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Archive for October, 2009

Francisco J. Martinez Joins Protect the Force, LLC as Partner and Executive Vice-President

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Strategic consulting firm continues its expansion with appointment of Natick Soldier Center executive and addition of leading manufacturers of protective technologies.

Protect the Force, LLC announced today that Francisco J. Martinez, formerly Project Officer for the U.S. Army – Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center; Program Executive Office Soldier; Special Operations Command has joined Protect the Force, LLC as Partner and the company’s EVP for Product Development and Technology Integration.

“Francisco brings over 19 years of experience in the Textile Technology field. He has a proven track record of understanding complex personal protection challenges and rapidly developing solutions that have saved lives and prevented injuries for our nation’s armed forces and Homeland security operators. His level of energy and outside the box thinking will prove critical in Protect the Force’s commitment to providing best in class services to its clients” said Gary Hess, Protect the Force, LLC CEO.

Over the last five years at Natick, Mr. Martinez has worked effectively at developing integrated solutions for military combat clothing & individual equipment systems. He has been a forerunner in optimizing and creating test methodologies which more closely replicate real life combat scenarios in a reproducible and scientific environment.

His established and extensive relationship with industry, academia, medical and science and technology organizations both domestically and internationally creates an extremely unique source for product development and technology integration. Francisco’s Subject Matter Expert opinion in the area of flame and thermal protection is highly sought after and remains mission critical to the Global War on Terror. Mr. Martinez has been the recipient of multiple awards and recognitions throughout his career and most recently represented the U.S. Army at the NATO Combat Clothing and Individual Equipment Protection committee.

Clay Williamson, Protect the Force, LLC President, remarked, “Francisco’s appreciation for what truly is important and necessary to protect our forces, his constant and tireless search for solutions, industry and government network and passion to make a difference will result in success for Protect the Force. Francisco stands out as a technology innovator and pioneer”

Mr. Martinez will establish a third key location for Protect the Force, LLC in Natick Massachusetts.

The company also announced today that American Apparel, Inc., and PBI Performance Products Inc. have joined its growing list of clients. American Apparel is a high quality manufacturer of military apparel and uniforms. The company is one of the largest military “cut and sew” operations in the country and is currently providing fire resistant combat uniforms to both the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. PBI Performance Products is a world leader in the advanced materials and fabrics industry. The PBI fiber will not burn in air, does not melt or drip, and will retain its strength and flexibility after exposure to flame. PBI fibers form the backbone of various fabric blends, providing flame-resistance and thermal protection with the highest level of comfort, durability, and protection.

To learn more about Protect the Force, LLC vsit them on the web at www.protecttheforce.com.

Afghanistan Breathes New Life into M-24

Monday, October 19th, 2009

The many challenges faced by military and SOF personnel operating as snipers in Iraq’s tumultuous urban battlefields drove the need for a sniper platform capable of greater firepower with a repeatable one minute of angle accuracy. The M110, developed by Knight’s Armament Company of Vero Beach, filled the need. When the U.S. Army adopted the Knight’s platform, rumors filled the air waves that the venerable M-24 would be retired – much to the chagrin of veteran snipers who feel that the M-24 is more accurate and simpler to maintain. Regardless of what side of the fence you sit on with this issue, the pressures of Afghanistan nixed the M-24’s retirement.

M-24 Sniper Weapon System

For years, the USMC saw a need to maintain the .300 WinMag in its inventory as a bridge caliber between the NATO 7.62mm x 51 and the .50 BMG; the wisdom of that position has been borne out by the rigors of the Hindu Kush.

The U.S. Army has seen the light, and in response to requests from units deployed in Afghanistan, will begin sending many of its M-24s to Remington’s facilities in North Carolina to be converted to .300 WinMag, a move that is sure to bring light to Remington’s eyes. Driving that decision is the need to engage targets out to 1200 meters, and other than the time tested .338 Lapua Magnum, nothing says hello like a .300 WinMag 190 grain BTHP at 2600 feet per second.

Sal Palma
Copyright 2009 Sal Palma

Tactical Pistol Shooting 2nd Edition

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

Tactical Pistol Shooting 2nd Edition

A new, expanded edition of “Tactical Pistol Shooting” was just released. Just like the first edition it is a solid work and is filled time tested pistol handling techniques. Written by special operations veterans Erik Lawrence and Mike Pannone, two guys who know their stuff. Major improvements over the first edition include full color photos and an improved section on shooting while wounded. Speaking with the author on the new photographs he said that working with Mike Pannone and the photographer was a joy. Mike knows all of the drills cold allowing Erik to work with the photographer and see each shot from his perspective. They wrapped up the entire book’s worth of photos in two hours! I still find it amazing that “Tactical Pistol Shooting” contains over 350 color photos in a trade paperback for under $25. It is worth the cover price and is an excellent reference.

Order it at BHIgear.com. You can even include an autograph and message.

First Ascent

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

First Ascent is a new line of hard core outdoor line from Eddie Bauer in collaboration with Whittaker Mountaineering, and Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. They’ve set their sights high with this undertaking as the name itself gives nod to a first successful summit of a mountain. In a way this is Eddie Bauer getting back to its roots. They claim that First Ascent is the most significant line of gear in a generation and for them this would certainly be true. It’s been about that long since they produced anything like this. Back in the 70s, if you were going mountaineering, chances were good you’d be using Eddie Bauer. Somewhere along the way they drifted to a lifestyle brand. It’s good to see them coming around full circle.

First Ascent Hangfire Hoodie

The Hangfire Hoodie is a great example to give you an idea of the type of products in the line. It is made from a combination of two-way stretch under the arms and anti-pill fleece. The design features an off-set zipper to aid layering as well as a Napoleon pocket.

To see the entire line which includes clothing, packs, and other equipment visit First Ascent online.

Source One Selected to Receive Most Innovative Small Business Award

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

Source One Distributors, Inc. was recently awarded the Most Innovative Small Business award by The Coalition for Government Procurement.

A panel from industry and government selected Source One among a field of service disabled veteran owned, woman owned, veteran owned, 8(a), hubzone, and SBA certified small disadvantaged businesses. What set Source One apart from the competition was that as a small business contract holder they had grown their Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) business, committed themselves to FAS, and developed innovative ways to meet customer needs.

“This is a very exciting award for us because it recognizes our organization’s commitment to FAS and the
GSA contracting vehicles,” said Source One President and CEO, Mark Llano. “GSA and FAS have
allowed us to offer more innovative ways of procurement to our customer base in support of our mission
to provide improved distribution, best of class equipment and quality customer service to today’s war
fighter.”

As an award recipient, Mark Llano, CEO and President will represent Source One at the 2009 Excellence
in Partnership (EIP) Award Ceremony Tuesday, November 2, 2009 at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C.

For more information about the 2009 Excellence in Partnership (EIP) Awards please visit:
www.eipawards.org

Canadian Load Bearing Vest Trials

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Canadian Soldier Modernization

The Integrated Soldier System Project is a follow-on to the Clothe The Soldier program which has outfitted the Canadian Soldier with a wide array of modern systems. Intended to be conducted from 2009 – 2016 ISSP is intended to build upon the work already accomplished by CTS and serve to integrate the Soldier into a digitized battlespace. As ambition as this project is, Canadian force modernization must continue to refine projects developed under CTS in order to stay relevant to the current fight.

Canadian tactical vest
Photo: Canadian DnD

Almost from its inception the currently issued Tactical Vest (TV) was outdated while most of the other components of CTS were state of the art. It featured fixed pockets and limited space for ammunition. In order to improve the ability of the individual soldier to reconfigure his vest based on role as well as increase carrying capacity 12 commercial Modular Fighting Rigs were evaluated at the Regimental Armory in Gatineau Quebec. The various candidate MFRs were modular in nature and of webbing, chest-rig or vest design and the evaluators represented every Infantry Regiment. Additionally, an entire suite of pouches was evaluated to complement the MFR. According to the video the top four candidates will go on for operational testing with Task Force 110. However, documents we have seen identify only the top three candidates moving forward into operational testing. Mums still the word on which systems made the cut but we do know that one of the systems was a 2-piece MAV with X-harness provided by Tactical Tailor.


The Canadian Forces have produced this excellent video describing the trial.

International Symposium for Indirect Protection Systems

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Here’s something for you to do if you are in Bad Reichenhall, Germany next week. Naturally, the term “Indirect Protection Systems” refers to camouflage. In addition to full program of lectures on advanced camouflage system, 20 exhibits will be on hand. The symposium which takes place from the 20th through the 23rd of October 2009 is organized by the Bundeswehr Technical Center for Protective and Special Technologies (WTD 52) and will cover the four main areas of camouflage, concealment, deception, jamming and smoke camouflage.

Interested parties should visit the website.

The Mk 7 Helmet, Up Close and Personal

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

US manufacturer Wilcox Industries had a brand new British AC900/600 helmet on display at AUSA. The AC900/600 has been designated as the Mk 7 for use as an interim measure while PECOC refines development of an entirely new suite of individual equipment for the British Tommie. You can see from the display the full advantage of the scalloped brim when used with Night Vision Systems. This was one of the driving reasons behind the interim adoption of modified variant of the AC900/600 helmet worn by UKSF on CT role. Wilcox had the helmet due to a recent development effort in support of the MoD. This also demonstrates Wilcox’s excellent capability to integrate seemingly disparate systems into a cohesive capability in rapid order.

British Mark 7 Helmet