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Archive for October, 2009

TNVC and Magpul Dynamics Announce Night Fighting Course

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Tactical Night Vision Company and Magpul Dynamics have teamed up to offer a new Dynamic Night Operators curriculum to be added to the Magpul Dynamics course offerings.

This new Night Operators course will leverage the extensive experience of the training team to provide students with the skills, tactics, and mentality necessary to conduct successful nighttime operations and survive under fire. Victor Di Cosola, President of TNVC, Travis Haley, and Chris Costa, Founders of Magpul Dynamics, approach night vision training by focusing on practical application of real word skills, disciplined mindset, and a thorough understanding of the equipment and tactics needed to survive a no-light gun fight. Very much a hands on course, the instructors encourage students to find their own way by constantly evolving, changing, and improving their skills.

The decision by TNVC and Magpul Dynamics to join forces was made because of the realization that the threats presented to Warfighters, Law Enforcement professionals, and private sector clients often occur at night. The ability to engage threats in low/no light while deploying night vision devices is a critical skill and presents a distinct advantage to the good guys. Victor Di Cosola, Travis Haley, and Chris Costa, along with the Magpul Dynamics Training Team, will give students a thorough introduction to night vision gear; the good, the bad, and the ugly, while presenting a solid and unique system for threat engagement in the dark. By combining the minds of these two innovative companies, a better product can be developed in conjunction with the latest training techniques, tactics, and a firsthand knowledge of the modern battlefield.

Also, be sure to check out TNVC’s newly updated website www.tnvc.com.

The FTC and Blogs

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

The Federal Trade Commission recently revised their rules for endorsements and testimonials.

Blogs will now be covered by the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising last updated in 1980. So what does this mean? Well, effectively, the new rules are intended to be applied to those bloggers who write content for money. But it also extends to websites like Soldier Systems Daily who receive paid overt advertising. Additionally, it extends to any blog that writes reviews of products.

From the FTC’s statement, “The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement.”

What the blogger needs to do is to disclose to the reading public any compensation received for an “endorsement’. From what we have been led to believe this includes material as well as monetary compensation. For example, if a writer prepared a review of a day pack and was allowed to keep it after the review, the writer would be required to disclose this to the readers. It has been suggested that bloggers should also disclose if a product was provided solely on an “on loan” basis. CMP.LY has produced a set of banners that can be used on a web site to provide disclosure to the readers.

So could this also extend to forums? It should. We have all seen ghost accounts created for use by shills eager to pump up their brand’s cred. And then there are the internet “experts” who provide “free” advice that always seem to point toward the company that is supplying them with free kit. This is particularly rampant in the firearms business. It would be nice to see some of these connections come to light. Additionally, forum goers who are employees of companies will need to disclose this as well. As for forums, no one is sure as of yet who would be fined in the event of a violation; the forum or the poster.

So, for the record, Soldier Systems Daily receives paid advertising and the reader can readily see our advertiser’s banners openly displayed. No endorsement is granted or implied for any other products or services unless specified in writing.

Ultimately, we aren’t lawyers and we still aren’t sure how this will be implemented or enforced but with violators facing an $11,000 fine, it’s good to at least be informed that this is coming and to begin to develop a strategy on how to deal with it. If you are concerned that your website, blog, or forum will be affected by this we suggest you start planning now.

11 Military Inspired iPhone Apps

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

From the Military Boots Blog comes this story about a variety of useful apps for the uniformed user of the ubiquitous iPhone.

KAC’s BulletFlight

We’ve written about iPhone apps before like BulletFlight but there are some great apps on the list including iSurvive that we haven’t seen yet as well as a little surprise but you’ll have to visit their site for a peek. Thanks to the folks at Military Boots Blog for a good read.

Tim D’Annunzio for Congress

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Tim D’Annunzio, Army veteran and founder of Paraclete is running on the Republican ticket for North Carolina’s 8th District which includes the Fort Bragg area. Tim is a long-time personal friend and supporter of our nation’s warriors. He gets my full endorsement in his bid for Congress.

For more information visit www.voteTim.com.

OTTE Gear -DK Jacket

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

OTTE Gear debuted their new line of DK Jackets at last year’s SHOT Show. Several military organizations had been looking for an enhanced version of the Combat Jacket design and OTTE Gear has worked a couple of these changes into the DK lineup. Now that it’s starting to get cool outside, I thought it would be a good time to show it around.

The jacket features a generous cut. With many of the current combat-style jackets on the market I wear a Large. However, with the DK from OTTE Gear, I still wear a Large but I can layer effectively which makes the jacket all the more versatile. Additionally, the DK is offered in two weights; Standard (unlined) and Heavy (lined with X-static, same as the Alpine line). The Heavy was the first to be rolled out but OTTE released a lighter, Standard version for when temps are a bit more temperate.

The OTTE Gear DK Jacket

Some of the DK’s features are fairly standard. For example, there is a stand-up collar and flat pockets on the biceps which have Velcro to attach patches. But that’s where the similarities end. The cuffs in addition to being partially elasticized, have an adjustable tab closure and the two large hand slash pockets can be used to vent the jacket. This is a feature not normally found on a combat softshell. However, ultimately the most interesting mod to this design is the 20 inch pit zips which allow for venting as well as an “on the go” conversion of the jacket to a short sleeve. OTTE uses elastic straps to keep the sleeves rolled up and out of the way. This is particularly handy when under heavy load and just venting the pits won’t do.

The DK features Schoeller NanoSphere protective finish to keep the jacket water resistant and repel stains. Made in the USA and available in Small – 2XL from OTTE Gear.

Our 1000th Post

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Kinda hard to believe that we have produced 1000 official posts. Actually there have been a few others but for one reason or another no longer reside on the site. So this is it, 1000 posts.

To celebrate this auspicious occasion we want to put in a plug for an upcoming movie starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, and Goat entitled “The Men Who Stare At Goats”. Based on the book of the same name by author Jon Ronson, the story follows elements of the US Army during the 1980s as they attempted to harness new age philosophies and paranormal phenomenon for military use. The story is fascinating and what’s even more interesting is that it is true. Obviously, the movie will assume a certain amount of poetic license and the book in my opinion takes a few liberties as well, but the base story is true and documented many places. In fact, the conceptual First Earth Battalion’s manual can be found online here.

“The Men Who Stare At Goats” premiers November 6th.

Army Camouflage Industry Day

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

UPDATE: According to solicitation ARMYCAMOUFLAGEINDUSTRYDAY posted yesterday on Fedbizopps, the U. S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center (NSRDEC) and the Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment is sponsoring an industry dayrom 0900-1100 hrs on 28 October at NSRDEC in Natick, MA in the Carney Hall (Bldg#1), Hunter Auditorium. As you may have heard, the Army is assessing different camouflage patterns for use in Afghanistan (as well as other locales) and is seeking the expertise of the textile printing industry to determine the feasibility to consistently produce these colors and patterns in multiple substrates. All textile industry attendees (sorry looky lou’s) must have a US citizenship and register by email with Alison.spurr@us.army.mil by close of business on 26 October 2009. Contracting Office Address: RDECOM Acquisition Center – Natick, ATTN: AMSRD-ACC-N, Natick Contracting Division (R and BaseOPS), Building 1, Kansas Street, Natick, MA 01760-5011 Point of Contact(s): Stacey Smith, 508-233-5118

We updated Alison Spurr’s email address. We apologize for any confusion.

Tactical Tailor Seeks Your Photos

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Tactical Tailor Photo Contest

Got photos of yourself wearing Tactical Tailor? Tactical Tailor is seeking interesting photos of customers wearing their products for future catalogs and other promotional literature. If you would like to submit your personal photographs for consideration to be used in Tactical Tailor promotions, advertising or catalogs please email submissions to: photosubmissions@tacticaltailor.com

High-quality and high-resolution photos are preferred. The more Tactical Tailor gear in the photo, the better the chances of it being used. Please be sure to indicate if there are any aspects of the submitted photographs that need to be edited before use.