The upcoming NBC reality show ‘Stars Earn Stripes’ pairs 8 stars with trainers from military and LE backgrounds. Each episode will be a separate mission and the participants will be outfitted with some excellent tactical brands. For example, in this promotional video you can see TCI headsets paired with Ops-Core FAST helmets and FirstSpear covers. What else can you identify?
Stars Earn Stripes debuts Monday August 13th after the Olympics on NBC.
Folks have been asking for it and Edgar Brothers stepped up, placing a stocking order to exclusively offer the Talos Halfshell and Pant in the new Wolf color. Normally, Edgar Brothers is a UK deal but due to the nature of this project, these will be offered worldwide.
Arc’teryx LEAF-Talos Wolf – Edgar Bros
These No Melt, No Drip garments will be offered in sizes Small – XXLarge.
Dealer enquiries welcome, contact pmd@edgarbrothers.com.
When you consider what it costs to outfit a super hero the money we spend American troops seems like a bargain.
Whiskey-5 is a recurring Solider Systems Daily feature that asks “Who, What, Where, When, and Why” of the industry. It is intended to give you a more in-depth look at those manufacturers, trainers and individuals that make our industry unique. We have found that these basic 5 questions are the most basic keys to understanding. Past Whiskey-5s have included such industry heavyweights as Kryptek, Wild Things Tactical, ADS Ventures, HyperStealth and even Tactical Fanboy. Today we’ll be sharing an overview of Grey Ghost Gear.
Who
Grey Ghost Gear is a company that doesn’t spend much time touting the leadership team’s background. They seek credibility without chest thumping, dick measuring or tab checks, preferring to remain low key to avoid the sort of personality-driven perception that often trumps gear truth in other companies. This doesn’t mean they lack the background, to the contrary. They just prefer to let quality, flexibility and a nimble response capacity to customer’s demands establish their bonafides.
What
GGG is best defined as a ‘boutique’ tactical manufacturer, place where someone goes to get specialized gear instead of cookie cutter built kit. Make no mistake, there is some good equipment being built out there, but overall it’s mass manufactured and not absolutely focused on the end user.
Grey Ghost Gear evolved from Grey Ghost Outlet when the leadership recognized a significant void in the market. Rapid prototyping in the industry has largely gone away and massive consolidations were taking place. Many manufacturers, now frequently part of much larger organizations supplying huge contracts, have lost focus on the operator. GGG knew it could bring better, lighter weight gear to the market faster than anyone else—they could (and have) rapid prototyped it and gotten it to the end user in a quarter of the time anyone else could.
The background of the Grey Ghost team isn’t necessarily different than many other manufacturers operated or influenced by military personnel.What sets them apart is their constant active engagement with operators still using the gear on the ground. How many companies have leadership that can drop in on and attend a Designated Marksman course at Ft. Bliss, or visit a 4 star command group then have a beer with the Command Sergeant Major afterward? For that matter, how many companies remain as actively engaged with enlisted personnel via constant e-mail traffic, frequent phone/Skype calls and social media?
Grey Ghost Gear offers a way to eliminate bureaucracy and serve the shooters (and not just them). Regardless of what they say, a significant portion of the industry fails to listen to the end user. They may not ask for feedback at all, or they may ask for feedback and then fail to implement changes in a timely fashion (if at all)—this is often the case in companies with restrictive bureaucracies.
GGG does not suffer from this sort of inanity. An example of this is the LiteLok packs, which were manufactured and made available to the AO faster than anyone else, or a large scale rifle manufacturer who requested a modification to the rifle case they provide with their equipment on a military procurement contract. GGG had the change implemented and approved within 24 hours. More recently Grey Ghost was advised by men in the field of a very specific need for a low profile medic pack to be used for trauma and treatment kits by vehicle mounted medics. GGG took it from concept to first prototype in 72 hours. 72 hours after that they had accomplished the customer’s modifications. 48 hours later it was in production and they were getting purchase orders. Eight days from first phone call to ship-to-APO.
GGG is also less afraid than its competition to try new things. It makes short runs on patterns and styles and responds quickly to niche requests. They were the first company to build gear in the PenCott patterns (Badlands, Sandstorm and Greenzone and intend to use whatever camouflages don’t win in the Army selection this December short runs of specialty gear.
Future plans include distributing UK sourced Karrimor SF gear as well as manufacturing Karrimor SF here in the US so it is Berry compliant. They soon bring out a covert carry, low profile series of gear that will be truly low pro, unlike nothing else that’s out there and of course will continue developing specialized gear for unique units and missions as needed.
When
Grey Ghost Gear has been around for a little over 18 months now.
Where
Grey Ghost Gear is based in Idaho, however the equipment is manufactured at vetted local locations with stringent quality control. They’ve never had a warranty related construction repair or replacement in their entire history. GGG is also working with industry partners for offshore manufacturing options for international sales (they’ve sold supplied 16 allied/Coalition countries to date).
Why
Because the principals of the company are former soldiers with operational experience engaging the enemy. They’re actively engaged with the full spectrum military, and not just in the abstract. They work with all Tiers, literally, having sought response from Delta to mess hall cooks—true story. GGG routinely joins soldiers in MOUT sites, on the range and in classrooms, at dinner or a bar or a more visually appealing locale to hear what they have to say.
Many companies are focused (or say they are) on Tier One operators. Grey Ghost Gear doesn’t want just the snake-eaters to be using their kit. They want the guys with boots on the ground for months to afford and share the benefit of the use of their gear. As one GGG principal says, “We want an E-4, before he deploys, to be able to buy some gear from us and still be able to take his wife out to dinner.”
GGG remains dedicated to the end user and their communities. It is actively involved in the Point du Hoc Foundation, a supporter of the TACP Association and other organizations. They hope the customer loyalty earned by their philosophy continues to grow and are fully aware of the responsibility that loyalty entails. They intend to remain worthy of that loyalty or to get out of the business altogether.
We mentioned that the British military was looking to move to Brown boots for wear with their Multi Terrain Pattern uniforms last December but now it’s official. The new boots come in 5 models for different environments with two styles of each model. Lots of options there. Additionally, there are now both men and women’s sizing. And finally, Black boots will be retained for use with RAF and RAN Blues as well as ceremonial dress. What follows is the MoD’s press release.
The Ministry of Defence has signed a multi-million-pound contract for new boots for the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.
Armed Forces personnel will receive a new range of brown combat boots to replace the black and desert combat footwear they currently wear.
As part of a contract worth £80 million, troops will have the choice of wearing five different boots, depending on where they are based and what job they are doing. The five types available are:
Desert Combat: worn by dismounted troops conducting high levels of activity in desert environments exceeding 40 °C
Desert Patrol: worn by mounted troops, typically drivers or armoured troops conducting lower levels of activity in desert environments exceeding 40 °C
Temperate combat: worn by dismounted troops for high levels of activity in temperate climates
Patrol: worn by mounted troops, typically drivers or armoured troops conducting lower levels of activity in temperate climates
Cold Wet Weather: worn by dismounted troops for high levels of activity in temperatures down to –20 °C.
Each of the five boot types comes in two different styles, so personnel can wear whichever one is more comfortable for them.
Different foot shapes of men and women
The improved brown boots, which have been developed to match the Multi Terrain Pattern uniform worn by all service personnel, will be made in two different width fittings, taking into account for the first time the different foot shapes of men and women.
The new boots have been chosen after months of trials involving 2000 troops serving across the world in Kenya, Cyprus, Canada and the UK. The brown boots will be rolled out to personnel in all three services later this year.
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Peter Luff said:
“This contract will provide our troops with the high-quality footwear they need whilst on operations and back in the UK. Our Armed Forces will have more choice than ever before to make sure they are as comfortable as possible, whatever their role.”
Warrant Officer Class One Julie Lodge from the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Clothing team said:
“The boots we have now do the job well, but having footwear that is specially designed for female troops means we get an even better result, and marks a real development in the kit available to us. The new boots are very comfortable and fit so well I feel like I could run a marathon in them.
“We have had excellent feedback on the new boots from both male and female soldiers and we are buying a variety of styles to cover the full range of conditions we might encounter on operations, which means all our troops will have new boots for all seasons.”
The right boot for the right job
WO1 Regimental Sergeant Major Ian Wright of the Parachute Regiment took part in the trials and said:
“The choice offered to us with this new range of boots is fantastic as it means troops can find the right boot for the right job.
“It is important that we continue to feel comfortable in the boots that we wear and reassured that they are going to provide the right protection – and these new brown boots offer that.
“They performed well on the trials and I am sure our soldiers will be delighted with them.”
Black boots will continue to be worn with most non-camouflage uniforms and by units on parade in full dress uniform, such as Guards regiments on ceremonial duties in central London
Adams Industries is offering a great deal on 3X MIL-Spec AFocal Lens Assemblies. For those unfamiliar they attach to the front of a night vision system and provide 3 power magnification. Notice they are mil-spec and were built for a contract. Normally, these will run you over $400 but Adams Industries is selling them at $300 until they are gone.
www.adamsindustries.com/Various/Night-Vision/3X-MIL-SPEC-AFOCAL-LENS-ASSEMBLY
SGT James Matychowiak, a squad designated marksman for 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment carefully scans his sector for any threats at Azikzai police station July 9, 2012, in Central Azikzai, a village cluster in Zharay district of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Matychowiak helped build the sniper hide used to observe the enemy from a safe location.
Image – SPC Tyler Meister
