After taking part in the Armed Forces Girls’ Camp, Gwen and Pamela founded the blog “Tactical Fairies”, where they share their adventures and passion for shooting with their community. We had a chat with Gwen.
Gwen, the idea to start your blog came about two years ago at the Bundesheer Girlscamp. Did you get to know each other there?
We’ve known each other for a long time and we’ve both always been interested in guns. I started shooting regularly at the beginning of 2018. The idea for the blog came about after I took part in the Austrian Armed Forces Girls’ Camp in late summer 2018, where young women were able to spend three days getting to know the Armed Forces and barracks life as recruits, experiencing weapons, vehicles, operations and training in practice. I wanted to share my experiences not only with friends, but also with the online world – “Tactical Fairies” was born. Pamela found her way to shooting through her work in a marketing agency – she designed a catalog for a gun company and then obtained her gun license through them. This was soon followed by a gun license and her own guns. Pamela started her own business last year, specializing in digital marketing. She built the “Tactical Fairies” website herself, making the web presence much more professional.
What motivated you to take part in the Armed Forces Girls’ Camp?
I wanted to take the opportunity to get to know the army “from the inside” and to live and learn like a recruit myself. It’s very different to an open day in a barracks – you get a much better insight into the work of the soldiers.
What has happened since then?
A lot (laughs). Our blog has very quickly attracted media interest, there have been interviews with some newspapers, companies have become aware of us, we have entered into cooperations and are also invited by course providers to report on tactical courses. We have also developed a very good relationship with the Austrian Armed Forces, which we are particularly pleased about. We have been invited to barracks, balls and exercises and then report on these on our channels. Last year, for example, we were at Brumowski Air Base, this year at Hessen Kaserne Wels, in Allentsteig with Panzergrenadierbattaillon 13 and diving with the combat swimmers.
What fascinates you about shooting or guns in general?
Perceiving weapons as aesthetically pleasing is a quality that you either have or you don’t have. Maybe it’s a gene. We certainly have it. We also like challenges – and shooting is very challenging, especially if you’re physically fragile and don’t have a background in law enforcement. Concentration, alertness, breathing technique, posture – everything has to work together and be at the highest level.
Have you also encountered a lack of understanding in your environment with your enthusiasm for these topics?
Oh yes, definitely. The idea of “guns kill people” and “gun owners are dangerous” is unfortunately quite strong – especially among people who have never had anything to do with guns, but also in the media. That’s exactly why we take on every interview request from newspapers and magazines, to shake up this negative image a little. Every millimeter helps.
Does that also have to do with the fact that you are women?
Yes, only there the headwind comes from their “own ranks”, so to speak. In other words, from a few keyboard warriors who run gun-related blogs or Instagram accounts and seem to take great pleasure in criticizing everything and everyone that is not themselves. Women or “non-operators” in particular are attacked here, as they believe that the topic of weapons should be reserved for experts or operators. The fact that civilians are also interested in weapons and that the experiences of civilian bloggers are often much more understandable and accessible to the general public is often ignored. Offline, i.e. at courses, competitions, shooting ranges or at armed forces events, our experiences have been very positive, where we only get very friendly, competent information and help.
What are you planning to do in the near future?
Further tactical courses, in the fall, after two outdoor survival courses this summer, an urban survival course will follow in Vienna at ESA Austria. We also want to continue our pistol and rifle training and hopefully next year we can make up for some of the things that were canceled in 2020 due to corona, such as the IWA or the in-house exhibition at Oberland Arms.
What else would you like to experience in this area? Are there any specific wishes?
Flying in a Black Hawk is at the top of the list, but actually any helicopter would be fine and a Hercules flight would of course also be wonderful (laughs). Further courses, training, scenario training or the like – we look forward to exciting contact requests via Instagram and e-mail. Shifting our professional activities to this area would also be interesting. In any case, we’re looking forward to everything that’s yet to come.
The Tactical Fairies are on Instagram, Facebook and with their website on the web. Here to see our other “heads of the week”.
