Meet the military’s best Black Ops player

You may not know that you know Aaron Goh, but you do — he’s the Coast Guard serviceman who bested representatives from the other five branches of the military at the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch event, thereby securing a $1 million donation to the Call of Duty Endowment in the Coast Guard’s name.

That's Aaron holding the giant check

Keep in mind, this is a guy who had not played Black Ops before the practice rounds at the beginning of the event — he made it to the top on pure gamer skill and instinct, on stage with cameras and the whole bit.  So I caught up with Aaron — who, when not defending the country, is also a digital photographer and an emcee — and asked him how he pulled that victory off.

One Of Swords: How long have you been a gamer? What are your earliest gaming memories?

Aaron Goh: The very first PC game I recall playing was Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear in 2000, shortly after that I discovered Counter-Strike which I played for the next 6 years, occasionally playing in leagues. I never got into console gaming until recently, after I joined the service.

Dan: When did you get into the Call of Duty series?

Aaron in his pre-enlistment days

Aaron: I had played some of earlier titles here and there on the PC, but Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was pretty much where it took off for me for the franchise.

Dan: When I was watching you all play in the first half of the evening, it seemed like it was mostly skirmishes between branches – Coast Guard vs Marines, etc. How were you selected as the Coast Guard representative for the big showdown? Did you have to defeat your friends for the right, or did they just say “Aaron’s our best player, send him”?

Aaron: The team the Coast Guard put forth was really good as it was, with all of us having more kills than deaths most of the time. I was consistent in leading the team in kills, so towards the end of the skirmishes, it was decided that I was to go up on stage to represent us.

Dan: You’re trained and prepared for conflict and critical situations…but be honest: were you nervous getting up on that stage to represent the entire Coast Guard?

Aaron: I think the same goes with any critical situation: the anticipation is really the worst part, but once we get on scene, the training we receive takes over. It was the same backstage, waiting to go up, but once I was up there and the headset was on, it was like any other game I’ve played.

Dan: I got a chance to visit the USS John C Stennis a few months ago and was really interested to see how the Navy guys are getting their gaming fix while out at sea – lots of LAN/SystemLink and split-screen games. What kind of gaming facilities are available to you where you are stationed?

Aaron: Our Xbox 360 actually red-ringed recently, and the majority of people here play on the PlayStation 3, so we’ve been bringing in our own equipment. Due to earlier titles not being able to SystemLink split-screen, it’s mostly just been four people per console with the usual complaints of screen-hopping. Now that Treyarch has re-implemented SystemLink split-screen games in Black Ops, I can see a lot of 2v2 tournaments going down in the near future.

Dan: You’re now the recognized best COD player in all of the US armed forces. This must put an incredible target on you from all your fellow gamers. How many challenges are you getting now?

Aaron: As far as challenges go, I’ve had a couple in good fun, and there’s almost always somewhat of a celebration every time I’m killed in the game, regardless of the score. The recognition is definitely vindicating because people have stopped giving me a hard time for being a gamer.