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 Some green troops near the missile truck at Oklahoma Invasion V. |
Oklahoma Invasion V Airsoft Milsim Game
by: Nate Allen
On May 1st and 2nd, 2010, nearly 500 men and women dressed in standard issue green or desert "tan" camo descended upon D-Day Adventure Park (home of the world's largest paintball game) in Wyandotte, Oklahoma for an ultra-realistic milsim ("military simulation") airsoft game. Most of the 740 acres of the D-Day complex were used for the simulation. Much like Operation Balldrop from a couple of months earlier, Umarex USA was a sponsor of the event and some of its employees armed with HK airsoft rifles also participated in the event.
In addition to the "invading" tan (desert camo) IFOK army and the defending green Oklahoma army, there were UN forces, police forces, and various other smaller factions participating in the mil-sim. There were various mercenary groups in the game, as well as "civilians" who were living life in a war zone, and could do various things. As the game progressed, there were more and more objectives, and the storyline grew more complex.
The realism of the milsim game was enhanced with the use of ground vehicles such as Hum-Vs, Tanks, Jeeps, and people movers which were used in most of the scenarios. Helicopters continually circled overhead ferrying people, dropping supplies, and doing reconnaissance on the movement of troops. Throughout the game, mortar rounds could be heard going off, sometimes in the distance and sometimes extremely close.
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One part of invading IFOK ("Tan") Army moving through the woods.
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Throughout gameplay, many tactics were used to advance troops one direction or another to achieve the current objective. The voice of "Top" (a real-life Marine Drill Instructor, and the leader of the tan invading army) could be heard reverberating throughout the woods, over the continual fire of high-end airsoft rifles. Instructions were shouted at such a hurried pace, that those fighting were at the edge of being able to keep up. The widespread use of smoke bombs for cover, grenades to clear buildings, and other items whose basis in the real world military added to the realism of the milsim.
During the short breaks in action, everyone from both sides gathered in camaraderie. It was a nice reprieve from fighting, and showed how competitors on the battlefield can come together as friends during down time.
Onlookers on both sides of the game admired the new Elite Force and HK elite airsoft rifles, like the HK 416 CQB, the HK MP5 A5 TAC, and the Elite Force K-PDW, that were on display in the Umarex USA booth as demos. Hoards of the masses participating came by the vendor table to sneak a peek at all of the new offerings.
After the breaks in action, everyone was eager to continue the fight.. Snipers took up positions to either defend or advance. Front lines advanced or took cover from the continual live-fire from all types of airsoft guns as mortar explosions erupted nearby. And the many civilians involved in the milsim took cover while troops considered their safety paramount to all.
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Troops hiding behind some concrete structures, firing at opponents
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During the action, a film crew was continually shooting footage that they will edit into a DVD of the event. (When asked, one of the production crew said he hoped it would be done by the end of June, but also said that was a very optimistic timeframe.)
As time moved on and the first day bled into the second, objectives were completed, and land was taken. It was the IFOK invading army that were the overall victors when all points had been counted, but it didn't happen without a strong showing from the Oklahoma Defending green army. All had a great time and most showed good sportsmanship and called their hits.
As a sponsor of the event, Umarex USA brought a small contingent of people to participate. The tan "invading" IFOK army force was the assignment, and afterwards all who participated stated resoundingly that they had loved every minute of gameplay. During the awards ceremony after the conclusion of the games, many Umarex USA elite airsoft guns were awarded by drawing, while cheers (or disappointed groans) could be heard after the call of each number. The gentleman who won the HK 416 Gas Blowback airsoft gun was noticeably elated as he made his way to the stage to accept his prize. During the awards ceremony, prizes were also given for best competitor on the different armies as well as who had accumulated the most (fake) money among the mercenary groups.
All-in-all, the event was considered a resounding success. A DVD of the event is currently available for order, and will show all of the action along with an overview of the event's storyline that was unfolding. Everyone had a terrific time, and everyone was able to stay relatively safe during the entire event. Next year's Oklahoma Invasion hosted by Claymore-Frosty Productions and D-Day Adventure Park promises to be even bigger. Several other large airsoft milsim events will be happening in the meantime, and Umarex USA will be either directly or indirectly involved in many of them.
Gallery from Oklahoma Invasion
Troops massing before the game begins |
Player that was shot, with dead rag on head. |
Police forces moving, with smoke bombs going off. |
The entrance to D-Day park |
Troops in woodland combat situation |
The movement of vehicles was critical to some missions |
A mercenary with the blood money he earned in combat. |
A troop transport vehicle |
A tank being driven over some smoke bombs |
Some Tan troops using the vehicles as cover to advance. |
Riding in vehicles, but on the lookout for the enemy, which could attack at any moment |
Using a blue bus as cover |
Smoke and bombs going off aided in the reality of the simulation |
Some Tan troops returning fire. |
Green team using some concrete structures as cover while shooting |
The protection of resupply, and medical vehicles was critical to some missions |
One of the larger tanks used in the milsim. |
A downed helicopter. (from a previous airsoft skirmish, no doubt) |
The Umarex USA vendor table saw some traffic from people checking out the new Elite Airsoft guns. |
Some more trucks moving into position for effective combat |
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