. You should earn your rank by maintaining your responsibility, being loyal and civil to your team mates, and by doing what is best for the team, NOT just yourself.

I don't think egos should play a role either. Confidence is good, but acting like a freaking caveman isn't. If it was, everyone wouldn't use guns! They'd be too busy clubbing their superiors over the head to gain dominance. Egos don't serve any purpose but getting in the way during a battle or game. If you're so busy yelling at eachother saying, "My idea is better!", "No, my idea is better!", or various other bulls***, how are you supposed to be a team and win, for god sakes.

SERIOUSLY, Rank is more than who salutes whom. Rank is a badge of leadership and responsibility. If teams want to work out, they need to realize this and stop kicking eachother in the nuts (stomach for women). Rank shouldn't effect how you treat people and you shouldn't just get promoted because you want to. Rank should be earned, you should be proud of it, and you should represent it in a positive manner - not like a child in a school yard, picking on the people around you to make yourself feel better.

Stop making fun of eachother and saying how much everyone sucks. If your teammates need to improve, help them - don't kick them while they're already down. Teams need to pull together and actually act like a freaking family, because, in the field, it'd be nice to know that your whole team has your back.

My message to people who play airsoft this way, grow the hell up. Stop fighting for a title that, IN THE REAL WORLD, doesn't get you crap. It's stupid and you look stupid when you act this way.

Okay, I'm done ranting.

[Warpig [USMC]]

I couldnt agree more, Cougar. As Tazz stated above (He's our Team Commander), our team is more-so a family than it is a rank structure. Yes, rank is there for the purpose of having a flow of command, but it never inhibits another players say or suggestion. We're very open to new ideas, and we like to try new ideas all the time! It keeps us flexible. "Semper Gumby", as they say in the Marine Corps.

Even before I was added to the official team roster for SOG, I played with them every Sunday, and they made me feel like part of the group. And even though I was brand new to the team, and the sport in general, I was given a lot of leeway and permission to introduce new ideas and tactics to the team given my military backround, and I think a lot of them can agree that it brought the team, as a whole, to a new level.

Our Command holds monthly meetings, and they have a voting system. Everyone gets a word in...from the bottom of the ranks, all the way to the top. Like a lot of people have previously stated, you can learn a lot from each other. Keep an open ear, and an open mind.

[Cougar]

Exactly. Our team is structured pretty similarly to yours. We hold meetings and vote to make decisions... I wrote this discussion so long ago, I'm glad to see people still find time to read it. Teams are ever growing and there's always the unfortunate cases where egos get in the way. It's an ever growing problem. I'm glad that both your team and my team don't have to deal with them.

[Warpig [USMC]]

Yeah, some people forget that its a GAME. Its a HOBBY. Its all about FUN.

Once you pull in the egos, the bossing around, the yelling, the fighting, etc...it just ruins the game and turns people off to it. Just look what happened to paintball! I used to love it, but now it seems like its nothing but cheating, bickering, and people losing their temper.

As much of a "milsim" sport as this is, I dont see the point in yelling at each other or having arguments about petty things. Some people enjoy the feel of being in the military, welcoming the ideas of doing push ups if they mess up, doing their own version of "boot camp", and everything in between. Some teams can get by that way, while others dont. It all depends on your mix of people.

I served 4 years in the Marine Corps, so I wouldnt be comfortable with some civilian screaming at me like he was my Drill Instructor. In fact, I'd probably be downright insulted, and I'd probably lose my temper with them. Thankfully, my team is very professional and very laid back, yet we are still extremely effective and dominant on the field.

Now, every team is going to have issues about something at one point or another, but it should be discussed like civil people, and shouldnt come down to someone "pulling rank" on someone else.

Plain and simple, people need to remember what airsoft is truely about: HAVING FUN.

[Cougar]

Exactly. All I've ever wanted from this sport is to go out, have fun, and play the game right. Some times that gets harder and harder to do, which is a bit frustrating. That is why I cherish my team so much. We have fun and that's what comes first. And we pride ourselves on playing the game the right way. My father served in US Army for 21 years and continues to serve as a security worker for the Pentagon. I learned to respect the military first hand by watching my father deploy and come back, without one complaint. It's something you really can't explain. I mean, it's just a beautiful thing. Since airsoft is a military simulation game, I want the game to be respected just as if it were the real thing... everyone else doesn't feel that way, but it would be great if they did.

[dxfan212]

third that. theirs a reason your a higher rank then another person. i dont think you should demotivate, only make them want to be not pushed around and try harder

[Cougar]

Based on what you've said, you really don't disagree then. I understand why RANK exists, but I don't feel like it should come with all the ego bullsh*t. My father was in US Army for 21 years and he now works for the Pentagon. In all the years that he's been involved in the military and government, not once has he pulled an ego-trip. My dad was always friends with the 'little' guys (the new PFCs and such). I feel exactly the same. Our team is a family and that's all it should be. Ben and I, both as higher ranked players, don't believe that treating anyone of a lower rank like crap is anywhere in the job description.

Also, this is airsoft... not the military. We don't get paid anything. In the real world, our 'rank' means nothing. I'm referring to airsoft... not the military. I don't think egos should get in the way of airsoft and I don't think people should step all over eachother for something that, in reality, gets you little more than nothing.

[Warpig [USMC]]

Right on, Cougar. If someone makes an airsoft team, and they're a higher rank but they treat their new guys like crap, its probably because they cant earn respect in the "real world" so they have to make up for it somehow. Truly disappointing, because for some new players, that could leave a bad impression on our hobby as a whole. We dont want to dissuade people from playing because they'll think all airsoft teams are like that. The whole reason people of lower rank in the military get yelled at is for discipline purposes. And its definitely needed a lot more in a real military situation than a simulated one, obviously.

[Victor Mikhailivitch Smirnov]

Really? I have more of an issue with the Ribbons concept. I have some ribons the I earned while in the Army. They were awarded for my merits. On the other hand the ribbons in airsoft are taken by the whim of he person who wants them on his page.
In Civil War reenacting Rank is a big thing. If your company does not have a captian your guys will get screwed over by some poser with Major rank on his collar. It is a lot bigger problem there but I can see your point about airsoft.

[Colonel Torque]

I don't necessarily agree with the Ribbon thing either. If there was a way to prove they earned them, maybe. But, I think they should be different from the ribbons awarded in the actual military.

[Adam Buckingham]

and they are....none of the team airsocom ribbons are ribbons used in the actual military....nor are they given for the same thing....last time i checked there wasn't a ribbon for night ops in the actual military...or black hawk down reenactment...airsoft is a game about honor inherently...if someone wants to lie about what they have achieved its on them....THEY know they haven't earned a damn thing. Since there is no way to prove anything one way or the other its kind of irrelovent.

[Colonel Torque]

No reason to get so defensive, Adam. It's a discussion, not an attack on ribbons.

[Victor Mikhailivitch Smirnov]

It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. We had a local airsoft guy, who told people he was ex-army. He was all about his Rank and all the other bolo-badges he felt he should wear. Turns out the guy was never in army and is a convicted fellon. This was deception plain and simple. If there is no way to make sure that a ribbon was earned then it invites disshonesty. Do we really need dishonesty in Aisoft?