Team,

Here's the Q&A from our interview with U.S.A.S.O.C. Magazine.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: Where, when, and why was SOG Airsoft created?

SOG Airsoft: Team SOG began forming in the Fall of 2007. The original founding members used to play with another team in Dundalk, MD, but they were looking for something more. The goal was to get together a team that would focus on safety, organization, and skill. After branching off from the team in Dundalk, they began hand-picking members who met the qualifications they were looking for, set up and organized team standards, and from then on, SOG began to grow. When thinking up the name, someone suggested "SOG" after an idea they had when mentioning SOG Knives. After researching the name to see if anyone already had it, it was learned that SOG was actually a secret special forces group in Vietnam (MACV-SOG). The name fit the image we were looking for, so it stuck.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: Does the team have a specific area, or field, that they practice & train at? If so, can you briefly describe it?

SOG Airsoft: We have our own 130+ acre home field located in the Baltimore area that we play and train at every Sunday, rain or shine. The terrain is full of hills, lots of thick brush and trails, and has a river on the west end. It’s a very challenging field to say the least, because there are so many places to hide all year round. It allows us to train for all kinds of scenarios that may come up during public OPs we play at. We also have a large "CP Tent" that we purchased to accommodate the team, as well as picnic tables and grills for lunch. Right behind the CP Tent we've set up an outdoor shooting range to test out our guns.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: What would you consider SOG Airsoft’s specialty to be? CQB, outdoors, an all-around team, etc?

SOG Airsoft: We are definitely an "all around" team. Generally, we train for any upcoming event we may be attending, which is usually outdoors, but we have plenty of experience with CQB and MOUT. We hold regular training classes during our lunch breaks where we focus on a multitude of tactics. After each Sunday, we will write up an AAR on our team’s website for all our members to review. We will include remarks on what we did well, what we may need to change, and what we need to focus on for the next training evolution. Overall, all the training we've been working on has really paid off, and we're still progressing every Sunday.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: How many members does the team have?

[b]SOG Airsoft[/b]: We currently have about 20 active players with ages that range from 16 to 60. We have "Cadets" who are players that are looking to join the ranks of SOG, which we put on a probation period so they can gather all the required gear. We also have "Reserve" players who are players that are part of the SOG team, but only make it out to play every once in a while. Some of our members have children who they bring out to play, and we've set aside their own special squad for players 14 and under.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: Are, or were, any of the team’s members in the military and/or law enforcement?

SOG Airsoft: We have a former active duty Marine who is an Iraq veteran, an Army Vietnam veteran, and a few of our regular players were/are currently in the armed forces. One of which is stationed in Iraq at the time of this interview (Stay safe, Sgt. Mike!). We also have a Baltimore City Police officer on the team.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: Can you run us through how the team is organized, such as: team structure, team practices & meetings, etc?

SOG Airsoft: At the current moment, we have 5 squads: Our "Command" squad, two "Line squads", one "Recon" squad, and our "14 and under" squad. Practices are held every Sunday, and we do training discussions and reviews during lunch. Once a month, members from Command and the squad leaders will hold meetings to discuss plans, upcoming events, etc. Generally speaking, every team member has a say on what goes on within the team, and may offer suggestions on ways to improve the team. The way we look at it, everyone can learn from everyone else. If we happen to lose a game, we don’t gripe and moan about it. Instead, we go back and analyze what we need to do better. We look at every skirmish as a training experience.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: Has the team ever experienced any trouble with the law regarding airsoft?

SOG Airsoft: Not at all. Our home field is privately owned, and well-away from prying eyes. If we happen to travel, we will only play in areas where we have permission, or on sanctioned fields. Most team members have their own families, so they can't be worrying about running into a problem with the police. We intend to keep it that way.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: Has the team, or individual team members, ever been to any large scale events, and if so, which ones?

SOG Airsoft: The largest events we've been to are OPs at our local paintball fields (Outdoor Adventures, PBSL) that average approx. 120 - 200 players per event. Events such as OP: Imperial Vengeance 2, OP: Grizzly Agenda, Battle of the Bulge '08, to name a few. We haven't been to any events such as Operation: Lion Claws, but we definitely plan on attending one in the future.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: Are there any upcoming events that the team, or individual team members, plans to attend?

SOG Airsoft: In December we'll be attending Battle of the Bulge '09 at Outdoor Adventures. Most of our near-future plans are skirmishes with local teams in the area. We recently invited the Dark Templar Knights to our field for a day of gaming. They are a great group of guys, we had so much fun with them! Pretty soon we will be playing against the Dogs of War from Middletown, MD; and we also are planning a trip up to "Concrete City" in PA to play with Team iNPC. We were also contacted by the ROTC in NJ to help them with training, so we're still trying to work out a date for that. If we happen to find out about upcoming games, there might be a few more thrown in the mix.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: Do you guys host events? If so, are there any upcoming ones that you would like to alert people about?

SOG Airsoft: We just recently hosted our first private, 12-hour OP, dubbed "Operation: Saving Graceland." This was mainly a test run OP to see how smoothly it would go, so we could host future OPs open to the public. Saving Graceland was limited to Team SOG and a few guests invited to fill in the role as the "Death Squad." We had 3 teams, plus the "Death Squad" roaming around our 130 acre home field. The 3 main teams were searching for over 15 objectives, while the "Death Squad" had the job of wreaking havoc on anyone who crossed their path. It was one hell of a game! We definitely have plans for another OP in the near future, which we will be inviting other teams to.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: Are you guys recruiting, and if so, what are your standards & requirements?

SOG Airsoft: We are very cautious about who we bring to our team. Every one of our members is hand-picked. First and foremost, you have to have the right attitude. One thing that a lot of people comment on when they play with us is how friendly we are. We welcome everyone with open arms, as long as they show good character, honesty, and respect. SOG is like a second family for most members, and we do anything we can to help each other out. We love introducing new people to the sport, because our main mission out on the field is to have FUN. We just want to get to know people before adding them to our team, so we need to play with you first, or we require new players to our field to sign up for our forum on the team's website and introduce themselves. Our field is invite-only so we can keep things under control, and so we know what kind of people we are playing with. As far as requirements go, we are currently looking for players 18 or older with their own gear and transportation. Sometimes we make acceptions for players under 18 years of age, mostly when a team member has children they'd like to bring out. We require each player to have the 4 uniforms we use, a UHF and a FRS radio, an AEG, back up weapon, pistol, and proper eye protection. We also require that all players under the age of 18 wear a full-face mask. No exceptions. For more information, sign up for our forums at sogairsoft.org.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: What tips can you give us on how the team trains or is that more of a "member only" thing?

SOG Airsoft: We have a combination of ways we train. Since we play every Sunday, we get a lot of trigger time in. As previously stated, we hold regular classes during our lunch breaks, but we also do a lot of "hands-on" training. We practice things like formations, contact drills, hand-and-arm signals, radio procedures, proper movement techniques, etc. We don’t skip over the small details, because every little bit counts! We write up AARs for reviewing purposes, as well as posts in our "Team Training Section" on our website. And of course, every game is practice in itself! We're pretty well-rounded.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: Does the team have a website or any other contact information?

SOG Airsoft: Our main website is http://www.sogairsoft.org. Drop on in and say "Hello!" We can also be found on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/sogairsoft), We have a group on Facebook (Search for "SOG Airsoft of Maryland"), and we're on airSOCOM (http://team.airsocom.com/group/sogairsoft). We were recently recognized as the "Honor Team" on airSOCOM, so we're right there on top as soon as you click on the "Teams" section!

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: What would you consider to be SOG Airsoft’s best and worst airsoft experience, as a team?

SOG Airsoft: The best experience would definitely be making new friendships on and off the field. We value that more than anything. We have a large variety of players who contact us from all over, and for the most part, everyone has been pretty cool. We strive to be a positive force in the airsoft community, and through that, we meet a lot of awesome players. As far as the worst experience, it would probably have to be all the cheating that goes on at public events. But that’s obviously something you can’t get away from. We've been lucky enough to never have any major negative experiences so far.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: What are some of the things you guys, as a team, have learned since starting, and because of airsoft?

SOG Airsoft: ALWAYS expect the unexpected! Every new player brings something new to the table, so there’s always a new lesson to be learned. We've learned to remain flexible, because the game is always evolving, and our team is doing our best to evolve with it. Being patient with new players is also something we've learned about. Not everyone starts off knowing everything about AEGs or tactics, but if you take the time to teach people, and they take the time to listen, they will pick up the knowledge faster than you think.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: What would be your advice to a new team, or organization, that is just starting up?

SOG Airsoft: One base line you'll always want to follow is having strict safety policies. This is one thing you don’t want to ignore, because you don’t want ANYONE getting injured. From FPS limits, all the way down to the boots they wear, you want to make sure you do everything in your power to keep everyone as safe as possible. Strong leadership is also a key factor into making a successful team. Not the kind of leadership where you're out screaming orders and punishing people who don’t do exactly what you say. That’s not the way to go about it. In order to be a good leader, you must first be a good follower. Keep an open ear and an open mind, but also stand your ground. Building strong friendships is also one of the most important things to have in a team. It just makes things go a lot smoother, and you don’t have so many people fighting and arguing with each other on the field. Staying organized and having a team structure is also a good idea.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: What would be one thing that you would want to see improved, added to, and/or removed completely from the sport of airsoft in the future?

SOG Airsoft: We'd like to see the guns and gear improved. Airsoft has come a long way since it started, and it’s only gotten better. There are so many new companies putting out new products, and they are listening to the consumers and improving their products. Reliability is one of the big issues that airsofters are forced to deal with, and hopefully some of these companies can live up to those standards. One thing that NEEDS to be removed from our sport is the player's dishonesty factor. Almost every serious player will say that it’s the #1 problem with our sport. Our game is built on honesty, which makes it very easily subjected to cheating. That’s the main thing that turns new potential players off to the idea of trying out airsoft.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: What is in store for the future of SOG Airsoft?

SOG Airsoft: We have a lot that we are trying to accomplish, starting with the growth of our team. We're constantly scouting out potential new players to add to our ranks, so it’s always a top priority to find players that will fit in. We definitely plan on hosting more OPs, this time with them being open to other teams to attend. We're always trying to introduce new players, and trying to actively promote sport, and that will continue to be one of our goals. Soon, we're planning on shooting a promotional DVD for the team so we can hand out copies at local OPs we attend.

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: Finally, can you briefly sum up why people should consider joining the team, or at least check it out?

SOG Airsoft: If you're looking for an experience you can’t really find at a public field, hit us up! We offer an intense Mil-Sim experience at our field, along with great new friends to make. We are definitely one of a kind!

U.S.A.S.O.C. - The Magazine: Thank you very much to all the members of SOG Airsoft who have participated in this interview, and all of the staff at U.S.A.S.O.C. – The Magazine wishes the team, and its members, the best for the future.

SOG Airsoft: Big thanks to U.S.A.S.O.C. – The Magazine for giving us this opportunity to get our name out to the community. On behalf of the entire SOG team, we salute you. Play safe, and play hard!