A Victim of Force Projection
Warriors, I'd like to talk to about a swift and devastating attack
against the IKV Bayou Serpent. I'm talking about 'Force
Projection'.
No, it's not a teaching aid used by the Jedi but an effective way to
draw other Trek groups out to 'play'.
'Force Projection' is actually a Terran military term that means "to
implement policy by means of force, or the threat thereof, in an area
distant from its own territory".
We weren't ever threatened, but we were attacked in the fall of 2004 by
members of the IKV Melota and IKV Qin Vagh...but it was a good thing.
For years the IKV Bayou Serpent was an active vessel doing parades,
blood drives and all sorts of charity events. But in our area
only, and that's just fine. There were no other Klingons in
our area and the one feddie vessel was typical feddie and never did
anything but hold meetings.
Not knowing what we were missing, we were content to do events alone.
We were contacted a few times by the DFW Klingons about coming out to
their bat'leth tournament, but Dallas is a 4 hour drive.
They told us "Throw an event that's worth the drive and we'll be
there." Paintball was a favorite of our crew and it WAS a
form of battle so we decided to hold the first Venom Wars paintball war
in the fall of 2004. It was at this time that we became a
victim of force projection.
We had planned a night game and had a few ice chests full of Terran
brew...that should be enough right? Nope. Four DFW
guys showed up with more weapons, flags and banners that we had ever
seen. They brought homemade brew and bloodwine to sample and
DVD's of their events.
Our actual game didn't last all that long, instead we talked about how
they put on an event. They weren't trying to tell us how to do things
but rather show us something different and hopefully excite us enough
to come visit them for their bat'leth tournament that was about a month
away.
We drank, howled and laughed late into the night and also made some
strong friendships.
A few of us did make it to their bat'leth tournament but initially it
was to return the favor of them coming to see us. After
seeing what can only be described as their 'production' of a bat'leth
tournament we were hooked. We now had a group of friends to play with
and share ideas with, rather than stagnate in our own yards.
We conquered new territory with our new brothers and sisters.
On their next trip to Venom Wars they were surprised to see we had
borrowed some of their ideas and had a 'production' of our own. This
time we weren't sitting on ice chests around a Coleman
lantern. We had a full blown ceremony in full
uniform. The paintball wars were just an excuse to get people
to come.
The real fun is the fellowship.
Enough with the story.
A huge production isn't everyone's cup of Tarkalean tea, but force
projection is something to consider seriously. Make the first move and
go visit the closest ship for their events. You could make
new friendships and get ideas you hadn't thought of. It can
breathe new life into your ship and quadrant. KAG's biggest rule is
'Have Fun'...SO DO IT!
Cmdr Ri'Par
sutai-bortaS
Cold Terror Fleet XO
IKV Bayou Serpent CO
Ship's Brewer
ripar_bortas@yahoo.com
