Operation EastWind III dates and location have been set.
When?
March 13th –21st 2010
What?Operation EastWind is a 9 day long 24 hour per day immersive milsim event set in the closing days of the Cold War. From the moment you arrive till the moment you leave, you are surrounded by and are part of an environment that life in the field during a Cold War alert.
You may choose to be part of either the NATO forces (US Army, British Army, or West German Bundeswehr) or the Warsaw pact (Soviet Army or East German NVA) With each side having it’s own specific requirements, advantages, and disadvantages.
You may choose to participate as either a full term soldier operating 24 hours a day living on site or if you prefer as a part time day player only playing during the daylight hours.
As a full time soldier you will know the feeling of walking out on a multi day patrol, the sound of a
truck delivering your hot food (if you are lucky) and the sights and sounds of dark forest seemingly teeming with the enemy around your little patrol base in the black of night. You will use night vision, you will use mines, you will ride in
military trucks and
armored personnel carriers, you will be supported by
armor and you will use period correct
comms equipment. You will know the boredom of a 03:00 guard shift and the sinking feeling in your stomach when that shift suddenly STOPS being boring. You will know the true value of a
hot drink on a cold rainy day, you will learn to lament
T-rations,you will know the joy of walking into the mess tent and smelling hot
A-rations. You will know how lonely the world can be when your little outpost is under attack and you know that the nearest help is way too far away. You will know how piercingly bright a parachute flare is on a moonless night. You will know the smell of a
canvas tent on a sunny day. You will know what it is like to transition from
peacetime, to
alert, to
war.As a part time day player you can step into and out of one of the worlds best milsim events and get to see all of what goes into an event like this without having to commit yourself 100%. For a minimal cost comparable to most open play games, you get to see and be a part of
daytime recon patrols behind enemy lines, anti-armor ambushes, deliberate attacks and fiercely fought
defenses. You will fight shoulder to shoulder with the full time troops scraping and fighting for the same ground they are.
Either way, you will be surrounded by one of the most amazing events the world has to offer.
Who?Who may participate? Full time troops must be 18 years of age or older unless pre-approved by event administration. Part time day players must be 16 or older with attendees under the age of 18 requiring parental consent.
How much does it cost?The fee structure for Operation EastWind is broken into two categories:
Full time Soldiers pay a flat fee of $200 that includes all meals and use of event equipment. This fee remains the same regardless of whether you attend for the full 9 days or just 2 or 3 days. We do this in order to keep the overall cost down for guys who attend the entire time as we lose some money on the 9 day players but gain some back on the shorter term guys. Rest assured, you are very much getting your money’s worth even if you are only playing for 2 days and 2 nights.
Part time day players pay a fee of $20 per day as a field fee however do not get meals included nor do they get to check gear out of the supply tent. Cabins are available on site outside of the battle A.O. for fixed price. Dinner meals are available for both NATO and East Bloc day players for $7 per person per meal from the NATO Mobile Kitchen Trailer (MKT). The NATO cook is excellent, and the food is delicious.
Sign up for full term troops will open November 1st, 2009. At signup, a deposit of $50 is required with the balance due on March 1st, 2010.
Where will EastWind III be held?EastWind III is being held on a
leased private field 30 miles north of Columbia, Missouri. We hold EastWind events on a new field every year, each time choosing ground that has not otherwise been used for gaming. Nobody has home field advantage, there are no silly paintball bunkers, and nobody knows the place like the back of their hands. We do not announce the precise location till about a week before the event in order to prevent curious attendees from being tempted to trespass on the landowner’s property.
Why?Why 9 days?We run EastWind events for 9 days because in order to put together a quality event there is a certain minimum amount of time it takes to get everything all set up and settled in. If this was a weekend event, we would spend all day and night Saturday setting up and getting everyone settled in and then all day Sunday endexing. By running for 9 days we maximize our field time and get the most value out of our week’s vacation time (or spring break for you guys in school). If you cannot do the entire time, that’s fine. You can attend for as much or as little as you can fit into your schedule.
Why this degree of insanity/attention to detail?Sure, we could camp in civvy tents instead of
GP Mediums or real
Soviet tents. We could use a Ford Tempo with a plywood turret instead of a real Diamler Ferret. We could move troops around in a shortbed Chevy pickup instead of a
M35A2, and we could certainly cook flapjacks on a 2 burner Coleman stove instead of using
period correct field kitchens. Where would the fun be in all of that? At EastWind we seek to get everything right down to the smallest detail because this is how we immerse you into the event. You do not attend EastWind, you are part of it, you are inside the world that we create for you, you can “feel” this event.
Why the expense?When you look at the cost remember that you are getting food included as well as the use of a lot of really top notch gear. When we say food, we are not talking about just MREs or hotdogs cooked on a Weber grill. We have cook staff who are professionals in their fields that are cooking nutritionally balanced meals that are also era and nationality correct. Doing this right is not cheap and we refuse to skimp on quality. You could not eat at restaurants for a week on a $200 budget and get the quality of meals you will get at EastWind and that’s before we even talk about the other stuff. It is not an average game that a real BTR-40 comes down the path at you or that you get to face off against a real Ferret with your RPG. It is not an average game that you show up to the supply tent before your night mission and get
Gen 2 and 3 night vision equipment issued to you. It is not an average airsoft game that finds you scanning ridges with a thermal imager looking for hull down vehicles. Yes, EastWind is expensive, but value wise, it is impossible to beat.
Why should I go to EastWind III?This one is easy. Since the inception of this event our motto has been “Not because it is easy, but because it is hard.” I should be going to EastWind because I am looking for a challenge, I am looking for an experience, and I am fired up about living an event 24/7.
Why shouldn’t I go to EastWind?If I fold at challenges, if I don’t like getting rained on, if I am too proud to know when I need to learn something, or if I am just looking for 9 days of solid “3, 2,1, go” speedball action then EastWind will not be my thing.
What do I need to know to have an optimal experience at EastWind?EastWind offers challenges unrelated to most airsoft events. It naturally goes without saying that having airsoft fighting skills is important but far beyond that remember that you are living in the field and actually doing more fieldcraft type work at EastWind than you are likely to encounter at an “average” game. You will likely find yourself adapting a lot better if you spend some time out in the woods in inclement weather since EastWind stays tactical regardless of
weather conditions. Knowledge of your equipment goes a very long way as well since you will be living, working, and fighting in it 24 hour a day for 9 days. Obviously, there are a variety of technical skills that are helpful to know as well which is why we run a
training event about every month covering a variety of skills that will make your EastWind experience more enjoyable. Apart from that, the most important thing you need to know to have a good time at EastWind is how mentally tough you are. If you are willing to give something 105% and not quit, this is the event for you. It will blow your socks off and you will love every minute of it.
Hope to see you there.
