In airsoft, refers to a group of people playing together of which some or all of the group is
using night vision scopes or goggles, IR scopes or goggles, thermal imaging scopes or goggles, or any
combination thereof.
Because of the high cost relative to other pieces of gear, night vision is not commonly seen at airsoft skirmishes but is much more common at national events where the game will continue until much later or through the entire night. NOD Squads can be viewed by some players as having an unfair advantage because the price can be almost
exponentially higher compared to other airsoft gear, be it real issued or Chinese copies.
The term is coined from combining NOD, one of the
abbreviations of night vision standing for Night Optical/Observation Device, and squad, which is a group of soldiers usually no more than 12 in number. This such for the alliterative consonance, as NVG (night vision goggles) and NVD (night vision device) do not have vowels to be pronounced similarly to words.
