Splat!

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Anthony M. Ward
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  In support of the Air Force's Single Airmen Initiative, the Outdoor Recreation Center teamed up with Holloman's Dormitory Council to sponsor a dorm-residents-only paintball tournament at the paintball fields here Feb. 11.

The SAI, an Air Force-wide initiative designed to provide programs to meet the needs and interests of the Airmen community, boosts morale and improves the quality of life for Holloman's Airmen, said Ted Brinegar, Outdoor Recreation director.

Outdoor Recreation received approximately $15,000 to support the new program, according to Brinegar. The money was then allocated into various areas such as the purchasing of equipment used in the tournament as well as installing wireless internet hotspots in several facilities on base.

With funding for the new program, Outdoor Recreation and the Dorm Council made a collaborated effort to discover what it was that residents of the dormitories wanted to see.

"Outdoor Recreation and the Dorm Council tend to work very closely with one another," said U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Matthew Vloutis, Dorm Council vice president. "We sent out mass emails, posted onto the Holloman Dorm Council Facebook page, and held meetings with the Airmen, asking them what they wanted."

Many requests were made by dormitory residents, however, the most frequent was a paintball tournament, said Vloutis. Once the decision had been made to hold the tournament, approximately two months worth of preparation went into setting it up.

While dormitory residents were signing up for the tournament, various types of equipment were purchased to ensure the game went smoothly, said Brinegar. The newly acquired equipment was mainly safety equipment such as goggles.

With the tournament preparation complete, and the date and location announced, many Airmen were surprised to discover Holloman actually possessed its own paintball field.

"Unfortunately, I think the reason the field is not widely known about is due to a lack of advertising," said David Ogilsbie, maintainer for Holloman's paintball field. "Hopefully, this tournament will change that and attract more people."

Though many Airmen may have been unaware of Holloman's paintball field, it has actually been around for roughly a decade.

"Dave Ogilsbie and myself began building this field in the early 2000s," said Gerry Krautheim, Holloman's paintball field range master. "At the time, all we had to work with were electrical spools and crates. Since then, it's evolved to where we not only have that field, but also, the ground has been prepped for two other fields."

Currently, the paintball area consists of three fields. On one field, wooden spools, crates and concrete pipes span the landscape. Another has professional paintball blow-up bunkers. The third, a prepped, empty field, is awaiting volunteers from the 49th Civil Engineer Squadron to construct an urban-like landscape, according to Krautheim.

With two fully-functional paintball fields available to the participants, the tournament seemed to be an overall success, according to U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Gerald Miller, 49th Materiel Maintenance Squadron.

"Honestly, I think this is one of the greatest things I've seen Dorm Council and Outdoor Recreation put on just because it's such a huge morale boost for the Airmen," said Miller. "I think a lot of people, including myself, are going to want to be here every weekend."

During the winter season, Holloman's paintball field is open Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and in the summer months from 8 a.m. to noon. Sundays are available for parties by scheduling an appointment.

For more information on the Single Airmen Initiative or Holloman's paintball field, visit Holloman Outdoor Recreation on Facebook, Holloman Outdoor Wingman on Facebook, or call the Outdoor Recreation Center at 572-5369.