Well I played paintball yesterday which was a really great and interesting experience. When this was all planned about two weeks earlier I decided that I for one was going to wear a helmet. Those of you that know me realize that I sometimes like to do things with a bit more style sometimes, thus began the quest for a real WW2 M1 or M2 GI helmet. Ebay presented me with some sticker shock and moral dilemmas.

I found a helmet on Ebay that with a great price but the buyer had noted in the auction that this helmet was worn by a soldier that had died in combat. Obviously I wasn’t going that route. For those of you that know my respect for veterans, especially WW2 vets runs VERY deep. So on to option two, the good ol’ Army/Navy store.

I went to one that I hadn’t been to in about 14 years, when I worked at UPS I always bought my combat boots at this location. They always seemed to work well in that environment. Long blog entry short I walked out with a great helmet and knee pads (another great idea that paid off big time). Once home the ‘look’ was just starting.

I found some press on letters and from there I emblazoned the side of the helmet with ‘AV Company’, an homage to EZ Co. from Band of Brothers and I was playing with my friends from the AV Department at work. Next came the rubber band around the helmet and the pack of cigarettes, I DO NOT smoke, but wanted that extra added touch of detail. I was close to tucking a condom into the other side of the helmet band, but the red flag in my mind went up and said ‘Whoa!, stick with what you have.’ Sometimes overkill is totally ignored by society and I don’t want to be in that crowd.

So today I am one sore guy and getting ready for a very light day at work with my fellow members of AV Company. Looking forward to doing this again!