Almost invisible - That was the GhillieTreff 2019

There are meetings where everyone goes to be seen. At Ripperkons GhillieTreff somewhere in the German forest, it's exactly the opposite: those who come don't want to be seen (unless they are the observers). And yet, everyone is there. That's also the story of the meeting: After a longer break, this year's GhillieTreffen was a complete success in disappearing. As usual, participants with different levels of experience in camouflage could exchange, experiment, and practice here. The organizer Ripperkon (see also video above in the header) tells SPARTANAT how the meeting was in 2019:

After two years away from GhillieTreff 2017, I kept my expectations of the meeting quite low. It was important for me to provide a good atmosphere with a professional approach by the participants. Since this year's participants were primarily active and former soldiers, it was a familiar and relaxed group. The overnight stay in the forest with a campfire rounded off the GhillieTreff.

What happens at GhillieTreff?

We limited ourselves to the two classic exercises: Hide&Seek and Approach. The Hide&Seek is simply a game of hide and seek. In this static exercise, participants hide in their camouflage suits and have time to prepare their position and shooting channel. However, no shooting takes place at GhillieTreff.

After that, other participants act as observers with binoculars. Their task is to scan the area and find the hidden ones. Special features are shadow holes or vegetation that does not fit into the surroundings. Another participant is designated as a runner. This participant is equipped with a neon-colored arrow and is sent by the observers to the suspected or spotted positions. This way, each hidden participant can find out exactly what gave away their position.

Approaching requires a bit more skill. The participants in camouflage suits must approach the observers through the terrain without being detected. The closer you get, the better! At GhillieTreffen, weapons, equipment, and/or cameras are not used. Therefore, camouflaging and approaching are easier. This is compensated by significantly shorter distances. Some participants in the approach even come as close as 30m to the observers.

In addition to the Ghillie activities, we were able to try out and teach things from the areas of survival, digital reconnaissance, and night vision. We were able to complement each other well due to the different interests of the participants.

The participants had created various camouflage systems. These included Ghillie cloaks and classic Ghillie suits. In addition, there were various camouflage patterns. Also interesting were light rapid camouflage systems in the CONCAMO pattern, which I received for the meeting.

In terms of food, in addition to fresh chili and bread, we also had trekking meals and rations from Katadyn.

At night, we had the opportunity, thanks to the company ACT in Black, to compare a modern binocular night vision device of Generation 3 (ACT DTNVG) with an old device of Generation 1. We took the opportunity to compare various camouflage patterns from Flecktarn, PenCott to CONCAMO. We also looked at various materials and camouflage suits under night vision.

In conclusion, it can be said...

... that this year's meeting was particularly diverse and I am already looking forward to next year. Through a survey of the participants, I collected a lot of feedback. For participants who do not only use the Ghillie in their free time, the short distances in the approach were a contrast to their professional everyday life. Approaches in the service usually do not come within P8 grenade distance.

Even civilian participants enjoyed the exchange and practice again. Even less experienced participants were able to see a lot and gain a lot of experience.

Ripperkon

HERE is the video from this year's Ghillie meeting.

Next year

The Ghillie meeting 2020 will take place from April 16th to 19th. Registrations will only be activated next year. However, the date can already be noted down.

RIPPERKON on the Internet: ripperkon.de

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