40 | May/June 2016
while they served—when they got out
they just turned into fat slobs, that liter-
ally did nothing but play 'Call of Duty'
every day," Gienger said. "My thinking
was, 'we need to get the youth some-
thing fun and physical to do.'"
In Gienger's own youth, there was
no shortage of physical activities. As
a native of Tillamook, Oregon, a dairy
farming town, Gienger spent much of
his time working closely with cattle.
Gienger says that he was first introduced
to the game of paintball when he was
nine years old.
"We would get together and play it in
the woods all the time," Gienger said. "I
just loved it."
Currently, the Black Ops Paintball
park takes up a staggering 55 acres,
which includes a large pro-shop, where
visitors can purchase or rent all of the
gear they could ever need for a day of
action-packed and messy fun. e park
even provides space for those interested
in participating in airso competitions.
Airso is similar to paintball, however
For Nate Gienger, the love
of playing soldier was
something he never grew out
of, even after spending three
years doing the real thing,
serving as a member of the
82nd Airborne Division.
