Choosing an Airsoft Role

!±8± Choosing an Airsoft Role

With larger airsoft teams, it's important to assign specific roles to each member of the squad. Each role provides a particular team function, but there are certainly situations where some crossover does occur. In an attempt to keep the team structure as simply as possible, we have narrowed down the various airsoft roles into three distinct classes.

Rifleman/Assault Soldier

The rifleman is the most common and versatile role on an airsoft team. Their main responsibilities include eliminating hostile forces and assisting with team goals. The rifleman squad will typically incorporate battlefield tactics such as flanking and suppressive fire in order to achieve their objectives. A rifleman should be able to rapidly deploy and quickly respond to identified threats with appropriate action. They should also be willing to take orders without question.

Sniper/Spotter

The sniper/spotter usually operates autonomously from the rest of the squad and is considered the "lone wolf" of the team. Their primary responsibilities are to pursue, harass and identify the opposing force while at the same time remaining unseen. They're also tasked with communicating the enemy's position and movements to the rest of the squad. Generally, the sniper role should be filled by someone who is stealthy, quick and doesn't mind working alone. The sniper should also have a pair of binoculars or a scoped airsoft sniper rifle in order to hit and spot targets from an extended range.

Support Gunner

The support gunner's main responsibility is to simply suppress the enemy force in an attempt to allow his or her troops to move more freely. The support gunner is able to accomplish a high level of suppression by using a fully automatic weapon. A support gunner's weapon will typically feature a large capacity airsoft magazine and a high rate of fire. Their marksmanship and tactical awareness are not all that important, because their primary objective is to merely suppress the enemy and not to eliminate them. However, a support gunner will need to be strong and agile in order to quickly move with such a heavy weapon.