Absolutely Amazed

[SgtMaj (Ret) Tigernan]

Greetings All,

 

I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I am absolutely amazed that the 15th is alive and well. Sorry, maybe I should introduce myself... My name is Patrick Tigernan, the first Sergeant Major of the 15th MEU Realism Unit. To give you a frame of reference, my 15th ID number is 15M005... yup, we didn't even have four digits after the 15M back then. We never thought we would ever need it. And when I say I am amazed at the 15ths survival, I just mean that in the grand scheme of gaming units... a couple of years is a long time for a unit to survive, but over fourteen years... that is a rarity indeed.

 

But here I am, fourteen years later, looking at a Teamspeak and Discord full of people. Of course I only recognize two names; Master Guns Reite and Colonel Saarema. The 15th hasn't just survived but it has thrived. I am sure it has had it's ups and downs, that is the nature of gaming communities, but to still be going strong after all these years is just amazing to me.

 

In 2007, when I was asked to be an advisor to Savage and Schultz, I never could have imagined that the unit would still be alive over a decade later. In the three years I was with the 15th I watched it's numbers grow then fall, then grow again. I spent coutnless hours creating researching real world documents to create unit training documents and policies. I used to make missions by hand, and taught hundreds of boring Unit Orientations. I used to tell people, "You get as much out of the 15th as you put into it." And man, the people that have put into the 15th... I saw someone had an ID number over 3300+... that is just amazing to me. Over 3,300 people have joined the 15th MEU Realism Unit. Do you realize that is more then the number of actual Marines in a typical MEU!  I believe a MEU numbers around 2500 Marines and sailors.

 

I used to tell people that there is not one person that is so essential to the survival of the 15th, that as long as one person keeps the faith and wears the [15th] tag, the unit would survive. But I could have never seen this. Now, don't get me wrong, after saying that no one person was critical to the unit, I would follow that up with, "The 15th succeeds or fails based on it's members. Each and every one of you. When you show up to trainings and events, you keep the heart beat of the unit going. So it may be true that no  one person is essential... but everyone is important to the unit's success."

 

But enough of me ranting... something I used to do often as the Sergeant Major. I'll be hanging around the Teamspeak and Discord, just to watch and learn about the new 15th. But man it brings back some memories. Like having a rifle range qualification built in ArmA 1... that some people who didn't have good graphics cards couldn't even see the targets at the 500 yard line. Or building missions where the AI would do some crazy things and there was nothing you could do about it, cause there wasn't a real time editor (MCC didn't come until much later, and Zeus wasn't even thought of). But I digress.

 

Thank you. Thank you to all that have worn the uniform of a 15th MEU virtual Marine or sailor. Thank you to every person that has stepped up to be a leader over the years, to take on the responsibility of command, even in a virtual unit is still daunting. Thank you to everyone who picked up a virtual weapon and fought as a rifleman or automatic rifleman, you are the back bone of the unit. It does an old man proud to see the success of the unit.

Respectfully Submitted,
Patrick Tigernan

SgtMaj(Ret)

 

[Capt (Ret) Zahj]

If you've been stalking the forums, TS and Discord that much recently, it sure sounds like you meet the requirements to come back as a reservist. That could be a wonderful opportunity for you to come fill in on some trainings and operations at your leisure and bore the pants off of the junior enlisted with your old war stories.

[Cpl (Ret) Belgrave]

You can never have too many Vets skulking around in the dark waiting for the opportunity to say "back in my day".

[SgtMaj (Ret) Tigernan]

I'm not sure about filling in on some trainings or operations... but loading ArmA and the dozens of mods just to play a little bit might not be a bad idea. Just have to squeeze in the time between running some virtual games of Warhammer Fantasy and Twilight 2000 and spending time with my daughter.

As for skulking in the shadows to ambush some new boot with a "Back in my day..." or "When I was in..." might be entertaining, now that I have retired both online and in real life. Just gotta find a mod with a Marine Corps baseball cap and long shaggy hair, to look the part. LOL

Edited March 24, 2021 by Tigernan

[Capt (Ret) Zahj]

Now that we use the Steam Workshop to handle mods instead of Armaholic, its no where near as daunting of a task to get set up any more. The biggest hurdles you'll face is disk space and getting set up on TeamSpeak and ACRE

[Col J. Murphy]

@Tigernan

Feel free to reach out any time, would love to give you a quick up to date tour of the place and learn some of your old school knowledge and history. I look forward to speaking with you some day!

[SSgt Allington]

SgtMaj,

    I want to echo what Sgt Zahj said about coming in and joining in some training events.   As an old retired salt myself I'd love to hear how you see things now compared to "back in the day".  It's great to hear from the founders of this unit and would be great to hear you speak from time to time.  Dust off the old camies and come on out anytime!

[GySgt (Ret) Karelia]

Ain't a soul 'round here who doesn't hear your name at least once before they hit the fleet. If you want to fire up Arma and play a bit, we have a modestly active public server you can find info on at the top of the screen. It's more non-members than the alternative, but it provides a rough-cut approximation of our unit ops. Feel free to throw your old rank on... they perk up when Gunny gets on, imagine when the OG 3 up 4 down logs in!

[SgtMaj (Ret) Tigernan]

Yeah Gunny, I just heard that from one of your Captains... that my name comes up. That I actually never expected. Been a lot of moons since I was around so never thought anyone would recognize me. LOL

But, yeah, you guys have been welcoming. So I just might re-download ArmA and get set up just to come pub for a bit, or sit in a training or two. I would love to see how things are done these days.

From the looks of things, a lot of the aesthetics have changed; but the core values and things are the same, which is awesome to see.

On another note, I just went into the garage and found my old dress blues, yup still have them, and some old school camies (never was issued digital MARPAT design) ... no way I will ever fit into those but I am sure I can squeeze into a par of MARPAT for ArmA. LOL

And Colonel, would absolutely love to have a sit down and chat. Been a long time since I was at the table with a Colonel,

[Cpl Wallace]

Tiger Nanny! Good to see you bouncing back around here! I was pretty damn impressed that Reite is still around and in TS most days. I was certain he'd have gotten tired of pulling his hair out near weekly for the unit at some point. And holy shit, the ID numbers. I didn't even realize how low ours are compared to everybody else.

 

The Arma bug got to work nibbling at me too, and I just returned from my 5 year retirement in January. By all means, come find me in TS/Discord some time. I was pretty floored the unit was still going this strong too, and I'll be honest I'm super impressed with how well the 15th has maintained and even definitely improved over the years. Not at all to suggest that the 15th we knew back in the day was anything other than incredible, but I can definitely tell the unit has continued building on the foundations you and Savage/Schultz laid. It definitely shows that the unit has had all these years to nitpick every little realism detail and improve the unit in these little ways that collectively add up to an even more impressive and realistic experience.

 

All of the core experience that made the unit great and made it last this long are still there, but smoothed out and improved by the continued efforts of 15 years worth of dedicated members sharing their talents and the thoroughly refined addons. Trying to get Arma to do what we want it to has gotten so impressively easy and powerful. Just the other day, I was reading through the MSOT training document (MSOT being the result of Forecon's evolution) and found by my and Phillip's names on the document as a result of the folding in of several separate Recon documents written before 2015 or earlier, despite me having never been around during MSOT's lifespan and Phillip's being quite scarce. The amalgamation of all of our efforts is still present in every aspect of the unit. Barton and Corium are still remembered in every official unit mission on the Honor Wall, our LHD is still named after Barton, the LSD still after Phillips. The bureaucracy that ironically contributed to the realism of the 15th ("hurry up and wait") has been made into a much more efficient machine--arguably less realistic, however definitely more enjoyable. Requests sent to command staff receive prompt and effective responses within a shorter timespan than I've previously experience in the unit. 

 

I know if you get around to sorting Arma out and getting back into the unit, you'll love what it has become. If you just decide to hang out on TS and play random games and shoot the shit, there's plenty of that going 24/7/365. If you catch me or Cpl Horta (another fairly old timer 15th member) or LCpl Merc, we've gotten into SWAT4 and some mods for it lately. Tarkov is big among a lot of people in the unit. The recruiting server and its spinoffs (WWII, Vietnam, Patrol Ops) are going surprisingly strong. You'll be welcomed with open arms damn near anywhere. The 15th has literally built a lore around itself, and the members tend to be pretty respectful of--even interested in--the unit's stories and past functions. I've got a couple old ass Recon videos from the 2010-2012 era and boy was that a different experience from today.

 

I guess I'm a salty old man in the unit now after joining in 2009 a few weeks after my 16th. I'm even rambling on endlessly about the old days and everything. I see you, Cpl Belgrave. Back in my day I was a GySgt! *shakes cane*

 

Anyways, welcome back bud.

 

 

 

P.S. Fuck, Ya'll remember that Ventrilo bullshit?

Edited March 25, 2021 by Cpl Wallace

[SSgt Gall]

Long time no see!

 

(FKA Gallagher)

[Capt (Ret) Roddy]

We need to do an Old Member night... And compare "Back in my day" 15th Stories.

Great to see you Tigernan!