Hate on the sport and community all you want, but using airsoft for training is legit.
Weird training gadgets, snap caps, and dry fire have never done much for me, so I picked up a gas blowback real steel airsoft gun to see if it was a good training tool. Holy hell, it's so much better.
Manipulation and ergos are identical. Heft is appropriate. Breakdown is similar. Recoil is much, much less but still better than dry fire. I can swap parts and attachments to spec it exactly like my rifle. Gas, BBs, and targets total up to each shot costing a fraction of a penny. And best of all, I can shoot away in my garage at my own pace which is way better and more pleasant than any of the shit indoor ranges near me that stress me out.
Don't get me wrong - actually shooting is always preferred and I still get out and do it some, but airsoft is a game changer. If anything, we should be promoting it as an affordable way to train up.
I'm into airsoft enough where I bought night vision pretty much just for it. By far the best way to train force on force stuff under nods and no matter how much you hike around at night with nods it's not the same as sneaking around in an airsoft game with all your equipment on. It's also just a great time and pulled me out of a major depressive slump and gives me a sense of community in an otherwise atomized world. Are a lot of the people there chuds? Sure but there's also a lot of good people involved too and it's important to get out there and actually strike up a conversation with these people. A lot of them are just misguided and can be pushed left at least a little bit.