Operation Pine Plains II......

[Hawkeye]

Hey guys.  Just wanted to give a heads up to anyone who is interested in attending Operation Pine Plains II.  It is scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend, the event organizers are just waiting for the final green light from Ft. Drum (they should be hearing sometime this month).  For those who have not heard of this event and are interested, check out http://oppineplains.chairsoft.net/news.php.  I went to Op Pine Plains I last November and it was nothing short of amazing.  It is held at the Ft. Drum MOUT CTF outside of Watertown, NY.  It is a candyland for airsofters.  It was an 18 hour game that started at 5PM and went until 11 AM NONSTOP!  Last game they gave a discount to teams that fielded a squad of 11 players,  I think they are going to do it again this game, but I am not sure.  It is a long drive, it took me 9 hrs each way driving from Auburn, but it was worth it.  Guys I know who have attended both Irene and Op Pine Plains all said that Pine Plains was a lot better (guys from GMR and Aegis), for what it is worth.  If you want to go, keep an eye out for when registration opens, tickets are going to go fast.

[Duck]

I will be there.

[Wheaties]

do you know how much it would cost?

[Duck]

it it is anything like the last game it is with in my price range for a game of that magnatude.

[Savage]

I will be there as well

[Hawkeye]

do you know how much it would cost?

I am not 100% sure for this upcoming op, but the last game was $150, or $125 if you registered with a full squad of 11 players (or if you are LEO or a military veteran). Hopefully they will keep the cost around there for this game.  I know that they give some of the proceeds of the game to a US Army charity foundation to help US soldier's families who are in need (specifically soldiers who are deployed from Ft. Drum).  They also have an area for people to camp out right on site, next to the MOUT facility (the "soccer field").  Bradley's Military Surplus is right down the road and you can get a set of BDU or DCUs for around $10 (used).

The last op was so sick, the next one is supposed to be even better, I can't wait.  The team COs were retired army officers (a LT Col. for Company B, and a Major for Company A).  Each team also had an active duty MasterSgt.  They gave us all lessons (in small groups) on MOUT tactics, room clearing, etc. before the game, and then each team got a commander's intent briefing on what our objectives were (which was awesome).  The commanders actually played in the game, they would show up at our positions, give us info and objectives.  Man,  I could go on and on, it was so sweet.  Anyway, I am happy to see some guys from Maine are interested.  I'll post up any news I get as soon as I get it. 

[taz]

Looks like it could be an excellent game. Any limitations or restrictions on gear or uniforms?

[Hawkeye]

Looks like it could be an excellent game. Any limitations or restrictions on gear or uniforms?

They have 2 teams, you have to sign up for one, Company A or Company B.  One team is Woodland BDU, the other team is 3 color Desert DCU.  They do not allow for any other pattern, Crossfire's (the event organizer) logic is that they are inexpensive to get used, and it makes it a lot easier to know who the enemy is ($10 for a set from the surplus shop down the road from Ft. Drum).  Otherwise, there is no restriction on loadout.  You can use any color gear, it does not have to match the cammo you are wearing (I wore BDUs with Multicam plate carrier).  FPS limits are max 400 fps with 0.25g bbs, midcaps only unless you have a SAW.  You have to wear full seal goggles also.  The rules and regs are listed on the Pine Plains website, nothing too unreasonable, all of it for safety, some of it for realism.
They fed us during the last game.  It was actually treated as a resupply mission, guys would come by with a sack of sub sandwiches and drinks for your squad.  They could be shot at by the enemy.  There was no "time out" for lunch/dinner/breakfast. 
The last game they had sniper/scout teams deploy 1 hour before the game to get into position so that when the game started, people did not have a chance to make a scud run to their objectives without risking getting hit.  It was badass.  Our squad's objective was a building that had an entrance from the sewer tunnels, so we entered the tunnels to get to the building undetected.  The tunnels are 4 feet in diameter, you can duck-walk through them.  It is so sweet.  They have spider holes in some buildings so you can pop up into a room from the floor below without using the stairs.  Like I said, candyland.
   They allow for higher fps for sniper rifles, I cannot remember what that was, but you also need special permission to run as a sniper for the event. 
Hope this helps.

[taz]

Any restrictions on smoke, claymores, and other items which go boom?

Sounds alot like the rule at ghost town. Basic safety so everyone has fun. Keeping the teams separated by uniform is a great help too. I hate team kills in close quarters.

[Hawkeye]

Any restrictions on smoke, claymores, and other items which go boom?

Sounds alot like the rule at ghost town. Basic safety so everyone has fun. Keeping the teams separated by uniform is a great help too. I hate team kills in close quarters.

Taz,  at the last event they allowed "commercially procured" smoke.  I think there was a discussion in one of the threads on the forums as to what exactly that meant, feel free to check it out.  They allow claymores, my squad used one.  They do not allow smoke to be used in the sewer tunnels, as it can suffocate whoever is down there.  Check out the site, I posted a link to it on the top of this thread.  They have pictures of the MOUT facility, maps of the building, rules they used for the last game, AARs, etc.

[Duck]

so far everything sounds to be well planned. Like i said i will be going and i am pretty sure that several of my team mate will be going too.

[Hawkeye]

I made a mistake about the registration fee, it was $175 per person, $150 for ex- or active duty service members/LEO/EMTs/Nurses.  Again, some of the proceeds from registration go to the Ft. Drum Family, morale, welfare, and recreation (FMWR) Fund.  They also had a bunch of airsoft sponsors who donated thousands of dollars worth of gear, guns, and equipment to raffle off (we think the largest sponsorship donation for any US-held airsoft event, including Irene), all of the proceeds to the raffle went to the FMWR fund, in fact, the last Op yeilded the single largest donation that fund had ever received, all due to the generosity of the airsoft sponsors and the participants who paid to play, and that donation I am told, has secured the future use of the Ft. Drum Mout facility.  The price is steep, but some of the money goes to a very good cause.

Here is a link to the AAR for the last Op in November:  http://oppineplains.chairsoft.net/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewforum.php?8

[Duck]

any new news hawkeye?
I know that most of my team is planning on going. Thats 5 players if all show.

[Savage]

Attempting to pull a friend from PA for this as well...

[Rip.66.]

NY??   Savage..hahaha you wann drive with me for 7 hours?