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Archive for July, 2012

Operator Overload

Sunday, July 29th, 2012

Iver the years, I’ve sat by and watched folks go off on full on rants over use of the term ‘Operator.’ Apparently, I have a high threshold for BS because it never seemed to set me off like it did my friends. I took a ‘whatever’ approach to the issue. But lately it seems like everyone and their brother wants to be an ‘Operator.’ Why, just today I perused a website created by a cabal of ‘tactical operators,’ whatever the hell that is. This isn’t a bash on my brothers in blue but the term has become especially prevalent in the LE community, distastefully so.

On the other hand, I know a whole bunch of real deal ‘Operators” of the SOF kind who earned the title. The funny thing is, they don’t run around using it. In fact, if you ask them if they were an ‘Operator’ they’d probably say refer you to the friendly buck Sergeant depicted in the photo at the top.

So, how about we, as a community, police ourselves up a little bit? And seriously, could someone tell me what a ‘tactical operator’ is?

BTW, I’m a former US Army EW/SIGINT Voice Intercept Operator. How’s that for a lolz?

Stuffa Vest

Sunday, July 29th, 2012

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Stuffa is a new clothing concept that features empty compartments in the construction rather than insulation. The brainchild of UK-based designer Sandro Cafasso it allows the wearer to “stuff” the compartments with clothing and any other items required for a short trip. On one hand, it beats checking a bag at the airport. On the other, I can imagine some things won’t travel quite as well as others.

If you are interested, Gizmag took a look at it which you might find useful.

Billy Cho’s War Belt Configuration

Sunday, July 29th, 2012

Billy Cho of Rifle Dynamics goes over his war belt in this video. He’s a big fan of High Speed Gear’s kit and uses it as the basis for most of what he has going on. This includes Taco mag pouches, belt and pad, as well as a dump pouch. He also uses a G-Code holster with a Rapid Transition Interface wheel. Additionally, he has included a Leatherman MUT and an ITS Tactical ETA Trauma Kit Pouch. It’s a great set up for his needs and it’s simple, yet functional.

2012 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Coverage

Sunday, July 29th, 2012

SSD will be on the ground at the 2012 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market to bring you live coverage of the latest products. We have quite a bit planned but we want to know if there’s anything in particular you are interested in seeing.

Look for our coverage to begin mid-day on Thursday as we get situated and start hitting our appointments.

Austere Provisions Company Adds Sentinel Design GLOCK Magazine Well to Site

Saturday, July 28th, 2012

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Austere Provisions Company has just added the Sentinel Design GLOCK Magazine Well to their site. They aren’t in stock yet, but they’re on the site. Unveiled just last week here on SSD, the new mag well is a low-profile after market add-on that allows the shooter to use GLOCK factory base plates.

Machined from solid aluminum and type III hard anodized, it is designed for full size frame GLOCK generation 3 guns in 9mm/.40 S&W/.357 Sig including the G17, G22, G31, G34, G35, G24, and the G17L. Confirmed compatibility with GLOCK factory baseplates as well as factory GLOCK +2 baseplates and copies, Arredondo +2 and +5 extensions, Magpul Speedplates, as well as Dawson Precision’s Tool-Less extended baseplates.

www.austereprovisions.com

Gunfighter Moment – Mike Pannone

Saturday, July 28th, 2012

Good luck is for novices, bad luck is for everyone. Bank on skill, you control it.

I leave nothing to chance and I train on worst case and least likely possibilities more than is common. I assume any “luck” I experience will be “bad luck” and I want to be prepared for any possibility. In my operational employment in SOF and later as a security contractor people would often say “good luck” before some event that could have adverse or catastrophic results. I would nearly always respond “thanks but I hope luck has nothing to do with it. Luck breaks both ways.

-Mike Pannone

Mike Pannone retired from the Army’s premier assault force (1st SFOD-D) after an explosive breaching injury. A year after his retirement America was attacked on 9/11 and he returned to help serve his country as the head marksmanship instructor at the Federal Air Marshals training course and then moved to help stand up the FAMS Seattle field office. In 2003 he left the FAMS to serve as a PSD detail member and then a detail leader for the State Department during 2003 and 2004 in Baghdad and Tikrit.

In 2005 he served as a ground combat advisor of the Joint Counter IED Task Force and participated on combat operations with various units in Al Anbar province. Upon returning he gave IED awareness briefings to departing units and helped stand up a pre-Iraq surge rifle course with the Asymmetric Warfare Group as a lead instructor. With that experience as well as a career of special operations service in Marine Reconnaissance, Army Special Forces and JSOC to draw from he moved to the private sector teaching planning, leadership, marksmanship and tactics as well as authoring and co-authoring several books such as The M4 Handbook, AK Handbook and Tactical Pistol shooting. Mike also consults for several major rifle and accessory manufacturers to help them field the best possible equipment to the warfighter, law enforcement officer and upstanding civilian end user. He is considered a subject matter expert on the AR based Stoner platform in all its derivatives.

www.ctt-solutions.com

Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Alias Training & Security Services. Each week Alias brings us a different Trainer and in turn they offer some words of wisdom.

Gear Scout Offers 21 Grips Compared

Saturday, July 28th, 2012

For some reason the title “21 Grips Compared” reminds of “88 Lines about 44 Women”, but I digress. Gear Scout has gone to great lengths to photograph 21 different AR grips from side and rear views. He changed everyone of those pistol grips out as well, so by now he can do it with his eyes closed. Or, he’s got a wrist like a teenage boy, or maybe both.

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At any rate, the result of his hard work is cool and the article should give you a good idea of how any one of these will fit and look on your AR-style gun.

Check it out at militarytimes.com/blogs/gearscout/2012/07/27/21-ar-grips-compared

Aegis Parka

Friday, July 27th, 2012

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The Aegis Parka is a garment designed by Nieuwe Heren to protect against urban pollution. The Aegis is made from Schoeller Ceraspace, a scally fabric far more abrasion and heat resistant then leather due to being made from ceramic particles. The inner liner consists of Schoeller PCM, a textile that contains millions of microcapsules filled with Phase Change Materials that balance out temperature extremes to achieve the wearer’s personal comfort climate. LEDs on the garment light up as a sensor measures hazardous molecules in the environment. An onboard respirator with an active carbon filter helps the wearer to breath in fresh air. The Aegis also filters the surrounding air as the suit is treated with a TiO2 (titaniumdioxide) solution which cleanses the air due to its photocatalystic properties.

This article was originally published on Tactical Fanboy. I’d consider this a disruptive technology as it incorporates several new fabric technologies and integrates an onboard respirator. As the styling is civilian in nature it could easily be put to use for combat in urban environments.

www.nieuweheren.com/products/aegis-parka