| I remember my first week of stealth training. (And | | | | eye to spot motion. If you think you're going slow |
| when I say "stealth" I mean tactical camouflage, | | | | enough, slow down by another 1/2 and you'll be getting |
| paintball camouflage, airsoft camouflage, hunting | | | | close. Get low and go slow. |
| camouflage, whatever. If you need to remain | | | | - The periphery (edge) of human vision is primarily |
| undetected, no matter whether predator or prey, the | | | | made up of motion-sensing visual cells called "rods". |
| skills are the same.) We were given a demonstration | | | | The density of rods is greater at the edges of vision |
| of what highly effective camouflage can do, when | | | | and is responsible for picking up motion. From an |
| used properly. We were asked to scan an area | | | | evolutionary standpoint, peripheral vision is the visual |
| approximately 200 yards across, in an arc of about | | | | alarm system, warning of threats that we aren't |
| 120 degrees. When the 1 minute allotment of time had | | | | looking at. As such, those jerky and twitchy |
| passed, the targets revealed themselves. Several | | | | movements are more easily detected when your |
| were within just a couple of yards of 75 pairs of eyes. | | | | target isn't even looking at you. |
| The rest were no further than 30 yards away and | | | | 3. Master camouflage. |
| completely out in the open. No conventional ghillie, no | | | | - The simplest part of camouflage is the most obvious, |
| digital camouflage BDU's. What kept them hidden in | | | | that is, the pattern. But the devil is in the details. What |
| plain sight was their complete mastery of these four | | | | kind of fabric is your camouflage printed on? Nylon |
| elements. | | | | blends, popular now with the advent of "performance |
| If any of these four indicators are present, you have | | | | garments" are much shinier than cottons or wools. |
| seriously compromised your position. And the longer | | | | That shine is brutally obvious in the wrong kind of light. |
| the indicator remains, the greater your exposure. As a | | | | Even brand new camouflage fatigues have a shine to |
| tactical paintball sniper, you must understand these | | | | them that doesn't disappear until after about ten |
| indicators and eliminate them. Not only that, you need | | | | washes. |
| to become an expert at spotting them and using them | | | | - Breaking up the outline is critical. Many tactical paintball |
| to expose your opponents. | | | | snipers put on a ghillie suit like Harry Potter dons his |
| 1. Master sound. | | | | cloak of invisibility. It doesn't work that way. Frankly, |
| - As night settles, sound becomes more obvious. The | | | | most paintball ghillie suits just make you look like a |
| din of the day dies down and what's left are the more | | | | green Sasquatch. In 3D camouflage, less is more. It |
| subtle night sounds and the not-so-subtle sounds of | | | | takes very little to break up the human silhouette. Do it, |
| creatures that don't belong in the night. This, of course, | | | | but don't go overboard. |
| only applies to you if you play or work in the dark | | | | - That new suit of woodland digital camouflage is |
| hours. If that's your setting, you need to become one | | | | great. In fact, very effective. But put it in front of a |
| of the creatures that belong in the dark and minimize | | | | wooden bunker or the bark of a lightly colored tree |
| your sound accordingly. | | | | and you will stand out. It's not a magic potion. Stick to |
| - As great as the latest gear may be, the more you | | | | the shadows, stay low and don't forget you aren't |
| pack along, the more discipline you need to apply to | | | | invisible....yet. |
| silencing it. Tape up or remove zipper tabs. Change | | | | 4. Master the masters - the local wildlife. |
| velcro to buttons where practical. Magnetic closures | | | | - Each natural area, even your local paintball or airsoft |
| are even better. Fill or empty canteens or hydration | | | | range, has a baseline of activity. The birds behave a |
| bladders. Cover metallic parts with latex rubber tool-dip | | | | certain way. The deer stick to certain areas. Even the |
| or a soft fabric like ghillie or felt. Take a stroll in full gear, | | | | insects have patterns. A foreigner to these |
| just a regular walk and make a note of every noise | | | | environments sends a ripple through the area. Insects |
| coming from your equipment. Silence it or drop it. | | | | are silenced. Birds and deer flee. All of these are clues. |
| - You can get away with small noises both in the day | | | | Even a rudimentary understanding can aid in detection |
| and at night. Clicks, pops, scratches or snaps are not | | | | of a threat from several hundred yards. |
| unnatural, but they have a context. The human voice | | | | - Each of the above factors, when ignored, will set off |
| has no context. It is unnatural. Use sign language | | | | these natural alarms. Just as stated above, stay low, |
| whereever possible. When you need to talk, get all the | | | | go slow, blend in. |
| voices low to the ground and use only the volume | | | | Camouflage in the recreational sports of paintball and |
| needed to hear. | | | | airsoft is treated largely as a novelty. In the law |
| 2. Master movement. | | | | enforcement and military community, it's a way of life, |
| - The number one rookie stealth mistake is moving too | | | | a survival concern, a science and an art. To excel in |
| quickly. It is entirely possible to stand upright in a | | | | the arena of the tactical paintball sniper, camouflage |
| wooded area with muted colors on and move | | | | and stealth must be mastered. You have to be willing |
| unnoticed if the movement is smooth and slow. Jerks | | | | to do what it takes. Abandon the "fashion show" |
| and twitchy motions draw the natural tendency of the | | | | mentality. Get dirty. Get the elimination. |