Civilians get a taste of combat in Vegas adventure
With the assault rifle pressed to my right shoulder and my back against the door frame, I scan the desolate and dark landscape through my fogged goggles.
Amid the overturned cars, flashes of fire and smoky streets, my eyes fixate on a dark figure lurching toward me.
My teammates were tasked with ransacking the room to look for intelligence on the infection while I keep watch.
It didn‘t take long before something emerged to make its way toward my 11-person team.
It‘s 200 feet away. Then 100. Then 50.
Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.
I fire off several rounds, and another zombie falls down inside the Adventure Combat Ops facility. I don‘t know how many are left out there, but I know it‘s my job to stay vigilant.
"We are moving out," says the leader Paul Taylor, who goes by the name Operative Ragnarr.
From there, it‘s on to the next house.
This is all a part of a simulation by Adventure Combat Ops.
The program, which opened July 2 in a warehouse off Valley View Boulevard behind the Palms, gives people an inside look into something they rarely get to see ’ how a military operative might perform in combat.
With training from military personnel -- all with various backgrounds and skill sets -- participants are given the ins and outs of tactical training and then are thrown into a simulation to test those skills.
Though the simulation has zombies and an apocalyptic scenario, Adventure Combat Ops is more than that.
Taylor, who guides people through the simulation, says this is the best way to show a part of his life.
"People often say, ‘Thank you for your service‘ or give you a handshake," Taylor says. "How about you spend a day in the life (of someone in the military.)"
The basic immersion experience at Adventure Combat Ops starts at $199.
Even if people do this multiple times, the operators will try to make each experience a little different.
Travis Krauss, the owner of Adventure Combat Ops and a Army Delta Force veteran, came up with the concept after 11 years in the service.
"I joined the military because I wanted to serve my country," he says. "Plus, I was a little bit of an adrenaline junkie."
After the Army, Krauss did contracting, setting up training programs and simulations for other military personnel. He decided he wanted to expand the concept to the civilian population.
"I decided in December 2013 I wanted to bring this to Vegas," he says. "I said I was going to open this in July of 2014. I was right about July, just the wrong year."
Despite putting participants through a zombie outbreak, this isn‘t about zombies.
"This is about getting an inside look of special ops," he says.
Zombies and apocalyptic scenarios are a craze right now for many Americans, he says.
"We might change it up in time."
Krauss enlisted other people with impressive military backgrounds to train civilians for this simulation.
Taylor, who was working with Krauss before Adventure Combat Ops, loved the idea.
He has served 20 years in the military and eventually worked his way to become a Green Beret, just like his childhood hero Rambo.
Towering over 6 feet, the tattoo-covered self-proclaimed Viking was told at a young age -- a scrawny 145 pounds -- he could never be the things he wanted to be in the military.
But that only made him fight harder and transform into who he is today.
Though it is just for a night, his favorite thing about the course is getting to watch the transformation take place in participants.
"I like seeing people transition over the course of the simulation," he says. "You have people who come in and don‘t know how to use their guns.’"
But by the end of the experience, they are taking out zombies and able to react to situations.
And on a hot June evening, it is Taylor who helps me with my transformation.
Walking into the tent, I sit down alongside about 50 recruits and wait to be debriefed on the mission.
"Thank you for volunteering," a man on a screen says to the group. "You could either sit at home and wait for someone else to do something, or you could do something yourself. I‘m glad you volunteered to save the world or die trying."
After a brief overview of our situation, which includes finding out terrorists have access to a zombie-creating virus, we are introduced to our soon-to-be trainers and mission coordinators, which include Operative Jax, Operative Neptune, Operative Wambat and, of course, Operative Ragnarr.
These aren‘t actors.
All of them span various branches of the military with a long list of accomplishments and commendations.
"We are the real deal," Taylor says.
All are up to the task of instilling us with lifesaving skills that could help us if -- or when -- an actual crisis breaks out on the city streets.
"If something happened today, would you be prepared to protect your family?" Taylor asks.
Before it comes to that, we continue the night with a little basic training.
I sling my tan assault chest rig over my white shirt, grab a helmet, two ammunition magazines and a gun and head over to meet my 11-person team with Operative Ragnarr as command.
He secures and checks our helmets and gear.
Now, the real fun can begin.
The first thing we learn is how to properly sweep a room we enter in three-man teams.
During the next 45 minutes, we learn techniques of sweeping and clearing a room, traveling down alleys and how to use our guns.
As we step up to the next training station, the siren blasts.
No more time for training.
We are informed the infection has reached the city and it’s our job to secure the landscape and look for clues on how the outbreak started along the way.
Taking off in a light jog our team breaches through the darkness into the simulation area.
For the next 50 minutes, we move from house to house, from room to room and from alleyway to open street searching for clues -- important papers or files scattered throughout the city -- and facing off against the undead. I feel the sweat dripping down my back drenching my shirt under the military vest. Whether it‘s smoke on the street or fog on my goggles, my vision is often impaired. Yet, I remain vigilant knowing that something can leap out at any moment.
Keeping a lookout in another house, I keep my gun pointed out the window waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
My posture never shakes, and my position never changes, because at any moment something could once again emerge from the shadows.
In the end -- I won‘t give too much away -- the zombies are down and everyone walks out in one piece full of adrenaline.
"Now, do you think you would be prepared (for an apocalypse)?" Taylor asks the group, which responds in cheers. "Hell yeah you are."
Contact reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5201. Follow @mjlyle on Twitter.
