MARSHAL
MATTERS
The importance of being earnest (about airsoft) –
Mike Buttrick puts marshalling under the spotlight.
A
fter being royally impressed
by the first edition of Airsoft
Action I thought that I would
share my own experiences
and love of airsoft. My initial
idea was to write about my change from
being a player to becoming a player-marshal
and how that has changed me as a person.
That idea has mutated and developed into
a guide to the skills that a good marshal
displays – to quote Ian Lawrence (founder of
Lincolnshire Airsoft Club and my marshalling
mentor) the article is now “a blueprint for the
skills required to be a good marshal.
”
In 2007 I moved to a new job where
a colleague told me (emphatically) about
airsoft – it quickly piqued my interest but
sadly, due to being a government slave (aka
public servant) it wasn’t until 2008 that I
could attend a game with him. The moment
that he put a G&G G300 with under-slung
grenade launcher in my hands I knew that
I was hooked! Within a few months I had
my UKARA registration and a shiny new JG
094
Xmas 2011
G36E. Within a year I had joined an infamous
local team and thought that I was a pretty
good airsofter – how wrong I was!
For various reasons 2011 has not been the
best year for me. By July my stress levels
reached breaking point and, due to some
poor player conduct, I had a meltdown during
a game. That evening I was ready to walk
away from airsoft altogether, but it was at
this low point that Ian asked me not to quit
and to consider training as a marshal.
After calming down I realised that this was
a good alternative, and also an area I wanted
to develop in, as it would allow me to l earn
more about airsoft and to give something
back to my local airsoft community. In three
months I progressed from being a player to
being an assistant marshal, and from this
(and by working with Ian) I have learnt far
more about playing airsoft skirmish than in
the previous three years combined (though
I still have no experience of MilSim). The
following are what I consider examples of
effective marshalling skills.
Tactics
There are many sites out there that base
their gameplay upon media influences such
as Call of Duty and Medal of Honour. While
this can be fun it cannot match the benefits
of playing games that have been designed by
someone who has lived and served with the
Armed Forces – Ian served with the RAF as
a Sergeant Armourer and EOD specialist, so
he brings a great wealth of experience to the
planning of games.
There may be inter-service rivalry
(and also rivalry between retired and
operational servicemen) with regards to
appropriate tactics and their usage, but I
have witnessed Ian inspiring losing teams
into a winning position by teaching them
some new tactics. I have also found it
immensely amusing watching teams using
CoD-based tactics being beaten by a team
using the ‘horns of the bull’ that was so
effective at Isandlwana in 1879 – I’ve even
seen skirmish lines which date back to the
ancient Greeks!