A Rare Occasion- B Squadron Dismounts for Paintball

By WO Ernie Romanuik

 

There aren't many careers in which paintball can be considered training, however the army is one of them.  B Squadron took a break from the routine of Friday morning OC’s marches to kill each other at Paintball Action Games instead.  Cpl Anthony Frenette, our resident paintball expert put this activity together for the Squadron.  Teams of 10 started on opposite sides of the indoor facility and used the inflatable obstacles, informally known as Doritos, beer cans, pop cans and “the snake” as cover to advance and destroy each other.  The games were quick and intense.  In the end, Cpl Frenette’s team, “Over ranked" won hands down.  Composed of all the Squadron’s paintballers, most of whom own their own equipment, this team presented a formidable challenge.  Their paintball guns were technically semi-automatic but, thanks to the magic of double triggers, they put out an incredible weight of fire that couldn’t be overcome by rented guns.  At least, that was Tpr Andrew Sherlock-Hubbard’s excuse for taking three rounds in the neck.  (These probably came from Cpl Chris Clegg, as payback for some “crew comfort” violations on the last exercise).  After a morning of fire and movement, we took our paint splattered selves to Jox Sports Bar for lunch.  Paintballing proved to be a good test of teamwork and marksmanship.  This happened to be the first day in B Sqn for our incoming clerk, Cpl Cameron Hays, and one of the last for outgoing clerk Cpl Heather Pirie, who took full advantage of the opportunity to settle scores with personnel slow on admin.  Our thanks to the staff at Paintball Action Games for delivering a professional, challenging and enjoyable day.