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Archive for September, 2010

General David McKiernan Joins ADS Ventures as Senior Policy Advisor

Monday, September 20th, 2010

PRESS RELEASE – Former Commander of US and International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan will advise the government relations firm on public affairs issues

ADS Ventures, a government relations, business development and strategic communications firm based in Boston today announced that Four-Star General David McKiernan (US Army, Ret.), former commander of all U.S. and International Security Assistance forces in Afghanistan, has joined the firm as a Senior Policy Advisor. General McKiernan will work with existing and future ADS Ventures clients to enhance their understanding of defense requirements and provide counsel on legislative and policy priorities.

ADS Ventures (ADS) is a government relations, business development and strategic communications firm that provides consulting services to a range of corporate and non-profit clients, including organizations in the Soldier personal equipment and protection industry, educational institutions, scientific research organizations, and companies investing in groundbreaking energy and transportation efforts. ADS helps its clients understand how policy decisions impact their business and forms critical partnerships with key policymakers at the state and federal levels to create opportunities for growth.

General McKiernan completed 37 years of military service in August 2009, following his tenure as Commander of all American and International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan. Prior to holding that position, General McKiernan served as Commander of the US 3rd Army and the Coalition Forces Land Component Command, consisting of 160,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines that attacked into Iraq and removed Saddam Hussein from power. He has also served as Commander of all US Army forces in Europe (2005-2008) where he led all US Army engagements and activities in Europe, Russia and Africa. Prior to this role, he was the Deputy Commander of US Forces Command where he was responsible for all continental US Army forces. He also served as the Army G3 in Washington, DC, and as the Commanding General, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, TX.

Gen. McKiernan received his ROTC commission in 1972, and his operational experiences spanned from platoon to large joint and multinational formations, interagency and international political-military coordination, including personal interaction with two Presidents, Members of Congress, senior Administration officials, and foreign heads of state.

â€œGeneral McKiernan represents all the best qualities of a public servant. We are honored by his decision to join the ADS team,â€ said Chet Atkins, founding partner of ADS Ventures. â€œWe have tremendous respect for his years of leadership and for the genuine concern he has shown those under his command during their time in uniform and during their transition back into civilian life. For a decade, ADS has represented organizations that work to improve education, advance scientific innovation and enhance the greater good both in the U.S. and abroad. I am confident that General McKiernanâ€™s expertise will be an invaluable resource as we work to advance our clientsâ€™ goals.â€

â€œThroughout my career as a Soldier, I have always strived to be a leader focused on mission accomplishment and taking care of our Nationâ€™s most precious resource â€“ its men and women serving in uniform,â€ said General McKiernan. â€œMy work with ADS Ventures will allow me to continue this effort by counseling organizations dedicated to developing and procuring vital gear for those who serve our country as well as for those striving to increase scientific research and educational opportunities. I very much look forward to working with ADS Venturesâ€™ unique set of clients and applying my experience to businesses and non-profit organizations that are committed to quality and innovation.â€

â€œOver the last 10 years, ADS Ventures has partnered with some of the most innovative companies in the United States to grow their capabilities to meet the changing needs of those who serve our country,â€ said ADS Ventures Managing Director, David Costello. â€œIn the Generalâ€™s long and distinguished career as a Soldierâ€™s Soldier, he has advised Presidents, Members of Congress, senior diplomats and foreign leaders on strategic, diplomatic and agency specific issues. Now, he will provide unparalleled advice and expertise to ADS Venturesâ€™ clients on issues that are of great concern to him, including the ongoing effort to best outfit and protect our Soldiers. We are very much looking forward to working closely with General McKiernan to help further advance this good work.â€

Tags: ADS Ventures
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TNT â€“ A Knife, by ZERO POINT

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Zero Point is a small company established by a group of US Navy EOD Tech’s with a great deal of tactical experience who saw a need for unique equipment to support the EOD mission. They specialize in Training/Equipment and Development of New Equipment for unique requirements and mission sets.

The TNT is obviously built and designed by folks who have been in the trenches and know what is necessary for this unique group of warfighters. The staff at ZERO POINT; Perry, Bob, and Jeff, impressed us as guys who know what the end user would benefit from and you can see this in the TNT. Thanks to Perry over at ZERO POINT for allowing us to push their knife through some serious testing and evaluation or the past three months.

As we’ve mentioned in previous articles on knives, they are a personal choice, and will often be misused and abused â€“ we’ll let you decide when and where to do that. While a few will choose not to carry a knife, many others choose to do so and a few choose to carry several knives at the same time. This author believes a good cutting blade can often be more useful than any number of other tools if used properly. When mounted and carried in an easily accessible location the knife is often the first tool at hand.

Not every knife is a fighting tool but rather, many are utilitarian, which is exactly what the TNT is, in both design and form.

For example, the sheath is made of KYDEX and is ready to go with either MOLLE or belt attachment hardware. Additionally, it can quickly be attached via straps for SCUBA/Dive Operations. Now that’s some forward thinking, wouldn’t you agree? Very versatile.

Not only is TNT a slick design, it’s made of some pretty impressive material as well.

The TNT Knife is made of grade 5 titanium (annealed) Ti-6AI-4V. Perry tells us this is basically aerospace grade titanium. That’s some pretty impressive material. Further their knife registered .79 on the magnetometer, which easily qualifies as non-magnetic. So if you have a J-O-B that requires your tools be non-magnetic, then TNT will easily fit this bill.

TNT impressed us time and again as we cut, hacked, tore, ripped, sawed, smashed, thwacked and thumped our way through the junk yard. Really there’s an unlimited list of opportunities inside a junk yard and this knife really did some neat stuff. Additionally, we utilized the TNT in training and real-world applications which should never be separated. Remember the old adage; You will Fight like You Train.

Fit, Form, Feel, and Functionality are always of importance to the end user. Although the TNT may look meek and mild, it is very well built and will take most any abuse it can be subjected to.

The blade is flat edged so there is no way to puncture or rip a lifevest or rubber boat, making this design is an excellent choice for Dive Ops as well as for use in other Maritime applications.

TNT is more than an EOD Knife. It will also easily facilitate numerous capabilities such as cutting through pipe, leather, cloth, straps/seat belts, and anything you may face in the field. This knife is sure to do so with ease and precision. Just look at this video as it cuts through a hydraulic pipe with the saw side of the blade, under the hood of this car in the junkyard.

Smashing through a window is not as easy as it seems on TV where things are not always portrayed correctly. Attempting to use a round ended or blunt object to break a vehicle window often ends in utter failure. That’s why it’s important to have the right tool at hand, or in this case the right knife with the right tip as it can make all the difference in the world. Design, form, fit, and functionality all work together in this knife, making window breaking a simple task.

Slim Profile and Ergonomic Design combined with Sheath fit and functionality are all capabilities built into one small knife unit.

After seeing how this knife easily cuts multiple wires, breaks windows and saws through tubing, you can only imagine how well it would work in any of the multitude of tasks you could use a knife for. TNT is definitely one of those GOT TO HAVE items in any Go-Bag!!!

To get yours, order direct from ZERO POINT or from www.blueridgeknives.com.

Tags: Zero Point USA
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Remington Semi-Auto Sniper System

Monday, September 20th, 2010

AAC’s Blog recently featured a couple of photos of the new Remington Semi-Auto Sniper System. Interesting features include a collapsible side charging handle on the upper receiver as well as the new style of forearm finding its way on to all of Remington’s tactical firearms. Additionally, the weapon is fed by Magpul’s 7.62 version of the PMAG.

Tags: Remington Military Products
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New Zealand Operational Ration Pack

Monday, September 20th, 2010

This is a review of the latest New Zealand ration pack sent in by one of our readers who asked to remain anonymous due to operational considerations. Thank you for your service and your review!

This is the latest development as the ration has had several changes in the past few years. A number of the components are made by the same company as the Australian CR1M – retort meals are exported from NZ to Australia, although special meal flavours are made for the Aussies. NZ retort pouches tend to be spicy (curry, jumbalaya, etc), whereas the Aussie ones are plain (beans and sausages, spaghetti and sausages etc). The NZ ration has 4 menus (see attached info sheet) and is designed to feed 1 person for 24 hours. There are no vegetarian/kosher/halal versions. I am a serving soldier and I have to say the thing I like is that you can actually write to the people that make the ration and they write back and take the feedback on board! As an example previous versions had one menu with glucose sweets and raisins, whereas none of the other menus had an equivalent. Now this has been changed so all menus have them.

The recaldent gum (made in Japan) is a new addition to protect soldiers’ teeth if they can’t brush them. The fruit bar is also quite innovative – it is a dehydrated product made from pure fruit which is edible without rehydration, and the serving is equivalent to eating 5 apples. I really like them.

The towelettes are not like the ones in the MRE – the NZ ones are simply paper soaked in alcohol, meaning they get used for many purposes – including cleaning canteen cups and lighting hexamine tablets! The matches are waterproof/windproof.

As far as a review goes the meals are quite good – they’re made by a civilian company that puts their commercial product in a mil-spec retort pouch. Chilli beef is my favourite, chicken jumbalaya 2nd. The satay isn’t good if you don’t like satay – it’s very much like peanut butter. Usually I dump the sugar and drinks – the soup is ALWAYS vegetable and is quite awful, and the chocolate drink tastes metallic and isn’t good if you have it at the recommended concentration. A canteen cup needs about 6 packets! The sports drinks are very good. The cabin bread is quite hard, but at least it doesn’t break. Some people like the canned cheese but I don’t. The muesli is good with a fair amount of condensed milk, even though the packet has milk powder in it. The onion flakes aren’t that good. The muesli bars have recently changed and are now a bit gluey. The biscuits are good, especially choc chip.

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Halo: Reach Launch Party

Sunday, September 19th, 2010

I recently attended one of the many midnight launch parties for Halo: Reach thrown at various retail outlets across the States. Not sure what to expect, I found the local GameStop where I pre-ordered my copy already full of people barely after 10:00 P.M. I prepaid, got my pickup number, and waited in the store. There was pizza and soda, but very little in the way of entertainment; Halo Legends was playing along with the same continuous loop of Halo: Reach related videos, so I spent most of my time conversing with the other fans in attendance about the game itself. About fifteen minutes before twelve, we were all told to wait outside the store in number order. The first ten people got Reach related swag in the form of a poster or display item. I was number 25, so I got jack. Even so, not a bad night at all.

Since we were allowed in only 5 at a time, I had to wait a little after midnight to get my long-awaited copy, but when I finally did, I rushed home and started to play. This is definitely the best Halo title yet. And no, I didn’t get her digits.

Editor’s note: This article was prepared by Tactical FanBoy. Expect to hear more from him soon. The pic isn’t of him, it’s of a female gamer who was protesting the launch since the new Halo doesn’t include Master Chief.

Tags: TFB
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Introducing Tactical Fan Boy

Saturday, September 18th, 2010

SSD is proud to welcome Tactical Fan Boy to the team. The column will be written by Richard Graves and concentrate on the entrainment side of the tactical industry. Look for info on gaming, airsoft, movies, and other other issues of interest to our readership.

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