It didn't take long for Army veteran Matt DeTienne to get hooked on Airsoft.

After a general discharge from the Army in September 2010, DeTienne, a Lakewood resident, stumbled upon a new community of military veterans and Servicemembers involved in Airsoft, a simulated combat activity.

Airsoft is a recreational activity where opponents eliminate each other by hitting them with round pellets using replica firearms. There are a wide variety of game simulations, everything from the classic Capture the Flag to real-life war games like the "Kuwait War" where another force invades a neutral country and the Americans kick them out.

DeTienne's brother was in the service and he thought he'd follow his footsteps. He served one year in Afghanistan where he was a helicopter electrician for UH-60 Blackhawks and CH-47 Chinooks.

The deployment was a huge learning experience for the 27-year-old.

"I'm a better person for having done it," DeTienne said. "I learned a lot, not only about the world but myself and how I react to different situations. I built camaraderie with the people I'm deployed with."

Now, DeTienne has built a new sense of camaraderie but with a different group of ex-military friends who have a keen interest in simulated combat. Video games like Call of Duty help recreate the feeling of combat but Airsoft is the best experience of them all, he said.

After a quick Google search, DeTienne found a place nearby called Tactical Tacoma and played for a day inside of a warehouse.

"It was just a lot of fun," he said. "I thought, ‘This is something I'd like to do more often.'"

Before he got into Airsoft, DeTienne was into playing paintball. His friends used to meet at the old Western State Hospital (what many people referred to as "The Ruins") before it was razed and converted into a historical monument.

But after serving one year as a Department of Defense contractor on Joint Base Lewis-McChord wiring helicopters, he wanted a change of pace. He's currently a full-time student at Pierce College at Fort Steilacoom pursuing his associate's degree.

During the week he studies and on the weekend he pretends he's invading another country with fellow Soldiers. Earlier this month, DeTienne played in game hosted by Milsim West where they played on hundreds of acres of forested land.

"Most of the guys are veterans," he said. "Most have served their country."

On the eve of combat, players entered a PowerPoint briefing and everyone was given operational orders. They went through projected weather, and were given grid coordinates and radios for communication.

"Milsim West does a great job of bringing realism to the game," he said.

When he's an American, DeTienne uses his M4, but when he's dressed up as a Russian he straps himself with an AK 74, which is similar to an AK 47 but more compact.

It's his favorite hobby outside of school.

"When I'm not doing anything school related, it's Airsoft related," he said. "During the games, you build some camaraderie and get close to people. It means quite a lot to me."