7th Cavalry Gaming

Join the Tactical Gaming Excellence

Returning to the Cav

Corveaux.A

Corporal
Retired
Local time
3:37 AM
242
246
Greetings to those of you who remember me, and it's great to meet those of you of who do not.

I'd like to share with you all what the 7th Cavalry did for me, as well as my reasoning for returning. It's a bit personal so if you're not interested in any of that please skip to the last lines of this post.

It was ~1,590 days ago after some inspiring words from then-2LT Tharen.R on the Tactical Realism 2 server that I made the decision to join the 7th Cavalry Gaming community. I had no idea what I was in for. Earlier in my life than that I'd been in many informal gaming groups or guilds on obscure games -- I'd even lead several "successful" ones. Nonetheless, my opinion of those types of associations was not the starriest, and my impression of gaming communities as a whole would change entirely after my time with the Cav.

I was 21 years old then, if I'm counting back correctly. Looking back: I was in the midst of balancing the realities of bordertown blues, caring for a basketcase widowed mother, trying to pursue higher education, financial difficulties in balancing these things, and suffering from several issues with being de-socialized myself, all of which would play into things later. Gaming with friends and strangers online was my only outlet and hobby.

I was introduced to the Cav through my friend of whom I co-run a Discord server with. We started playing on Tac2 to get the modded experience of Arma 3 (Vanilla's near-future aspects didn't appeal to me) and being a DayZ fan already I fell in love with the coarse and janky simulation. I attended a few MCCs during some evenings and, as chaotic as they were, the behavior and organization by the event leadership shone through in turning it into a controlled kind of chaos. I was hooked. After a MCC's AAR one night -- spoken by Tharen himself -- I flew right to the enlist button. I soon found myself a part of the medical platoon under the leadership of 1Lt Kane.T. Our very own CSM Nexhex.A was my squad lead -- soon he would become SSg. of the platoon. The guiding hand of people like Nexhex and 1SG Grimm.J (my later squad/platoon sergeant), played the largest role in shaping my outlook, expectations, and very identity here. I have never met more kind and encouraging people on the internet. There is kudos to give almost everyone I interacted with back then as well. Creating a community like this and being a part of it is equal parts contribution from all of its' members. Not just the members of my squad, platoon, or company -- even department staff, regimental staff, members from other games welcoming us to their SPs and training... This place was great for the ~2 years I spent among you all.

In fact, it had a profound effect on my life as a whole. It's no secret that I was experiencing a degree of transformative hardship for those two years. But I was also only able to undergo so many trials and tribulations due to the underlying support system and camaraderie I felt I had among all of you. I had largely been cut off and isolated from the "real world" for several years. All of my work and labor was solitary in the back ends of tree farms and stuffy attorney offices where I did not interact with anyone. I did not utter so much as a word to other people. In short, the Cav helped prepare me to work and cultivate meaningful relationships with other people, and to truly drive myself to become something more. In March of 2019 I began my journey to enlist in the US Air/Space Force. The result of that journey did not find me in the military; however, it did find me rescued from 70-95 pounds of fat I accumulated during my battle with depression and being a shut-in. I distinctly remember at the beginning of that, before I discharged, that I received nothing but well wishes and support from everyone. I never felt so encouraged, and I really did make the journey in reshaping "who I am" physically! I felt that I had to really commit to this, and with college out of the way I ended up discharging from the Cav, as the time in which I would be shipped out seemed ambiguous and I was already quite stressed. This was already heartbreaking to me, and was an incredibly tough decision, but life at home was becoming a much larger problem. Unfortunately, due to bureaucratic circumstances with childhood medication waivers I never wound-up shipping out to basic. I was left to contend with all of the same problems that I'd been dealing with for the past seven or so years in a dead-end town. I was in no uncertain terms devastated.

All of the challenges I'd faced thus far seemed to be coming to a head, and reaching a point of futility: "Why did I do all of that? Was it for nothing? Was the encouragement of my peers wasted?" I asked myself. And my answer to that was that I decided I wouldn't let it end there. As we weathered through the Texan winter climate disaster of 2021 where we were left without power for a week and some time I received a rare opportunity: A full time job paying over minimum wage. These were not easy to come by in my hometown. We had almost negative job growth and a wealth of dual citizens that easily beat unqualified young adults from both sides of the border at what little opportunities there are. But with this I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. A future of independence, a change of scenery, and a new life awaited me. So I worked for many months, enough to sponsor an opportunity for me to get the bare minimum I needed to move elsewhere. I did move, and I got a slightly better job at a certain fortune 100 company forty minutes after my first new job application. I've been there for 8 months and some time now. I'm now responsible for the training and development of new hires in my area, their certification on workplace equipment, have been invited to small continuous improvement teams, and have been given opportunities at managing my coworkers in a more down-to-Earth manner than my boss is capable of. I'm a fully independent and responsible US citizen with nothing weighing me down and a world ahead of me, finally, after 7 years of "adulthood."

While this job itself or station in life is nothing to write home about achievement-wise, what it means to me is worth much more: I've used everything that the 7th Cav ever offered me to escape the worst situation in my life. From precepts of how to network and communicate with others, team-building skills, dispute resolution, enduring and overcoming hardship, and a consciousness of a certain human "spirit" I've come ahead stronger than I've ever been, and it's thanks to all of you. Those of you who were here before, and those of you today who continue to make this place something worth being a part of, and those of you who have yet to come. If any of you are on the fence about whether being a part of a "video game community" of all things is worth it: It's worth at least an hour of your time per week. I don't feel I properly "paid my dues," or ever will for that matter, for how much this place has made my life more livable thanks to the people I've met, the fun I've had, and all of the many things I've learned. I do not look fondly at the person I was even two years ago. But I'd prefer to look at the me today, and the me that I will be two, ten, and twenty years from now. And when I think of myself in the future, I want to see myself being the kind of person that I met two years ago.

In short...

Join the Cav!

Alberic "Deathwing" Corveaux
formerly Andrei Tokarev
Discharged (hopefully not for long)
 

Tharen.R

Regimental Adjutant General
Major General
Active Duty
Regimental HQ
Local time
4:37 AM
3,450
4,561
Well done and welcome back!
 

Mix.C

Major
Active Duty
B/2-7 HQ
S3 HQ
RRD Staff
Local time
1:37 AM
1,499
1,863
Thanks for this thoughtful, inspiring and beautifully written reflection. Cav was and will be lucky to have you with us.
 
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