NU paintball faces West Point

Clifford Pebely did not feel the cold breezing by him; he was running too fast to notice it.

The Norwich cadet ran to a building, catching his breath. All around there were the sounds of pops and people yelling.

He turned the corner and saw someone who had the same uniform on. He raised his paintball gun; the other player was not on his team.

The only difference was that Pebley's name tapes and patches said "Norwich" and the enemy's name tapes said "West Point."

On Feb. 12, the Norwich paintball club went to Connecticut where it faced off against its sister military college, West Point.

"Last time we faced them was ... in 2009. We observed West Point's tactics; it was a good experience fighting someone that uses military tactics," said Zachery McLaughlin, a 22-year-old criminal justice major from the Caiman Islands.

The Norwich paintball club rarely plays West Point. When they do meet, it gets fierce.

"The fact that West Point is a military academy (means) there is a rivalry between the schools. Personally I feel that they are competitive and on good terms with each other," said Addison Szumigala, a 19-year- old studies of war and peace major from Strykersville, N.Y.

Norwich and West Point were two of many teams to play the game "Russian Front" at the Strategy Plus paintball field in Connecticut.

The game takes place in the woods, with many buildings around the area. Each side must attack or defend a certain location for points. The team with the most points wins.

The scenario game was based on World War II, Russia against Germany. West Point was the lead team for the Russian side. Norwich joined the German side.

"We were actually requested to join their team but we declined because we are going with the Germans," said McLaughlin.

When the game started, both

Norwich and West Point were on the frontlines.

"We are always put in the hardest spots to defend," said Eric Obuchowski, a 21-year-old senior studies in war and peace major from Detroit, Mich. "We always do the best."

The Norwich team was tasked with attacking an "ammo dump" deep in enemy territory.

"West Point is much based in the army tactics which is what they learn. At Norwich it's always drilled into you to adapt and overcome so we make stuff up on the field. If guys are charging us, we charge them right back because we are crazy," said Paul Fitzmaurice, a 20-year-old sophomore criminal justice major from East Haddam, Conn.

There were a few times when just Norwich and West Point would clash over an objective. Sometimes Norwich won, other times West Point won in their little skirmishes.

Off the field was a different story. It was a friendly atmosphere with people laughing and joking. The West Point cadets approached the Norwich cadets to talk, and vice versa.

Pebely, 21, a sophomore criminal justice major from Wakefield, Mass., said they got along with the West Point cadets.

The final battle occurred in a small town. Each team tried to put its flag in the middle, while not letting the other team get theirs in.

"We're definitely crazy, we're willing to do whatever it takes," said Obuchowski. "We don't care if we get hit. It's more fun to try to dodge the paint coming at us."

The Germans won with 1,000 points to the Russians' 300 points.

When the game had ended, the Norwich and West Point cadets shook hands and said goodbye.

"I definitely think we will see each other again, this is another front we can open up plus they are a great bunch of guys so playing against them is always an awesome experience," said Fitzmaurice.