Forged in Fire – Chapter Five: Room to Grow

“Real estate in the military is like gold dust – unless you know where to dig.”

Room to Grow

With the funding bid progressing, I had to turn my attention to securing some physical space. RAF Odiham had recently invested in a lovely new “quiet zone” – plush sofas, tabletop board games, a genuinely modern and inviting room. I knew, in a month of Sundays, that I was never going to get that room. However, attached to it was a smaller room, currently used by the Tabletop Gaming Club primarily for storing all their models. In my opinion, it was a bit of a waste of valuable real estate. It had great big windows, plenty of room to set up six to eight gaming stations, and I could just about reach the WiFi.

Speaking with the SWO, I tried to – not so much usurp them from the room – but rather propose making it more productive. I asked for even just 50% of the space. “Anything,” I pleaded, “just help me set up, and I’ll look at long-term planning at a later date.” I hammered out a very nice email to the Tabletop Gaming OIC, but was, unfortunately, rejected. My attempts elsewhere weren’t much better; I messaged TDF about a spare classroom, but they were reluctant at the thought of gamers “loitering” in the building after everyone else had gone home. A room was even coming up in BSW following Civil Service cutbacks, but the Regiment quickly claimed that space. Things were not looking good on the real estate front.

However, the SWO then did the unthinkable. Apparently, the room I was never going to get – the Henderson Room – was, to his mind, like the Marie Celeste: beautiful in all its glory but nobody ever used it. He offered me half the space. HALF THE SPACE! That was enough for a staggering 20 gaming stations. It was like we had won the lottery all over again. The bid was progressing, and now we had been officially allocated a room. The next crucial step was to assemble the committee.

Next time on Forged in Fire…

A club is only as strong as the people running it. And now, with a room secured and dreams beginning to solidify into reality, it was time to bring in others who believed in the mission.

In Chapter Six: From Solo Queue to Squad. See how we built a team—not in-game, but on the ground—to turn the Blades into something real, structured, and ready to launch.