During our next operation on Sunday the 14th of September we will not be providing access to magnification scopes (i.e. ACOG's and RCO's). Unit members will still have access to low-level optics such as holographic sights based on preference, but access to long range scopes will be limited. The next operation will serve as a test run for whether or not this works for our unit as a whole. Removing the long range optics has several major benefits.

The first benefit is that firefights will last longer. As our fire will be generally less accurate, it will be much more difficult to effectively kill the enemy. Longer firefights mean we need to be more cautious about the amount of ammo we expend, we will have more minor wounds to be taken care of, we will need to be more careful about what positions we engage the enemy from, and we will have more time to manoeuvre and flank the enemy.

The second benefit is the decreased ranges. AI in arma are very poor at long range engagements. They don't know how to effectively take cover, and they do not open fire at ranges beyond ~600 meters. Closer range engagements mean that the AI will feel smarter, and like the longer firefights, allow for manoeuvring on the enemy to be much more important. Previously having a squad move to flank the enemy could result in the squad having to move 500m+, and only getting into position after the majority of the contact had been eliminated. With closer range engagements a flanking element need only move 200-300 meters to have a large impact on the firefight.

All in all this change should make our operations much more challenging, intense, fast paced, tactically complex, and in many regards much more immersive. While we realize this is a major change to the way we operate, we are convinced that it will make our operations much more challenging and fun.