It's a fair take, but if it cannot be done going totally unseen then you are no longer performing traditional night ops. Gray man is a totally different animal and perhaps one that deserves its own section, but the vibe is 100% different.
However, despite making my stance and the very origin of this website very clear I'm going to continue to drive my point home (as I always have, well before the aforementioned solids vs camo topic). If you are wearing "cammies on the streets" you have brain damage. The idea was
never to move along conventional population avenues and "LARP" as if wearing camo in situations like that are going to help you any. To bring it up as such, I can only consider that a strawman argument that nobody was ever trying to make.
Not to mention, in the past many simply argued that solids worked fine in situations where they too were attempting to remain totally unseen, not look unsuspicious. Ghost was a great example of this, championing solids but always tried to remain unseen during exploration.
Before going into alternative ways of moving through such an environment, I'm also going to repeat that not every city is some unapproachable bastion of security measures that can't be moved through in such a way. In fact, I don't know of
any city like this. Most if not all cities or even smaller towns
do have areas that are just extremely risky to do so in and when weighing the risk vs. reward, many will find it's just not worth the effort. There's no shame in this, it's just smart thinking. I do it myself and have gone gray man plenty of times. It's nothing like the experience of going unseen however, but there were times my curiosity got the better of me so I went the inconspicuous route. I've seen impassible areas in towns with less than 10,000 people and I've seen borderline thieves highways in cities with over a million.
There was a time, however, when the challenge was exactly part of the point and so myself and others would absolutely attempt to move through these areas completely unseen and did so with success. It's slow, it's methodical, but it's 100% possible.
Again, many business fronts quite often have alleyways behind them that look similar to this:
Given, most have less bags laying around and more dumpsters and smaller trash bins. Point is, there is plenty of concealment to move to. Now, obviously not every alley is so cramped and generous.
Something like this, I wouldn't want to move through in such a manner. There's just nowhere good to hide, trying to cram against a small piece of wall sticking out is rather desperate and probably going to make your adrenaline spike. I'd go gray man if for whatever reason I had to move through this.
And there is a mountain of considerations here. For one, how much of the operation is going to take place in this type of environment? Am I going to be in it the entire time or am I just passing through a block or two? If so, maybe I still need the ability to blend into the environment better elsewhere because there will be people but superior concealment points I can blend into better if I'm wearing camoflage.
"Urban" doesn't necessarily mean it has to look like this, either.
I have seen
many cities with large areas just like this. PLENTY of concealment locations. In a situation like this, chances are it's going to be mostly empty at night with my biggest threat being the occasional car passing by. Sure, I could go gray man and just walk the sidewalk. I could just sit against a wall and look homeless. That's not the point, though. I'm trying to remain unseen. I would be more likely to hide behind a hedge or I could rely on my camo to just blend in and let them pass right on by. Works well.
Here's a construction site. Right in the middle of a city. I think most users are familiar with this type of scenery because so many explore them. Granted, once you're there you'd be better off wearing earthly tones regardless of pattern or lack thereof, but you still have to reach the site. What part of the entire night has more risk, the site itself or reaching the site?
Depends on the city. Weirdly enough, they're not all built the same. Maybe spartan ninja's allows for use of camo and if so it's a great idea. If not - fuck if I'd know - then that's on him.
Can you go through all of these areas wearing typical clothes that have break-up and would blend into a crowd just as well? Absolutely, and I'll be the first to admit it would be easier. It will not, however, hone the unique ability to remain calm under high stress situations that is the hallmark of traditional night ops.
Finally, as for cameras, most of them are only reviewed upon issues arising. If you're wearing camo with a mask on, what exactly are they going to do the day after? If they even know they should look. Sure, they'll think there was some weird fuck out there and that's going to be it. Cameras =/= mission fail.
When I harp about "not true night ops" I am certainly not trying to create a dick measuring contest in who's facing down the most risk. However, the point of this hobby is for there to be at least some and I hope more members will
slowly dip their toes in that water and at least try it out before thinking about their night out as purely a matter of reaching something using the path of least resistance. Put yourself into a relatively safe situation where you
could have been seen if not for your ability to blend into your environment, not social norms. The feeling that comes from that cannot be matched by gray man and cannot be adequately put into words, but when you feel it the invisible approach will make far more sense. You'll see opportunities it provides that are incredible.
I understand that some members live in areas that are just total shit shows and have no means to transport themselves and their gear to a better starting location. I get it. Going out and doing some gray man exploring is better than sitting at home. I get that. But if it's at all possible, give it a try and maybe you'll at least understand my continued passion for all of this.
TL/DR? Don't blame you!