the business level is over 9000

oh, EE, Math IA, what shall i do without you

Nothing

These posts will remain short, as long as my workload persists. GLHF, all.

After Actions Report

I had stated that I would post my after actions report. Here it is.

After Actions Report – Night Game

FSgt. Ben Liu

1. PURPOSE:

On the weekend of October 26 and 27, 211 Squadron participated in a field training exercise (FTX) at Limerick Forest. The cadets participated in a night game on the night of the 26^th. This report addresses issues regarding the night game, and not the overall FTX.

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On the morning of the 26^th, an area beyond sight range of the chalet was selected and prepared as the location of a crime scene as part of a scare prank by the seniors during the night game. Various posters were put up in the area, and caution tape was used to identify the area. Throughout the rest of the day, the activity CPI briefed each of the seniors on their roles in the activity individually. Rain started to fall later in the day, soaking many of the posters. Throughout the day, various other supplies were obtained and prepared to be brought to the activity area. The activity CPI and activity cadet 2IC did a check on the area after lunch, and right before the commencement of the activity at around 1920Hrs. Both cadets judged the area to be too far from the chalet and the forest was too dark at night. On their return, they decided to cancel the majority of the scare-portion of the activity, change the activity area, and concentrate solely on the Downed Pilot game. The activity CPI quickly briefed the other seniors and OPI of the situation, and briefed the rest of the cadets on the situation. The activity CPI led all the seniors and cadets around the boundaries, and allowed the game to commence once the tour of the area concluded. At 2130Hrs, the activity concluded, with no reports of lost cadets or serious injuries.

3. LESSONS LEARNED

The level of darkness was a considered throughout the planning phase of the activity. By the time night came, it was obvious that the forest was too dark for proceeding beyond visual range of the chalet. The original location selected for the night game was also placed in an off-road location; someone could easily get lost searching for that place. For future activities of this kind, more scouting is needed to find the best location. However, had we selected a closer location the cadets may find it an unconvincing coincidence of having the FTX right beside a murder scene. To mitigate this, a less gruesome backstory would be required.

The night game, Downed Pilot, turned out to be quite fun for the cadets, who were a bit disappointed in not being able to rescue a single pilot. This was most likely caused by the limited number of pathways to the pilots, the large size of each rescue group, and the relatively small activity area. Similar to above, finding a better spot, or simply extending the original perimeters would have balanced the game out a bit better. In addition, splitting the rescue groups into smaller groups would have also helped, though this complicates safety as each group must be issued a compass and map.

While wandering around as the chief scaring guy, I realized the difficulty in stalking a group of cadets, but maintaining such a distance as to not get caught. There really is no solution to this, except just practicing the art of stalking.

4. COMMENTS

The elephant in the room is the lack of cadets. The FTX of the 26^th and 27^th was probably one of the smallest FTX’s 211 has hosted. The reasons for this are unclear, and may have been caused by the weather forecast of rain for the 26^th.

The uncooperative weather did not help in the morale of the cadets; however the cadets did not appear to be overly affected. The weather did soak many of the posters that the seniors had put up, but this was not a large issue in terms of the scare since the scare didn’t actually happen.

The cadets seemed legitimately interested in the character of the “scary masked man” and the crime scene. Some of the cadets were genuinely trying to connect the posters and masked man on the bus ride home, which makes me think that a properly designed mystery-based activity occurring on an FTX would be a great idea and make the FTX more interesting.

There was a lack of radios, which hindered communications. If radios were available, the activity area could be greatly expanded with the seniors being spread farther apart. This would have allowed a much fairer chance for the cadets to rescue a downed pilot.

A list of the participating cadets would have been helpful in coordinating and planning out roles for the activity.