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Archive for December, 2011

Looxcie

Monday, December 19th, 2011

This is pretty amazing. Looxcie is a video camera that you wear on your ear like a bluetooth headset earphone. Once turned on it records everything in a POV (Point of View) format. It can store data in its buffer, send clips to your email and social media, or stream it live through a wireless connection to viewers of your choice. The possibilities are pretty exciting. In fact, Looxcie is already in use with Kenya’s Rangers who protect wildlife from poachers.

To share clips with your friends using Flashbax, “When something cool happens, simply press the instant clip button to get the last 30 seconds. Press the button longer and the instant clip is immediately shared to your social network.”

Looxcie Live is your opportunity to broadcast what you see discreetly with those you choose via different smartphone app. The broadcast is also available on the Looxcie Live server for up to 24 hours for review with full archiving coming soon. Additional features include text chat and Push-to-talk voice cues to provide feedback to the broadcaster.

This isn’t science fiction or government-only, TLA tech. It’s available now.

looxcie.com

Tags: Looxcie
Posted in Digitization, Gadgets, Optics, Recce, Sensors | 1 Comment »

Battle of the Bulge pictures from 67 years ago

Monday, December 19th, 2011

Life Magazine has released some new pictures celebrating the anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. They are, in a word, amazing.

New, previously unseen Battle of the Bulge pictures from Life Magazine

You should check them out. 67 years ago some our fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers and countless other family members of both genders were fighting in one of the most critical battles of the war, in some of the bitterest cold of the war.

www.life.com/gallery/36632/image/56688832/battle-of-the-bulge-rare-unseen

-DR

Tags: Battle of the Bulge, Life Magazine
Posted in History, Media | 2 Comments »

Army Camouflage Improvement Effort Down Select Delay – The Consequences

Monday, December 19th, 2011

Unintended or not, the Army’s most recent delay in announcing the down select is going to hurt those firms currently in the competitive range for the Army Camouflage Improvement Effort. The program has slipped several times since its inception but this latest delay, with announcement coming “during the second week of JAN 2012” is the most troubling.

Unfortunately, this new deadline butts right up against the annual Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show, 17-20 January in Las Vegas. SHOT Show is THE trade show of the year for those in the camo business, regardless of hunting or tactical and many of the candidate families of patterns will do well in both markets.

This is the first time we can think of in the Soldier Systems industry that a company is penalized for being a possible contract winner. These companies can’t conduct any marketing activities or even share their designs with potential customers for fear of influencing the source selection authority.

With a Government announcement as late as the 13th of January, companies are already enroute to Las Vegas. There is no way that they could print new signage or marketing materials in time to use them at SHOT. What’s more, with the 10 day protest window bracketing both SHOT Show and Outdoor Retailer, a formal announcement by a company that they are a finalist could very well, still be premature.

Conversely, companies that have already been informed that they are not in the competitive range can on about their business and market their patterns without any encumbrances. They are probably all jumping for joy at the Army’s decision.

We don’t believe that this decision was made with the intention of making things difficult for industry. But, it does. We urge the Army to make its announcement soon so that industry can do the things it needs to do, to sell its wares. That is what a good partner would do.

Posted in Camo, Contracts, Industry | 28 Comments »

Some Interesting Connections Surrounding Sale of Paraclete Armor

Monday, December 19th, 2011

In late October MSA announced the sale of Paraclete Armor to PPE. PPE in turn, is owned by Sun Capital Partners, Inc.

What is pretty interesting about the Paraclete sale is that American Recreation Products which includes such brands as Kelty, Sierra Designs, Slumberjack, Ultimate Direction and Royal Robbins, is also owned by Sun Capital. These brands all have an impressive line of military products that we’ve covered in the past here on SSD.

Since ARP’s primarily outdoor focused the vast majority of their products are produced overseas. This can make for rough going if you are interested in military business. Perhaps, thanks to the Sun Capital connection, we will see some production of ARP’s military products by Paraclete. What would be even cooler is if we could see some cross pollination from ARP’s outdoor design expertise to Paraclete’s product offerings.

Tags: American Recreation Products, Kelty, MSA, Paraclete, Royal Robbins, Sierra Designs, Slumberjack, Ultimate Direction
Posted in Armor, Industry | Comments Off on Some Interesting Connections Surrounding Sale of Paraclete Armor

Modular Padded Shoulder Harness from HSGI

Sunday, December 18th, 2011

More traditional belt and suspender load carrying options are once again becoming popular. High Speed Gear’s new Modular Padded Shoulder Harness utilizes 6.5mm Neoprene foam which features a gel like feel for comfort that does not slip on the shoulders.

The designs allows you to use either 1″ or 1.5″ webbing to attach to belts or chest rigs. The Drag Handle uses a Vinyl Tube cover to reduce the strap from cutting into the hand. The rear features 5 continuous rows of MOLLE/PALS with the top 3 rows integrate Velcro loop.

Made in USA!

www.hsgi.us

Tags: High Speed Gear Inc.
Posted in Load Carrying | Comments Off on Modular Padded Shoulder Harness from HSGI

Corps Strength – Pull Your Weight

Sunday, December 18th, 2011

In the US military each branch of the service has its own physical fitness test and even within each branch there are different PT tests for special duties (such as Special Forces). While they are all different the purpose is basically the same; to measure a service members level of physical conditioning. Running, pushups, crunches, swimming, etc. are just some of the different methods used to accomplish this. However in my opinion the absolutely best way (and the simplest) to test strength is by the pull-up. There is no way to fake a pull-up, either you can pull your weight up, or you can’t. It’s a pure and honest way to gauge your strength, and it’s not only a way to measure your fitness, but should be a staple of any workout routine. I have been doing them for over 30 years and have made them apart of every training plan I put together for Marines and International students alike. In my book Corps Strength I outline several different ways to effectively incorporate pull-ups into PT. I also outline how to improve your pull up ability. Yes they are a hard exercise, hard to do and hard to improve, but in the end worth it. Try it.

Be safe
MGunz

Tags: Corps Strength
Posted in Corps Strength | 3 Comments »

Leatherman Military Video

Sunday, December 18th, 2011

Don’t blink…

Short, sweet, and to the point, it’s nice to see that Leatherman acknowledges their military customer.

www.leatherman.com

Tags: Leatherman
Posted in Industry, Knives | 3 Comments »

Booth Babes

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

Yep, Booth Babes. You know what they are (not being snide here). New Breed of Warrior, Warrior Expo or of course the upcoming SHOT. Lots of Booth Babes. The best of them are intelligent, pretty and knowledgeable. The worst of them…well, there’s always a career to be had in B grady SyFy movies.

Anyway, if you’re looking for a Booth Babe for your upcoming professional event, there’s an agency specifically for you. Although many of them list their backgrounds variously as ‘professional dancer’, there are many that look to be squared away. There’s no guarantee they’ll know which end of an SBR the bullet comes out of, or the difference between a Medford and a Chinese Barlow knockoff, but hey it beats using those cards they slap together at night on the Strip to recruit your help. (Oh, and if you haven’t seen the Booth Babe costumes at E3 and some of the gaming convention, their kit is substantially different than what you’ll see at SHOT but it’s certainly compelling.)

More at the latest Booth Babe website.

SHOT Show Booth Babes from the 2010 Show

-DR

Tags: Booth Babes
Posted in Morale | 18 Comments »