Capt. TAC ONE
XO – 1 CAN PARA, 6 AB, CEF
MANITOBA, CANADA
On May 16th, members of the “Commonwealth Expeditionary Force” International Scenario Paintball Team, led by Baker Company, 1 CAN PARA, and elements of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles took part in the 5th Annual Huntington’s Fundraiser at Creekside Paintball near Lowe Farm, Manitoba, Canada.
CEF members included Chris “Tac-One” McLauchlan, Joel “Towel” Carleton, Brad “BeardedMessiah” Sutton, Aaron “Skyryder” Hull, Logan “Baker Company Guy” Ross, Trenton “Wildcat” Schreyer, and Brennan “Lowteck” Stephenson. In addition, this contingent was joined by a number of “CEF Friends / Future Recruits”.
The CEF contingent formed a sizable portion of one of the teams and took on a mentoring / leadership role with the other players on their side. The Creekside event was not a scenario game per se, but a series of one-off games.
Without further ado, please find attached the After Action Report for the event.
GAME #1: ELIMINATION
This was a simple game of elimination.
CEF on each flank with rest of the team in the middle. CEF came out aggressively and got some good positions on the right flank, but stalled on the left and center. This left the right flank exposed, resulting in a number of eliminations.
Results: LOSS
This was a good chance to shake off the rust as well as indoctrinate the non-CEF players into our aggressive nature, communications, and other tactics. By the end of the game, even the newer players were showing a knowledge of ABC tactics and communications.
GAME #2: CENTER FLAG
This game involved getting your team’s flag to the center tower. Eliminated players could respawn when there were ten of them.
CEF sent a couple of shooters out to either flank and everyone else up the middle. The outside shooters were able to get some good angles and break up the OPFOR’s charge. Meanwhile Baker Company Guy was able to sprint the flag in for a very quick win.
Results: WIN
The game was over in about 15 seconds, so it was difficult to tell if this was good tactics or bad scenario design.
GAME #3 : CENTER FLAG
Same game with the teams switching ends.
Results: LOSS
Another game over in less than 30 seconds. The opposing team merely mirrored our tactic and sent a sprinter up the center.
GAME #4: COLLECTION
This game involved collecting up cones spread around the field and then taking them to a fixed collection point near the center of the field. First team to six cones wins. Ten player respawn rule.
CEF again took the flanks. The left flank fire team secured our collection point, while the right flank fire team dominated the OPFOR collection point. CEF players did a great job with collecting and cycling the cones to the collector while preventing the opposing players from doing the same. Often times this was coordinated with cover fire. CEF was so aggressive that we actually collected cones from the opposition’s half of the field. This game only lasted a handful of minutes.
Results: WIN
Total domination on this one. The coordination of the CEF players really came to the fore here.
GAME #5 : COLLECTION
Same game, with the teams changing sides. The collection points were moved right to the center line, on opposite flanks. The vast majority of cones were on or very close to the center line as well.
We had to spread the CEF players a little thin on this one in order to take some very important strategic points on the field. The new set-up made for a much more intense game. CEF team had some difficulty matching the game format to their tactics at first. We were eliminating tons of opponents, who would simply respawn. Meanwhile our eliminated players were waiting for long periods of time to see ten players in the elimination box. We eventually adapted and were able to move up and take more real estate. Communication and fire coordination were key here.
Results: WIN
The game ran out of time. However, the CEF Team had five cones at this point and the OPFOR only had two.
GAME #6: KINGSLAYER
For this game, each team had to nominate a player to serve as King. His 
elimination would result in a loss. The respawn rules for this one were a bit more interesting. A live player sitting in a chair at the back of the field had to shoot a can hanging from a line some distance away. That would allow all players in the dead zone to respawn.
Tac-One’s brother was the King for this game. He did a great job throughout game getting our players back in the game. The CEF had a very aggressive tactic for this game that primarily involved getting in position to put fire on their respawn chair. It took some time to achieve this. However, in the end we were able to achieve this objective and get into some very aggressive positions. CEF forces dominated the right flank and were able to root out OPFOR snipers in and around some buildings and take over watch positions on the respawn chair, causing the OPFOR King to flee. This was followed up by an aggressive pinch on the left flank. Just as we prepared for a final assault on the last few OPFOR and their King, the refs allowed a snap respawn. We went in anyways, but the whistle ending the game blew just as we rushed their King.
Results: DRAW (but a moral win for the CEF!)
Unfortunately, a significant portion of the CEF had to leave at the dinner break and it was left to the handful remaining to uphold the honor of King and Country.
GAME #7: HOPPERBALL CEF VERSUS
Things were winding down rapidly for lost of folks. Rather than trying to rejig the teams and lose out on even more time, the CEF suggested that what remained of them would face everyone else in a limited ammo game.
The CEF did have one notable player from the opposition join them, but otherwise faced the enemy hordes alone. The CEF sent two players hard to the right to attempt to hold down the tape. The remainder went left and met up with the vast majority of the OPFOR. While they fought valiantly and eliminated many foes, they were eventually wiped out. Then Wildcat went down on the right flank. Finally only Bearded Messiah remained and then he too was eliminated.
Results: LOSS
It was unclear exactly how many OPFOR remained, but it was clear that the CEF had eliminated that vast majority of the overwhelming odds arrayed against them.
FINAL SCORE: 3 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw (but dominated by CEF).
Throughout the day, CEF personnel answered a number of questions about our jerseys, our team, and the significance of being an “international scenario team”, as well as our connection to Oklahoma D-Day. Information on the CEF and OK DDAY was passed out in brochures.
All in all this was a great opportunity to spread the word as well as to work out some of the kinks. In addition, we helped raise some cash to fight a deadly disease. The CEF also did okay in the prize department winning paint, tickets to the Tippmann Challenge Central Canada, Tac Caps, and more.
For more information about 1 CAN PARA, the RWR and the CEF please see: www.ddaycommonwealth.com
