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Archive for 2009

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.

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