Invasion of Normandy (I.O.N) AAR

Well, after recovering from 18 hours of driving (going and coming from PA) I am finally getting around to writing about Boxer's participation in Skirmish U.S.A’s Invasion of Normandy 2008 or I.O.N for short.

Last year, I.O.N. set a world record for attendance at a paintball scenario / big game with a paid attendance of 4300. However, due to issues controlling such a large crowd they decided to limit this year’s game.

If 3100 paid players can be called limiting!

However, before I get to the game let me provide some background on how Boxer arrived at I.O.N. If you have read my blog or posts in various paintball forums you will know that Team Boxer has forged a very close working relationship with team Capital Offense, one of the premier scenario teams on the east coast, captained by Dave Thompson.

Sometime after Fulda Gap 2007, Runaway (Boxer team captain) had a conversation with Dave about Boxer attending 1 or 2 Capital Offense games in 2008, at which point Dave suggested I.O.N since it was a major date on their schedule given their sponsor Planet Eclipse would be there in force. Also, Dave wanted to take advantage of our superior command and control assets to support his team’s effort. While Run knew we would not be able to bring a large contingent he figured we could put together a small communications detachment to act as Capital Offense’s command post. Subsequent to that, Dave mentioned us to the Allied Forces commanding general, Phil (aka Silence), who then asked if we could provide communications for the entire allied command. We readily agreed, seeing a great chance for networking and exposure outside of the North Carolina.

With those simple interactions, Team Boxer had stepped into a critical role as the communication detachment for the entire (1500+) allied team! This included providing radios for the command post and 10 company commanders, developing a communications plan, providing training to the command staff, setting up and running the command post, and ultimately becoming a key part of the tactical decision making process within the CP.

With the decision to attend made, we polled the team and identified 3 other Boxers (in addition to Runaway and myself) and 1 guest who wanted to go. But at the end of the day the Boxer contingent to I.O.N ended up being Runaway, SeoulBro, Sonic X an myself.

On Friday morning, Runaway and Seoul met us at my house; we loaded up my van with our gear and got on the road. Being the SUPERIOR trucking professional he is, Runaway stepped up and took on the driving duties all by himself. Thanks Run! That was huge because I am NOT a big fan of long distance driving (I don’t think Seoul is either). The trip was uneventful except for Sonic-X’s constant “Are we there yet?”

We arrived at Skirmish at about 7:30 pm where we linked up with Dave and his crew. We check in, picked up our paint and set-up our tent (although we had reserved a hotel room). At 8:30 we met with Phil and all the Allied company commanders to distribute the radios, conduct a brief communications overview and radio check. I must say Phil is one of the most organized generals I have ever worked with. I mean, given you are commanding 1500 people you better be! But he was very organized and had a plan for what he wanted to do. Although somewhat young looking, can you say Doogie Howser, Phil has a very professional approach and demeanor. In fact both Runaway and I speculated if he had any military experience. He reminded us of many a baby faced lieutenant we knew during our time on the point tip of the spear.

With that initial business out the way, Dave invited us to dinner with Capital Offense. While at dinner I received a call from home stating my mother, who has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s) disease wasn’t doing to well and that I may need to come back. Talk about letting the air out of the balloon! I let the guy’s know what was up and told them that myself and Sonic-X (my son) would get on the road first thing in the morning.

Not wanting to ruin the trip for Runaway and Seoul we asked Dave if he and his team could help with making arrangements for the 2 remaining Boxer’s to get home after the game. They’d need a ride to the nearest car rental or airport. Being the great folks they are, Dave and his guys (and gal, can’t forget Lady Lisa!) stepped up and said they do whatever it took.

Once again, thanks guys! It’s good to know someone has your back when the chips are down. We sat down to what was for me a gloomy dinner. However, alls well that ends well. After back and forth calls with my mom’s caregivers, paramedics ect… they were able to stabilize her and there was no need for us to leave. GAME ON! I was able to relax and enjoy the rest of the meal, during which we got into a discussion about the top 5 films of different movie genres. With some people showing their youth by not knowing movies like Bridge over the River Kwai or the original Rollerball! And Dave you’re crazy if you think you can include Major League as one of the top 5 sports film ever! It isn’t even in the top 5 baseball movies!

With the evening concluding on a positive note we headed back to the hotel for a good nights (albeit short) sleep at about 1 am.

The next morning, Runaway was the first to rise (he always is). We got up, cleaned up and donned our subdued digital camo with Boxer patches facing front! We also noted that with this game Seoul would qualify for his Boxer Tab (see Ranger Tab). Congrats Brother Boxer!

Given the game started at 12 pm, we had ample time but we wanted to make sure that we were at the field early enough to get on the field, set-up the command post and start taking radio checks from the companies at 11:45.

When we arrived at the field we stopped at the Capital Offense’s bivouac to park and break out our gear. In addition to our personal equipment and command post gear. All of which needed to moved down to the CP which was on the field of play. As always, Dave and the gang provided a helping hand to move our gear down to the field. When we reached the field entrance we had to wait for Phil to get permission from the referees for us to occupy the CP. When he game back with said clearance he also informed us that someone had desecrated our command post with fish heads and feces! Now we don’t know who would do such a thing but it was an early indication of the type of bad sportsmanship we would see throughout the rest of the week-end.

While waiting for clearance to hit the CP we topped off our HPA tanks and chronoed. Since the entrance to the CP was located by the chrono station and the HPA fill station was nearby we were able to get our act together pretty quickly. One thing of note is that with 3100 people I was worried that the HPA fill lines would be crazy! As it turned out it wasn’t a problem at all. The fill station was located at the entrance to the field, just off the invasion beach. They had both 3000 and 4500 fills and about 6 or 7 self serve stations for each. At no time did I see any type of line form and players could top off their tanks at their convenience.

We were finally able to get into the Command Post at about 11:20. This gave us 25 minutes to get our gear set up. Since we wanted to use ION as a rehearsal for our Fulda CP we really went farther than we had ever gone before in terms of gear. In addition to the map table brought by Silent (the Allied General) we brought 2 dry erase boards, dry erase markers, a clip board and writing pads, in addition to a water cooler, a chair and a cot.

Silent’s map table was very, very cool and something we plan on imitating, but that's all I can say on the topic otherwise I'd have to kill you (wink, wink Silent). Needless to say it was a very efficient and effective system!

We used one dry erase board to track each company’s status and the other board to track OpFor intelligence. However, the battle situation was so fluid that tracking OpFor positions and intel became a challenge (it changed to often), so we ended up using the second board to track ongoing and future missions. Since there was always 2 or three missions ongoing at any one time this turned out to be very helpful. Although there were a number of radio and telephone communication channels used by Allied forces we were responsible for running the main Allied command channel used by Phil and the company commanders.

This was a great experience for us because it gave us a chance to work out many things for our own command post in the future. We were able to see what worked and what did not. I think this will be huge at Fulda!

At 11:45 am we started taking radio checks from the companies. Let me say from the start, given we had never worked with the teams and commanders involved before these guys were on the ball with way they operated on the radio net. With just a little training they adjusted nicely to using alpha-numeric call signs and giving very crisp situation reports. This really reduced the radio confusion and chatter one might normally expect. Silent asked the commanders to report in every 30 minutes, which most did without problem. This was critical as it gave us very good situational awareness about both our forces and the OpFor’s forces. That combined with EXCELLENT recon work would prove very critical, especially on day two when we had to make up a big points deficit.

At 11:00 am the game kicked off. Silent and his command staff had gone to the beach area to oversee the initial landings. If you have never heard close to 3100+ paintball markers firing at once, let me tell you. There was this sudden ROAR that began to build in intensity, over which you could barely hear the yell’s and screams of the players assaulting the beach. Seoul went down with his camcorder to tape some of the landing. When he came back all he could do was shake his head in awe.

The beach assault would rage into the mid afternoon and would in fact turn out to be the critical part of the game. The Allied force could not get off the beach because of the heavy German fire coming from the tree line. I was told later on that the previous year the Germans had complained that they did not have adequate bunker coverage facing the beach. So this year they heavily fortified the tree line, including working out overlapping fields of fire! They had bunkers and at least 2 double A-5 gun positions which were concealed behind netting. Now I did not see this for myself, but given the way the Allies got hammered on the beach, it made a lot of sense.

The bottom line, coming out of the beach phase, which ended at 2:00 pm; the Allies were behind 20 to 0, nil, zip. That’s right; they had been completely locked out of the scoring during the initial phase of the game. This would prove crucial as we would eventually lose the game 108 to 90! Of course the rest of the first day did not go much better.

With the beach phase over the fight moved into the woods as the initial missions began to start. There were two types of missions in this game; a flag flip or prop retrieval. Flag flip missions required that one side move to a designated location on the field, find the flag station and then flip it to their color (red for the Allies and blue for the Germans). They then had to hold that position until the points were counted on the hour.

I didn’t quite like the way they did prop retrievals (but I may have misunderstood the scoring so if I am wrong someone please correct me). The mission would direct us to a location on the field to find a prop. It wasn’t clear to me that we always knew what we were looking for. Also, I think you had to located the flag station and turn it to your color. As with the flag flip at the hour the points would be counted at which point the referee would hand you the prop, which you then had to return to your CP.

However, what I did like was that Silent had all of the missions and their locations at the start of the game which he mapped out in very efficient time coded maps. This allowed us to plan our operations to maximize points and our actual positions on the field. This really came into play on day two when we basically crushed the Germans on the mission side all day long. We stacked our forces so that they could leap from one mission to the next. This also allowed us to effectively manage manpower by pulling companies for rest and re-supply during the day. Phil had set specific rally times for the companies so they knew when they had to be back on line ready to go. The Allied general was extremely organized and prepared.

However, as I was saying day one was all about the Germans as we never recovered from the shellacking we took on the beach. It was clear the allies were somewhat demoralized. But we kept fighting best we could, scoring missions wherever possible. This also was key, as it kept the score within reason.

During the first day several things became evident. First, the Allied general was one cool cat! He stayed cool all day long even when he was getting his hat handed to him. He effectively managed and motivated his staff and company commanders. I especially liked the way he used his command staff. They really had a good grip of what was happening on the field. Of special note was the Intelligence Officer, Travis Stitt. He operated just like the S-2s and G-2s I’d had seen during my time in the crotch. He was a fixture in the CP providing critical information about the field, OpFor positions and movements, friendly positions AND his intel was always ON POINT!

I never met the recon teams working for him but they did one hell of a job and they were always responsive. Need eyes on target? Travis would make it happen and we start getting real time intel. Not to mention the recon teams were able to score some flag points themselves.

All that said the highlight of the day was a massive German push against the Allied CP in the late afternoon. There are crisis moments in every conflict when you know things can turn on a dime and this was it for the Allies. With our forces dispersed, the German commander had shrewdly massed his forces for a major push. Actually we could see it developing based on intel coming from the Allied recon teams but with our forces scattered the way they were it was going to be touch and go.

The attack started up around the opposite end of the beach away from the allied CP. Allied recon units began reporting a large mass of Germans moving from that direction. We tried to rally our forces but with several companies off the field and others out on missions we were left with the base defense team (Team Deleware) and those troops who were recharging at the Allied respawn site. We began making urgent calls to get companies back on the field but the attack hit before we could fully muster our forces, and boy DID IT HIT!

I don’t know quite how many German’s were in on the attack but it seems like the entire 1500 were hitting the base. Runaway would later say he had never seen anything like it. He described the oncoming German wave as a huge, dark shadow moving along the ground. It was OUTRAGEOUS!

The roar of paintball guns was incredible! This is where I have to give MAJOR PROPS to Team Deleware. They were base security throughout the game. Now everyone knows most paintballers want to be in on the action! They want to be where the paint is flying heaviest. But this team patiently and dutifully stayed to their mission and guarded our CP. Needless to say, you didn’t want to approach the CP without being clearly identified because these cats shot first and asked questions later. But I was really impressed by their discipline. However, when the time came these men laid down some SERIOUSE paint and was the backbone of the CP defense, especially their captain who stood like the Rock of Gibraltar in the center of the defense. He rallied our troops and formed an impenetrable defensive wall. You could hear his voice booming over the roar of battle. Impressive, truly IMPRESSIVE!

The Germans pushed within feet of our CP, their goal to take down the American flag that flew out front. Several Germans attempted to grab the flag but were cut down in a crossfire of paint. At this point the a referee told Phil that he could retrieve the flag and pull it into the CP but that it had to be put back out before the points check point.

Now for those of you who know our team captain Runaway this will not be a surprise. Both he and Seoul grabbed their markers and joined the line. Runway flipped into command mode and began rallying any stray players he could find. But as our defense was pushed back and the situation grew tighter Runaway decided to make his move. After being told we could pull the flag back into the CP several American troopers tried to retrieve the flag but were cut down (just like the Germans). Seeing this Runaway, put down his marker and made his dash for the flag. How he was not hit I don’t know but he was able to get the flag and return it to the CP. As he crossed into our lines the Team Deleware team captain gave him a big bear hug.

While this was happening I was on the radio rallying our companies. Juliet Company had just completed a mission and was about 70 strong. Seeing an opportunity, I began to maneuver them so that they would come in behind the German force. It would be the classic hammer and anvil maneuver. Phil ordered that J Co attack directly towards the CP. Man I felt like I was in a movie! Only thing missing was Phil ordering the artillery to fire on our position. Every so often the J Co commander would report his position as he maneuvered his force behind the Germans. I was on the radio excitedly encouraging him. “Come on Juliet Co! It’s up to you!”

Like the cavalry in those old John Wayne movies J Co crested the (proverbial) ridge and hit the Germans from behind. This broke their attack and the Germans began retreating back through the beach. It was one of those moments that sends chills down your spine.

Through it all Phil (aka Silence, the Allied General) was calm and cool, managing the command staff and the fight. German paint is impacting the outside of the CP tent and my man calmly goes about his business getting the job done.

To be honest the rest of day seemed anti-climatic after we beat back that attack. The Germans had made an all out push to over run our CP and failed. Plus we picked up a few mission points to boot.

During the night phase, which lasted until 10:30, our friends at Capital Offense brought their after dark skills to the front. Using their night vision to score some much needed points. When it was all said and done we ended the day down by 30 points or so. Given the beating we took in the opening phase, Phil was still positive that we could come back. His optimism would prove correct (almost)! Tired and worn out the Boxer communications detachment headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

We woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to go. We got dressed and left the hotel at about 7:30. With the game starting at 9:00 am we wanted to make sure we got into the CP early. This turned out to be very fortuitous because when we go to the field we realized we had left the radios back at the hotel! Sh@l!T!

Man I tell you, Murphy sticks his head up at the worst moment! Runaway jumped backed into the van and head off to get the radios while Seoul, Sonic, and I broke camp and got the gear ready. Let me tell you those were some nervous minutes, by 8:30 Runaway still had not returned and we were getting very nervouse. Game on was at 9 and we still needed to re-issue the radios to the company commanders! 8:40 no Runaway and we can't reach him on his cell. Seoul looks at me and says get your stuff ready, as soon as Run arrives you get the radios down to the field and we’ll finish packing up the van. 8:45, there’s the van turning onto the field! Phewww! Now that would not have been the way to start the day. As soon as Run stopped I grabbed the radios and headed down to the field. Just in the nick time, the allies were beginning to mass at our respawn point. I was able to redistribute the radios to all the remaining Co commanders and get a radio check!

With that small disaster averted we moved into the CP and settled in for the rest of the day. From the very start things were very different. There was certain crispness in the radio calls of the companies that seemed to say this game was not done yet! Right off the bat we were accumulating mission points. One right after the other, we were collecting points in bunches. The thing to know was that the missions had different point values ranging from 1 to 3 points with one 5 point mission and a 7 points for the final battle. This would play a critical role in our strategy for the day.

One of the key things Phil did was to focus our efforts on the 2 and 3 point missions, only shooting for the 1 point mission when the opportunity arose or when recon could easily make those points. Of course, we tried to get all the points we could, but having a prioritization was key. The other thing he did was that he looked at the map and the way the points were laid out and put in place a rolling plan that allowed our units to move from one points phase to the next without having to reposition. This allowed us to use an economy of force approach that gave us the chance to send companies off the field without losing combat power. His approach concentrated our forces available at any one time. The highpoint of this approach was mid-day on Sunday when during the 5 point phase for Paris. I forget the exact time, but it was the only phase that had just 1 objective. This was big for us!

During the preceding phases we had leaped frogged 4 companies through various objectives so that as we came to the Paris points phase we were able to move what was left of 4 companies into Paris. I can still remember the cheer that went up in the CP when we asked for a headcount of the number of troops on the objective, and the answer came back “150 friendlies.” We knew then the Germans would not be able to take that objective away from us. During the course of the next hour so that force was whittled down, but because we had been able occupy the objective with a large force the Germans were in a no go situation.

This was also important because it allowed us to take 4 companies off the field in preparation for the final battle, which would be worth 7 points. At this point we were feeling pretty good. If we good win the final battle we might still pull off a great come back!

However, prior to the final battle there were one or two point phases to get through, so we began to retrograde our remaining forces in Paris to get as many points as was possible while at the same time looking towards the final battle and keeping those 4 companies in reserve.

Our strategy seemed to be working great. Even as we were exhausting the 4 companies still on the field (coming from Paris) we were resting the other 4 remaining companies while still scoring points. It was at this time that the Germans launched another massive assault on the CP. What were they doing! Were they making an all out gambit to clinch the game! The command staff started to discuss bringing in the 4 companies we were resting to defend the CP. But something just did not add up to me. Why would the Germans make a big push now? Especially after what happened the day before and with the big 7 point battle coming up. While they were applying pressure it was no where close to what it had been like the day before. I could hear it in the volume of fire. Seeing that we could hold, I recommended to Phil that we bring in our reserve companies in a defensive position around the CP but not have them engage the Opfor. Looking at the map I realized that as we had retrograded from Paris we had left our far left flank open with only one small company (Alpha) and a few recon units. Was the Opfor trying to draw our attention away from a back door attack?

Alpha requested to join the fight that was occurring in the Hood and in front of our CP; I think they got bored just sitting in a screening position. We reluctantly agreed, but I asked Travis to keep his recon team out there as they were now our only eyes on that part of the field.

With Phil’s blessing, one by one I briefed the reserve company commanders as to how we expected the final battle to unfold. I placed one company, I believe it was Tango, on our left flank to guard against an attack out of the west and had the other company move into position on the right side of the CP.

The Hood was the final points phase before the final battle so we decided to reinforce with the other 2 reserve companies (Charlie Co (led by Capital Offense) and I don’t remember the other). Looking at the map we were still in good position. That’s when the fickle game gods struck! For some unknown reason all of our forces in the Hood were told by the referee’s they had to leave! When the call came in over the radio we all looked at the speaker like it had just turned into a mound of fire ants. What the hell! Phil jumped up an immediately began to talk to the head referee to find out what was going on while we tried to get our people to hold their positions until we received clarification. But the damage had been done! All of our forces had left the Hood and the Germans had moved in right behind them. In effect our left flank had collapsed!

For several minutes we tried in vain to make sense of what had just happened but no adequate explanation was ever forthcoming. I don’t know that Phil was ever given a reason for why our team was kicked out of the Hood. This was just one of several incidents on Sunday that would leave a somewhat bad taste in my mouth about the event and the field.

Looking at the map again my eyes drifted over to the far western side of the field and sure enough Travis’ recon team began to report on a large German force moving in that area. Was this a coincidence or some sort of conspiracy? We’ll never know. But I find it very convenient that right as the anchor of our left flank (the Hood) collapses due to a referee’s call, German forces start popping up, moving towards that exact area from the western side of the field.

With the fall of the Hood there was no more thought of holding our remaining two companies in reserve for the beach battle. We had to throw them into the fight in front of the CP just to keep from being overrun and to deal with the Germans attacking from the west. We basically formed a defensive line stretching from our respawn point curving, past the beach tree line, around in front of the Hood and moving out towards the north west.

Then another crazy thing happened. Apparently, some knuckle heads on the German side were shooting marbles instead of paint. The day prior an allied player had been knocked out by a marble shot. Well just as all of the above was happening another allied player had was taken out by another marble! By this time there was no sense in staying in the CP so all of us (Boxer) left Phil to man the radio while we got our guns and went out to join the final 30 minutes of the game to do whatever we could to rally the troops.

All of a sudden the referees start yelling “CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!” It took several minutes but they were able to achieve a break in the action (somewhat). As our forces began to back away from the line I saw a group of referees and several players huddled around the body of the baller who had just taken a marble to the head. He was not moving at all… I watched for several seconds more then turned back to organizing the allied forces. I don’t know whether they had to carry the player off the field or if he (or she) was able to do it under his (or her) own power, but that really summed up the sportsmanship we had seen throughout. I’ll comment on this at the end.

The thing was, while the Allies were pulling back from the area where the player was down the Germans where filling in. Then all of a sudden, without warning the Germans open fire further pushing back the stunned Americans. I stopped one of the referees to ask how that happened and was told that the cease fire was local only to the immediate area of the downed player but that the game was still on all over the rest of the field. I stood there shocked at his explanation! I had heard the call for cease fire go up and down the line not just in the area of the downed player. Further more the logic didn’t make sense. Why then the call for cease fire across the field? Also, if the cease fire was local why were the Germans allowed to take advantage of the situation?

Okay, okay, I’m not big on conspiracy theories and managing a game of 3100 people spread over several hundred acres can be a daunting task, but the whole situation didn’t sit right with me. A year ago I was at Camp Blanding for Viper Productions’ F.E.A.R game when a similar down player incident took place. In fact it was one of the players from the team I had come with. We had been instructed in the pre game brief that should we see a red flare go up that meant that there was a player down somewhere on the field and that the game was to come to a halt. Every player no matter where they were was to take a knee and wait until the all clear was given. Now this game had roughly about 600 to 700 players and I'm not sure how big the playing area was, but that game came to a stop and the referees were on anyone who had not taken a knee. If they managed to do that there, I believe the ION game producer and the referees could have managed something similar. Certainly in the immediate and surrounding areas were the player went down.

By this time there was no hope of pushing the Germans back although we tried. Using a bull horn I tried to get the Allied players to move to Germans left and then push, hoping to achieve a momentary surge that we might exploit but with les than 15 minutes left there was no hope of organizing such an effort far less pushing the Germans back far enough for it to matter.

The game ended with one last final indignity. As the final horn sounded and the referees began yelling cease fire I got on the bull horn and began telling the Allied players to cease fire and move off the field, which they did for the most part. The Germans on the other hand, in a fit of joyous outburst (I guess) began a pogrom of shooting. I mean their level of fire after the end of the game seemed higher than during those final minutes accompanied of course with the obligatory yelling, screaming and hooting. The thing was they were not firing into the air (as one might expect). A deluge of paintballs pelted Allied players as they moved off the field. In one disturbing incident I saw one of the referees running at the Germans yelling for them to stop firing. He must have taken several hits because I saw him violently throw his clip board at a bunch of German players. They just laughed and fired a few more shots.

I have played paintball for many years and in several states. I have never seen anything like that. You hear about the isolated incidents in the papers (paintball drive buys and such) but to actually be in a game where it takes place was sort of a shocker! Playing in the Carolinas, I have become accustomed to a certain level of sportsmanship. I have participated in games that did not have referees and depended on players honor and integrity. The Milsim test game at Command Decisions is a perfect example. And while I have seen tempers flare, the occasional wiping, or even instances of blatant overshooting this was just beyond the pale. The thing about ION was that there was a consistent thread of these types of activities throughout the game, starting with the fouling of our CP. Blatant and consistent overshooting, wiping and playing on on a scale to befit the 3100 people playing. Just plain meanness and viciousness, with people loading their hoppers with marbles, pepper balls, and re-balls. HEAVY overshooting. This wasn’t just poor sportsmanship it was in some cases CRIMINAL!

There were several incidents involving our friends on Capital Offense. One at the end of the night phase where a group of Germans bum rushed several Capital Offense players after the referees had called the game, shooting up the group as they move off the field. On another occasion, a Capital Offense player had his EGO damaged by a shot marble. In yet another incident a Capital Offense player had his position attacked by German players throwing a tree branch at him.

When I lived in Pennsylvania I played Skirmish from time to time (this was in the mid to late 90s) and I never experience these types of players or incidents. Of course Skirmish’s prices were high then too, but the players were cut from a different cloth. More like the players I know in the Carolinas today. So this was definitely a shock and a disappointment to me. I don’t think I will personally attend ION again or make an effort to play at Skirmish unless I hear they have taken tangible steps to prevent this. Of course, it may be out of their hands and this activity may be a function of a certain type of person from the New York/New Jesersey tri-state area that are attracted to this game, which is a shame because I met a number of talented and honorable teams and players from that area who were just the opposite.

However, except for those issues the game was quite fun. I thought the Allied side really showed heart in almost coming back. Phil, his command staff, and his company commanders deserve a ton of credit. You did a great job pulling it together and almost making it happen!

Phil when you general your next game, don’t hesitate to call on Boxer for support. As long as it isn’t at Skirmish.

Big shout out to Travis and his recon teams. You guy’s were OUTSTANDING and a big reason for our day 2 rally. I’m looking forward to Travis heading our recon effort during Fulda Gap 2008 (http://www.fuldagap.com/ ).

Runaway, Seoul, and Sonic-X: You guys were great travel mates and I really enjoyed the road trip. Of course Sonic-X is my son and he had no choice!

Runaway, once again you demonstrated yourself to be a talented and selfless leader of men. You shifted seamlessly between being a radio operator and getting out here and leading the charge when it was required. As always it is an honor serving as your XO and being your friend.

SeoulBro, my brother! I know you learned a lot during this trip but you stepped up and did what needed to be done. You never complained nor did you develope an attitude about anything we asked you to do. You showed what it means to be a REAL TEAM PLAYER and a TRUE BOXER. I’m looking forward to you being an important part of the command staff at Fulda.

Sonic, you’re my son and I love you dearly, enough said!

Bottom line, the MVP was about Boxer and the work we did as a TEAM. Nothing more and nothing less!

To Dave and my PEOPLES Capital Offense. What can I say that I haven’t said all ready? If I say to much more people might get the wrong idea!

As always, you guys ROCK! You made us feel a part of the Capital Offense experience. You brought us in, integrated us with your team, hooked us up with Phil, and were just plain GOOD (no GREAT) friends to us. Your hospitality is without bound and I thank you for it. That is why my MVT is as much about the Boxer / Capital Offense partnership as it is about anything else. You guys were the ones that brought us to the table and put us in a position to contribute. Not to mention you guys were once again a key cog in the machine! THANKS! THANKS! And more THANKS!

If I missed anything or anyone please forgive me, this thing has gone on too long all ready. So let me say adieu, until next time.

See ya out there!

X-Man