Elmendorf Paint Ball Field

(Staff Sergeant Cory Babcock is from the 962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.)

The Elmendorf AFB paintball field has finally opened after a two year process. The field is still under construction and it’s quite late in the season, but it marks a huge accomplishment for me and the handful of volunteers who donated many hours to prepare the field. We had a “shoe string budget” to get the field started...

However now that the field is operational its quality can only improve from this point on. The project itself was quite daunting. Though the field isn’t an amazing spectacle to look at, after doing this project I have a new appreciation for the amount of time and energy it takes to complete. The concept of a paintball field is an exciting prospect and I think many people are very interested in seeing what it’s all about, especially those who have never played before. The field didn’t quite get to where my vision was for this season and since I will be leaving Elmendorf before next spring, sadly, I will not be here to see it evolve into a thriving recreational outlet for the Elmendorf community.


Since we are still working on the field we really didn't have a "grand opening". We were able to get the field playable for a few weeks before the winter sets in, so I just sent out some mass emails/posts on Topcover to spread the word. I know a hand full of people made it out to play but I had already been working at the field for four hours so I didn't stay around long to see them play. I think next season you will see an opening which will do more justice for the field than we could this year.

Based on the feed back I have been getting from players, they are having a blast on the field. Some of the players have given some good ideas for next year when we have some more funding to ramp up the field quality. I learned much for this experience, and who knows my next base may need a paintball field as well!