The Wild World of TB!

Man, I tell you reading these old issues has really made me miss doing Scenario News. It has also made me realize how crappy the magazine world has become with games and articles about Scenario News. If the economy were better, I might even try to re-launch the magazine, but the paintball market is in the toilet, so who the hell would sponsor that much less buy ad space? Well I handed the reigns over to Nudi as editor and I started writing my own column, this would be a column similar to what I do here in my soapbox and you can see that even in July of 2004, I spoke in generalities and I did piss some people off. It is what coined the phrase, "if the shoe fits, then just go on and walk that motherfucker off!".

Editor: This is a new monthly column for Lawrence ‘TB’ Wright so he continue to bring his unique opinions on paintball to scenario players. He has told me he will use the column for education as well as opinion. Anything he may see or feel needs to be discussed will be covered here. Please be aware anything he may say does not refl ect the opinions of Scenario News, Blitzkrieg or anyone else. These opinions are his and his alone. You don’t even have to believe them if you don’t want to, but if you want to argue with him, then by all means him at tb@scenarionews.com. I’ll be sure to print anything you send in so he’ll always have new things to write about.

This article will I am sure, offend some people. So why am I writing it, you ask? Well because there is a disturbing trend in scenario paintball and it is starting to concern me. The trend is commanders being paid in some way to command at games. What do I mean by that? Well, I will detail the trend and then we will talk about what I think we can do or should do about it.

All promoters want good commanders, but good commanders aren’t always easy to come by. This may be because of several reasons: location, time of year, whether they have command experience and if they want to command. The reasons for commanding are different for different people, but it seems have realized it is now a way to get paid. There are some promoters out there paying their commanders money and others getting their commanders prizes and goodies...all of that for people already comped into the game and sometimes given paint. This has lead to motivating people who really shouldn’t command scenario games. Commanding is a serious business and people pay good money to travel and play these games.

When you put some yahoo in the commander’s position because they want a free ride, then you are hurting those players. Now this doesn’t always blow up into the promoter’s face, but when it does you better hold on. There have been games held where a whole side turned on their commander. Others where certain teams performed a coup and changed sides. Some people not fit for command have walked off the field and left the game leaving their side to fend for themselves. I’ve had to sit and watch as game directors ‘helped’ a commander along since they obviously didn’t know what they were doing. This is unacceptable in today’s scenario game, or at least to me it is.

Let’s also mention another disturbing trend: propping up commanders with capable XO’s. Everyone knows commanders should run the show, but what happens when you take a commander and make him a puppet for people to rally behind when in reality another individual is running the show? They are putting together the plan, recruiting the teams, and even leading them on the field while the ‘commander’ sits back and thinks, “Yep, I’m doing a great job.” This has happened as well over the last few years with good and bad things coming from it. The good being the game may have went off without much of a hitch and the bad because it encourages more and more of this nonsense.

When you put someone in command who isn’t there for the right reasons, you cheapen it for those of us who do it because we truly enjoy it. We take the aspect of people’s fun serious and we want to win. But winning is not everything, because for someone to win, someone else has to lose. Getting people to have fun when you are winning is not the mark of a good commander, maintaining their fun while you are losing is. I get told all the time, ‘TB, this is a business and I have to treat it as such.’ My response has become, “Then treat it like a business before we step on the field, because once you cross the line and monkey with the game, then you cease to be objective.” If you will do things to ‘even the game’ then you will do things to even it up for the other guy. And there are some people who need more evening up then others to help them out.

I have a very good idea of what I think makes a great commander. I base this off the leadership schools I attended while in the Marine Corps, practical experience as a platoon leader in the Marines and my experience as a manager of people in the civilian world. I have also commanded a scenario game or two in my time. So whether I am qualified to the opinion of what a good commander is may be debatable, but remember I am known for voicing my opinions. So here it goes: TB’s list of what makes a good commander.

1. Desire: Desire is important, because without it there is nothing to keep you going. You must want to command people, to be in charge of the overall plan and to make people want to play for you. You have to inspire people to go that extra mile and that comes as they see your desire for the game.

2. Knowledge and Judgement: These are both important things because without them you will not be able to form a battle plan, or know when to change it. No plan, no matter how elaborate or intricate survives first contact. The smart commander realizes this and can adjust on the fly or have back up plans in place.

3. Communication: This is a big one! Without this, commander’s intent cannot be conveyed to the people under your command; they in turn will not know what actions to take and when to take them. You have to be able to have people understand what you want from them and bring them to the conclusion you know what is best for them and what the overall plan is. This cannot be done without effective communication.

4. Realistic Expectations: What is meant by this, is you realize you are not in the military and you do not have highly trained, disciplined operators working for you. You have Billy and his dad who just came out to play some paintball...not sign their life away and run all over the field. It is game to more people than not, so you have to keep that in mind. You cannot let the realism get you down. You are role playing and sometimes it only goes so far.

5. Strategical Intelligence: This is not a video game. You do not get a second chance to save the game and start over. Just as in the real world, your actions or inactions have consequences. Those consequences can be of a dire nature and can keep you from winning the game. You need a strategy and then be flexible enough to adapt your strategy as neccesary to the game conditions. You should be knowledgeable in terms such as fields of fire, ambushes and bounding overwatch. These will serve a good commander well in the fact you can discuss with your leaders on the field what needs to be done and where.

6. Tactical Intelligence: This is needed so the commander can talk to his operations people in the field. The commander sets the strategy, his commanders in the field take that intent and implement it with a tactical edge. You have to understand that way of thinking as well (tactical vs. strategical) so you can help plug any gaps you may see in their intent. It is your battle plan after all, with the objectives you set in the beginning. Knowing is one thing; doing is another.

7. Tact: This is another big one. You have to work with everyone in the game, from the newest player to the most experienced. You must let everyone know they are important in the grand scheme of things. Why? Because they are! I have seen one person (no matter their experience level) win games and lose games. Be sure everyone is working for you. This is done with tact and it is a trait lacking in more than a few commanders (myself included).

8. Confidence: This is probably the biggest one in the group. Know this: commander eliminations affect morale. Know this: if you aren’t confident in your plan you cannot inspire others to act. Want to destroy the will of the other side to fight? Then destroy their commander’s confidence. On the flip side of that coin: you should never let something get you down. Never let them see you sweat. If something doesn’t work the way you wanted, then you wanted it that way. You get held down, fight your way back out. People in your base and you have to hot insert? Then go after their base. Your people should think you have it all in hand, and you should (at least on the outside).

There have been great commanders over the years. People who really liked taking charge and saw to it their people had fun. There have also been some horrendous commanders who have left their people to their own devices while they fiddled and Rome burned. In the next few issues, I will go more into the art of leading people in a scenario game. And whether you agree or disagree, I am sure you will take a few things from it and make yourself a better commander...or at least decide if you should be one.