At the recent HTC/Rogue Gunfighter Low Vis Demo Day we took a look at FIREClean, an odorless, biodegradable gun oil that destroys carbon contamination and helps prevent future fouling. It cleans and lubricates, and firearms treated with FIREClean “blows out” fouling instead of trapping it. FIREClean is also extremely heat resistance, especially when compared to conventional or synthetic oils. Made in the USA.
A KCRF patch was featured in this video by YouTuber t9gear.
Thanks Nicole!
Recently, we surmised that the US Army was going to abandon the Camouflage Improvement Effort and adopt the current issue Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern (OCP) known commercially as MultiCam and worn by troops serving in Afghanistan. According to the Justification and Approval (J&A) published yesterday by the Army Contracting Command on Fed Biz Opps, a contract was in fact awarded to Crye Associates on September 24th, 2013 for a license for OCP. Furthermore, according to details in the J&A, OCP will be the Army’s principle camouflage pattern for the “…” Unfortunately, the PDF left out a few key details like what OCP actually will be used for. But, based on what I am hearing, it’s for all US Army, regardless of unit of assignment or operating location. Meaning…goodbye UCP, hello OCP.
I’ll add additional credence to my assertion that this is the Army camouflage by citing paragraph 8 of the J&A.
While the J&A discloses that a license was contracted we still have no DoD contract notice to determine the exact value of the contract. However, we do know, based on the J&A that the value is somewhere between $150,000 and $650,000 which is much lower than the street value of this contract. But the exact estimated value has been redacted in the online announcement. Currently, no contracts award notices are being issued by DoD due to the shutdown so this is odd that a notice was not issued in September. I am quite interested in seeking what the Army paid for the license as they were getting three patterns (that the Army insisted in needed for readiness) for a song under the Phase IV contract. By licensing OCP, the Army (and by extension DoD) gets just one, albeit true, universal pattern.
At this point, the Army has not announced the cancellation of the Camouflage Improvement Effort but based on this information, I’d say that the fat lady is backstage warming up. They all but tell the four finalist vendors for Phase IV, that is over as they’ve chosen an alternate course of action.
So not with a roar, but a whimper, the US Army announces their new camouflage pattern. Let the run on everything MultiCam begin!
Update: A couple of points here. This COA means the Army will not be purchasing rights to a family of patterns. Although, I’ve never been a fan of the multiple pattern requirement because it’s a logistical nightmare. Additionally, the Phase IV finalists haven’t been notified one way or another. The Army had no issue with halting the Individual Carbine program so I’m not sure what the hesitation is here. All of the companies have stiff armed multiple opportunities to sell their patterns to other customers pending the Army’s decision so this is costing them money. However, do not expect to see some of these finalist patterns available commercially for a variety of reasons. There are many in industry watching what the Army is doing here and taking cues about participation in future programs.
There are a lot of great courses of fire out there that truly test marksmanship skill but we should identify the advantage/disadvantage or relative level of difficulty of the same course of fire given the type of pistol/caliber combination used and the relative accuracy of the gun. To make the point as clearly as possible I will use a well-known course of fire that is one of my favorites, the 700 point aggregate. It will challenge even the best shooters and has been a part of my training for 15 years now. The 700pt Aggregate is extremely gun dependent and truth be told was designed to be shot with a match grade gun. Shooting it with my Vickers Custom 1911 vs. my Glock 22 w/stock barrel is truly the difference of night and day. My LAV gun will shoot sub 1.5” @ 25 all day long and my G22 is working to shoot 2.5” with the stock barrel. That disparity constitutes a 40% smaller group potential at the outset. The accuracy capability of the LAV gun vs. the G22 is a distinct advantage. That is compounded by the crisp flat 1911 trigger vs. the Glock Safe-Action (even with the best trigger job I can do with a full power striker spring). There is nothing wrong with the Glock, I like and have carried them for personal defence, protection work (PSD), combat and sport so don’t get wound up yet. There are certain advantages with certain guns that lend themselves towards certain courses of fire. If you shoot a course of fire that is both accuracy and speed dependent with a match grade 1911 in 45 ACP and then the same course with the identical gun in 9mm who has the advantage now? Obviously the 9mm has the advantage due to recoil impulse. Now shoot that 9mm 1911 against a Beretta M9? Now put in high round count stages that mitigate the accuracy and emphasize the capacity? The gun gives you or gives up advantage by design, accuracy potential and capacity even in the same caliber. The point I am making is one I just made recently to a close friend from my SOF days who asked me “what are you shooting the 700 in nowadays?” My response was “with which gun?” A Glock 22 on a 12 round course of fire with the potential of make-up shots has an overwhelming advantage over a single-stack 1911. Shoot whatever you have and shoot the 700 point aggregate but make sure when you compare scores take into account what gun you’re shooting. Depending on the course of fire it will make a world of difference.
1. Model
2. Caliber
3. Size (compact/fullsize/long slide)
4. Trigger weight
5. Relative accuracy from the bench (I had a big name polymer gun shoot 4-6” groups @ 25 right out of the box. That alone would put a 700 Pt. Ag in the low 500’s instead of 600’s.)
6. Capacity
– 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.
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.
Tactical Medical Solutions’ Active Shooter Response Kit allows individuals responding to active shooter situations to render aid and initiate evacuation of multiple causalities without slowing down an assault or clearing process of a structure or incident area.
Contained within the bag are ARK casualty throw kits. These are individually packaged med kits designed to be rapidly distributed to and utilized by uninjured individuals on scene. They contain basic treatment material and simple bi-lingual instruction for providing initial treatment for causalities until a rescue effort arrives. A casualty marker contained within the kit allows responders to quickly identify the injured for treatment.
The bag is not dedicated solely to basic aid, however. Multiple storage compartments allow medics moving with the clearing element not only to distribute throw kits as needed but also to maintain more advanced equipment for treatment of teammates if necessary.
The ARK contains:
– 2x SOF Tactical Tourniquet-W
– 2x Olaes 4” bandage
– 2x Olaes 6” bandage
– 1x Blast bandage
– 7x Cravat
– 2x Splint
– 2x 28F NPA with lube
– 1x Tac Med Surgical Airway Kit with Hook
– 2x 14ga x 3.25” angiocath
– 2x Halo Chest seals (4 Halo Seals)
– 2x Petrolatum Gauze
– 2x 2” surgical tape
– 1x Trauma Shears 7.5”
– 5x Gloves (pairs)
– 1x Helios system with active warming x1
– 5x Tac Med Solutions Combat Casualty Tag x5
The ARK comes standard with 7 throw kits. Each contains:
– 1x SOF Tactical tourniquet-NH
– 1x Control wrap 4”
– 1x Crinkle gauze
– 1x Emergency blanket
– 1x Bi-lingual instruction card
– 1x Casualty marker panel
The ARK kit is available fully stocked or as a stand alone bag. It comes in ACU, Black, Coyote Tan, and MultiCam.
www.tacmedsolutions.com/store/Products_Detail.php?ProductID=121
Tactical Walls is currently working on updating their product line with new features. Future products will see the inclusion of magnets, which offer additional mounting options for firearms and other gear and accessories.
They’re also working at replacing the current foam inlay with Velcro hook padding, which allows for a greater degree of customization.
Rogue Gunfighter was displaying their upcoming products at the High Threat Concealment/Rogue Gunfighter Low Vis Demo Day.
MOAB Armor Carrier
Here’s the MOAB low profile Armor Carrier, which first debuted at SOFIC. It features front panel wings for radios, med gear, etc. Clamshell adapters stay in place via internal Velcro on both the Clamshell and cummerbund. They offer additional PALS webbing and two elastic straps for quick access item retention. It’s also configured to accept clip-on backpacks and chest rigs.
The commercial release of the MOAB will include two Clamshells, and the Octopus detachable chest rig and strap. The Clamshell and Octopus also feature their own SKUs and will be available separately.
Octopus Chest Rig and Strap
The Octopus Chest Rig and Strap comes standard with the MOAB Armor Carrier. This allows the rig attached to the MOAB to function as a standalone chest rig. It features two integrated pistol and rifle magazine pouches with PALS webbing for additional pouches. The strap itself attaches to the buckles of the chest rig and features a Velcro loop back pad with a threaded inner liner.
NO Vis Ankle Med Kit
The NO Vis Ankle Med Kit is a padded, low profile medical pouch designed to be worn underneath a pant leg. It utilizes Velcro hook and loop to stay sealed, and folds out to reveal multiple elastic compartments for medical gear, with one of the compartments featuring a Velcro hook strap to secure a pair of scissors. It also features a breathable mesh liner.
