C.O.B.A.L.T. ~ So you ever wanted to be a Spy?

[Bishop]

C.O.B.A.L.T.

COVERT OPERATIONAL BASICS AND LOGISTICAL TACTICS

COBALT is a program designed to heighten your skills as a special agent. These minimum two-day adventures will take you further into realism than your regular airsoft event. If you or your team signs up for the COLBALT experience, the adventure starts the moment you step outside your front doorstep. In many instances you will have the extreme opportunity of looking for a contact in a public location full of people who have no idea of who you are and what you are looking for. You will negotiate for intel, have multiple locations to visit, and time deadlines to meet. When you are involved in COBALT, you are the catalyst for your adventure!

COBALT is for the individual looking for more intriguing situations with the willingness to take his/her fun seriously.

Dutch is currently looking for four teams to participate in the first two COLBALT programs. Each team may consist of four to eight mature individuals. Due to the nature of this program, everybody involved must be at least 18 years old with at least one individual per team who is 21 years old. Each team must have one mode of transportation. Dutch will hand pick the groups that submit their request based on maturity and the desire to role-play. The more you get into character, the more fun it will be. However, please keep in mind, role-playing your character, maybe just being yourself.

Each team will be fully informed one week in advanced of the necessary equipment that they will need for the program. Please note that COBALT will not consist of always packing your airsoft replica or wearing camo. Actually, it will be quite the opposite. Many times you will only be looking down your barrel when it is absolutely necessary to achieve your objective (which I guarantee will happen at least once in your mission). Trust me, the suspense will be just as exciting as blowing through 5,000 rounds of ammo at an event.

OK Dutch – tell me how much is this endeavor going to cost me? Are you ready? NOTHING!! I would like to extend the first two COBALT programs to the community free of charge! I would like to test market this idea and get feedback from those who participate.

However, there is one detail. Your team will be required to have on hand $100.00 in cash during your mission. This will be your budget for creating assets, buying contacts a drink, a cigar, lunch, or just offering him/her cold hard cash to receive your needed intel. You may spend less than $100.00 but you MUST NOT spend more than $100.00. So, are you ready to negotiate?

I look forward to implementing COBALT after the CQB building is done – no dates have been set. I am taking letters of intent now for a total of four teams. You or your team may not sign up twice. Please contact Dutch with your letter of intent as to who would be on your team and why they would be an asset to this program.

Airsoft weapons may be used but never in public only in designated areas, safe zones if you will like the ACO CQB building. This relay shouldn’t be considered an Airsoft event per say but more of an adventure role playing event that may at one time use an Airsoft gun.

[Gunslinger]

This one is gonna be SWEET!!!!! Cant wait!

[Jacko]

Okay, exactly where will this be happening? Not in public, right?

[Mandor]

Im interested but again, no replicas/shootouts in public right? What are the prospective dates? I'm gonna hafta ask for time off work and scheduling on my 2nd job.

This could be kinda cool if combined with that GPS hunt/rally cache thing. Jacko, didn't you have the details of that?

[Gunslinger]

From my understanding its a Intel gathering ONLY in public. The "shoot out" will happen at a finial location after all your intel has been gathered, so in essence it would be like you were a spy gathering your "primary" objectives and then they will lead you to a Enemy. Something along those lines. So no, no replicas are to be displayed in public in ANY fashion. You mission will lead you to the place were the ACTION will take place. That's why he said no cammo will be needed for the initial intel gathering. Kinda like being a swat member sitting at home and you pager goes off, you just get up go get your info and roll out to the location. Im not saying its exactly like that just as close as a explanation as I can come up with off the top of my head.

[Jacko]

Let's hope you're right, Gunslinger.

Mandor, you mean the GeoCaching stuff? I'm brewing some ideas.

[WOLFE]

Hey Jacko, I'm not sure how much I can say but for the good majority of the weekend you will not even touch your weapon. It will be deep storyline mixed with role playing mixed with a damn near state wide scavanger hunt ( depending on the scenerio) for intel all culminating with a greater objective ie an international arms deal, an assaination plot or whatever the particular Op calls for. They will all be different and you may never know until you recieve your orders what you may be up against. Basically an exciting adventure trying to stop a horrible crisis that could change the world. You will definitly need to be on your toes for this because $#!* will happen. Instead of just getting together for the weekend to play airsoft where you know what is about to happen this should be a very realistic real world scenario where if a real CIA spook meets a snitch in a cafe and everyone in the cafe notices something is out of place his cover is blown and it could mean his life. You will need to blend in, get intel and get out without anyone blinking an eye. You never know whos watching.

[Jacko]

My point is that I shouldn't even have a weapon if I'm in public.

EDIT: Let me expand on this a little. I don't mean to sound like like I'm completely dissing this idea, but with what's been posted, it sounds like it's borderline illegal and at the very least, almost begging for trouble. Meeting up in places to clandestinely trade intel would be cool as part of a game, but when you're doing all kinds of weird shit in public, someone is going to take it upon themselves to become the Concerned Citizen and call up Johnny Law.

Bishop has not yet posted anything saying 'Airsoft replicas are not going to be displayed in public and will be completely discouraged from being carried' to assuage my fears so until that time, I have to consider this to be monumentally stupid.

[Josh Walrus]

Im not even 18 but perhaps a hand stamp of some kind could act as a sort of knife? Like in a public place if you see an enemy agent and sneak up on him to "stab him in the neck" (put a stamp on his neck), that means he is dead! (just a suggestion)

In case there is a time when both agents should realize eachother's presence, there should be some sort of area designated for shootouts as so they can "take it outside" of a public place if you will? (but that of course would mean youd have to have SOME SORT of weapon in your means of transportation which is kind of iffy )

I cant even participate but I would like to see how this baby pans out!

Hopefully there are a lot of spy photography missions!

(*nudge nudge*)

[Bishop]

Airsoft weapons may be used but never in public only in designated areas, safe zones if you will like the ACO CQB building. This relay shouldn’t be considered an Airsoft event per say but more of an adventure role playing event that may at one time use an Airsoft gun.

[Dutch]

Jacko -

Rest assured - there will be NO AIRSOFT REPLICAS in public locations.

You WILL NOT be doing anything weird or out of the ordinary in public locations.

Example: You simply may need to find someone or someone will find you in a bar wearing a specific item of clothing. When you locate this person, you ask them a normal ordinary question and the individual should answer in a specific way. If you do not receive the kind of answer you are looking for - you have the wrong contact and nobody feels wierd or goes calling Johnny Law. And there will be NO AIRSOFT REPLICAS at this kind of meeting. The only time you will have a replica in your hand is when you are at one of our designated areas which calls for you carry one. Your instructions will be VERY VERY clear as to when to carry a replica and when to not.

For further safety, we would require the players to hand over thier replicas at a beggining location and tag them with thier identity. They will then be placed at points of neccessary contact. I will only handle the cases that the replicas are in - never touching the replca itself. It will be absolutely necessary that each and every replica remains in a case.

Please keep in mind - this is the kind of adventure for serious players who like a different angle of adventure - it is not for everybody.

No date has been set but plan on sometime in the mid-late summer months. Right now I am hoping that there are two interested parties.

The absolute last thing I want to do is to create bad publicity and that is why I am hand-picking the four test groups to see if there are at least 16 mature enough individuals who are up to the challenge.

I hope this gives you warm fuzzies Jacko and will cuase you to withdraw your statement of "I have to consider this to be monumentally stupid."

[DarkRyderOmega]

Will you be having more of these in the future (Future being 3-4 years), cause this would be soooooo fun, but alas, Im only 15 .

[Mandor]

Yup the geocaching thing. Bishop, Dutch look up Geocaching on search. They do something kinda similar with gps coordinates in a nationwide scavenger hunt. No covert meetings but looking for specific items at coordinate locations and posting what was found. As far as no replicas in public good, but how long will this gig be? 2-3 days? I'm still interested but i would like to see what you've come up with as far as ROE for blown meetings. Another consideration is gas, i don't know about you guys but my area is 2.24 a gallon right now, so driving all over the state could get kinda expensive.

[Jacko]

Dutch, I'm glad you posted. Bishop's post was just a little too vague for my liking (Though mysterious enough to get me sucked in) and I'm glad you could clarify. Thanks.

Other than that, I, like Mandor, would also like to know more details.

[Hawkeye]

if everything ends up being kosher, The Rat Pack could be interested.