Former USMC here. I played a bit, a while back. A lot of teams don't play as teams- they play like a bunch of guys playing 'Battlefield 2' team deathmatch. The teams that do well are the ones that train, practice and coordinate, just as one would expect
Airsoft offers a bit of perspective on how easy it is to get hit in combat. When I've called out with stinging welts everywhere, I soberly reflect that I'm glad those were just 6mm plastic pellets at 400 FPS and not the real thing.
True, there is that “deathmatch” mentality.
Some “teams” use noobs as bb bait to boost their egos...others actually do as you said, “train, practice and coordinate”.
Combat veterans know much more about what I’m about to say, so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. But those who haven’t engaged in actual combat (like me) really have no idea about what one goes through when trying to take an objective while getting shot at by determined foes...
It was eye opening to see how easy one can get shot...and the need to recognize that concealment vs. cover are not the same thing and independent of each other...even though the bbs couldn’t penetrate some concealment. You can and will get get shot in real life if you try to use a bush as cover. What should be apparent, sometimes isn’t.
It’s all about mindset. The first time I played, the adrenaline and apprehension were 2 of the first things I noticed. Even though as a kid I used to engage in bb gun “wars”, this was different in a sense.
I’ve learned to look at it from a different pov. A real shooting war is going to test people in a lot of different ways. IMO, this is about as close as one can get to it.