What things do you do differently from normal in ops?

[theconfusedone]

After extensively reading these forums I have realized that I do some things radically different from what is the "norm" here. I would like to have a discussion of sorts on what is superior in ops.

First off, as I still live with my family I treat the escape from my house differently from everyone else. Most people post about silently spending 30+ minutes just navigating down a hallway footstep by footstep dressed in their gear. Personally, I just get up and get a glass of water or go to the bathroom, wait down the hall and then when it is clear to go and everyone is back into a deep sleep, I slip out and dress myself in the clothing that I stashed outside. I personally do not find it necessary to sneak down the hallway, as loud and consistent floorboard creaks are more likely to arouse suspicion than someone who is walking down the hall as if they have nothing to hide. I'm sure there are occasions when it is more fitting to sneak down my hallway (if a family member is still awake), but more often than not I prefer the casual stroll down the hallway. In a way, I feel guilty that I am not going through all the trouble that others go through to get out of the house.

Secondly, on ops i choose to dress in casual clothes as if I am out on a late night stroll. Sure, there are nights that warrant the use of my tactical belt or vest, etc, but I also find it much less suspicious to be seen near a forbidden building in civilian clothes as opposed to full on camo and a ski mask. It is also much easier to create an alibi if you are dressed normally. It could be because on the way to ops I often see multiple people roaming the streets, and it would be odd if I was seen in all camo. Every once and a while, however, for more intense ops (often with fx1k), we will dress in the most kick ass outfits. Mostly this is for ops where you are pretty much all-in. Where if you get caught at all you will be jailed, whether you are in camo or civilian clothes, places that are so prohibited to enter that an alibi is useless.

So, nightops.net users, what is it that you do differently from everyone else on this forum?

[Xanatos]

It's hard to nail down any specifics since we all differ in the fine details, be it the gear we bring, the clothes we wear, the way we move, the paths we take.

There's nothing wrong with leaving your house like that. In fact it's probably better doing it that way than risk getting caught in the hallway with all your gear. I don't have that trouble usually since I just wait for my father to fall asleep and simply walk out the door, but sometimes he stays up late.
Also, there's nothing wrong with travelling to your AO in civvies. It's the most efficient way to travel to the target after all, but you should at the very least have some sort of face covering whilst on the actual op. There's a reason we get all taced up, and it isn't to look cool.

[theconfusedone]

that is true about the face covering and I have been searching for a good face cover for a while. A while back I bought a mask meant for airsoft that was made of a spandex-like material but it covered my ears and I could barely hear anything from under it. any suggestions for a mask?

[Xanatos]

That's a discussion best taken up in the Gear section.