MATBOCK is now offering the Brotherhood of War patch collection. These four leather patches represent Special Operations Forces within the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. They serve as a reminder of the fallen, and the continuing fight against those who would cause us harm. 100% of the total sales from every patch sold will go to Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
www.matbock.com/products/brotherhood-war-patches
Dr. Bego Man was made for simple, affordable, and different type of target shooting. Each order comes with TWO Dr. Bego Man targets which includes a stand for easy setup. Available in two formulations.
FBI Certified 10% Gelatin: $45.00
NATO Certified 20% Gelatin: $60.00
Han Solo in Carbonite Gel Target coming soon.
Steiner’s Mk7 Battle Light is a miniature 350 lumen white light designed for handheld use. It comes with an included shotgun end cap so it can double as a shotgun light – it slides into the magazine tube and replaces the factory spring end cap. Weights 4.1 oz, features a push button operation with both high and low power settings, and is submersible to 3 meters.
www.steiner-optics.com/laser-devices/mk7-battle-light
Threadsmiths is a company based out of Melborne, Australia which has developed a patented hydrophobic nanotechnology application that repels water and dirt. The first product to feature this hydrophobic application is the Cavalier t-shirt.
The Cavalier is a 100% cotton white t-shirt. Given the color, this makes the hydrophobic application a perfect addition. It comes in a slim fit, so ordering a size up is recommended. The Cavalier is fully machine washable, and its water repellency can be reactivated every few washes by tumble drying at normal to low heat. The Cavalier also comes in black.
Here you can see liquids such as water and juice also being repelled by the shirt. The coating is effective against virtually any water-based substances, including maple syrup, chocolate sauce, hot sauce, red wine, and more. It does not work well against oil-based liquids, however.
Seeing the aftermath of the colored liquids, you may feel the shirt has been stained. However, as demonstrated in the video below, application of additional water will quickly remove the ‘set-in’ stains. Typically, an amount equivalent to a large bottle of water is all that is needed.
Threadsmiths has developed an impressive hydrophobic application. We look forward to seeing what future products will also feature these same hydrophobic properties. Plus, having a white t-shirt that you don’t have to worry about staining is a nice bonus.
For those of you not in the know, Private Bloggins is the blog side of CTOMS, offering stories and recommendations regarding their products, along with plenty of other great stuff.
They recently put up a post regarding the use of sanitary pads, diapers, and tampons, and why they don’t make for the best dressings when used for hemorrhages.
During a recent early morning drive, I was on my way to the base gym to PT before work and oddly enough, there was a news story on the radio about gyms. The story was about how large numbers of people will sign up for expensive gym memberships, with the sincere hope of losing weight and getting in better shape, then they almost never go. This is really nothing new. In the 90’s when I was on recruiting duty in upstate New York, I saw this first hand. I was assigned to an area that was a long way from any military gym. So I had to lay out a few bucks for a membership to a local civilian place. I luckily found a little gym right near my office that had everything I needed. Now this place was one of those old brick store front type you see in a lot of small towns. It was probably an old drug store, or something like that when it opened decades earlier. It was very small, they just had a few treadmills and stationary bikes in the main room and some free weights in the basement. No sauna, no aerobics room and not even a real locker room, just a small bathroom to change. I went there almost daily for over a year and never saw more than a handful of people at once working out. I’ve actually seen a few home gym setups that were bigger, and better outfitted than this place. However, as it was never crowded, close by and opened at 0500 during the week, it was perfect for my purposes.
So one day after my workout I was speaking to the owner, and I asked him how he managed to keep the place open with so few members? “So few members?” he said with a smile. “You may not believe me, but we have over 500 paid memberships in this little gym.” 500?, I almost didn’t believe him. Yes, he said. What happens is that people sign up for a year’s (paid in advance) membership, and after a few visits, are never seen again? The fact was, that for fire safety purposes, that gym was only rated to hold 80 people at once. According to the owner, he had never seen even 50 of his 500 plus members in there at one time. So this is nothing new.
However, I was surprised to read in the article that many gyms now actually try to attract people that they know won’t go. To do this they set the gyms up to look more like coffee shops and bars to attract people who aren’t serious about working out. These “non users” actually keep the cost down for those who do go. On the surface it’s seems a very weird thing for people to fall for, but many people think that if they sign up, and spend money in advance, it will some how motivate them to go and workout. The fact is, that (as the article bears out), rarely happens. The reason is simple. The desire to lose weight and/or improve your physical condition has very little to do with how much money you spend, (BTW, there are a lot of overweight rich people). It has everything to do with how you think about it. I know this from long experience training myself and others. That’s why in my book: Corps Strength I talk so much about the mental side of this. To maintain a successful (long term) fitness program, you have to get your thinking right before you even lace up a sneaker. It’s by far the most important part of any fitness program. Without the right thought process, you’re doomed before you even start, and it can also end up being a big waste of money. So do yourself and your bank account a favor. Get your head screwed on right before you lay out your hard earned cash on a gym membership, or for expensive home workout gear. Your attitude is not only the most important part of your fitness program, it’s free.
Semper Fi
MGunz
The topic of safety is always at the front of every individual and institutions consciousness. The obvious concern is to ensure people are not injured or killed in the conduct of training but safety has taken a turn years ago away from common sense to rote compliance. Often times range protocol is confused with range safety. Range protocol is that which a range complex will or will not allow individuals or groups to do as well as specific control measures and procedures designed, in the eyes of those that created them, to minimize risk. This is counterproductive to learning and good training because it does not require individuals to think and often violates tactical principles. They are designed to replace individual thought and proficiency. The implied task in all training is safety and that translates directly to operational safety.
A few examples:
• “Point your weapon down range” when actually you mean “Point your weapon in a safe direction.”
o Down range is an administratively designated area where projectiles are intended to impact. Conditions and range status will identify it as a direction where a weapon may or may not be safely pointed and discharged.
o A Safe Direction by definition is a conscious decision to point and manipulate a weapon in a direction where a negligent, accidental or mechanical failure discharge cannot harm personnel or equipment.
o Down range is not always a safe direction so regardless of official status be aware. You are responsible for what your weapon does!
• Not allowing someone to pick up a magazine that has been ejected and bounced 6” over the established firing line.
o If it is so unsafe to reach over the firing line 6” (which I have witnessed repeatedly in institutional training both Mil and LE) then it’s probably not safe to even be standing next to the shooters on your left and right. Statistically more people are shot in parking lots at ranges than on the firing line.
• Requiring shooters to drop a magazine on the ground when unloading. The methodology behind this is “if you drop a magazine into your hand on the range you’ll do it in a gunfight.”
o If you can’t separate the difference between being in a gunfight and needing to reload your pistol/rifle versus clearing your system at the end of a firing sequence then you really shouldn’t have one in your hands if you may ever need it under pressure.
Protocol robs the individual of the authority to think and in doing so people will not think because their actions are dictated. There is no individual more dangerous to themselves or others than those in possession of a lethal implement who are not only not thinking but not allowed to think only follow instructions.
I have been in the presence of negligent discharges, some that have resulted in injury and one of three things that are always the first words out of the shooters mouth are either:
“I didn’t see…”
“I didn’t know…”
“I didn’t think…”
The last one is the only one that counts and the cause of the catastrophic failure. YOU DIDN”T THINK!!
Do not confuse protocol with safety! Protocol may or may not enhance safety but safety itself is a standalone concept. There is safe training, high risk safe training and unsafe training.
• Safe training is that which has been managed in a manner where injury is minimized by design and control measures. It is usually very basic in nature and highly structured.
• High Risk safe training is more complex training with an elevated amount of assumed risk but is deemed necessary for operational requirements. It has specific control measures in place to mitigate the chance of mishap or injury.
• Unsafe training is that which assumes an unnecessary amount of risk or more often than not is poorly designed and managed creating unnecessary and potentially catastrophic results. It lends itself to injury and catastrophic results and must never be undertaken.
There is no time when unsafe training is acceptable.
Safety:
• Treat all weapons as though they are loaded regardless of their perceived condition.
• Never point a weapon at anything you are not willing to kill or damage.
• Keep your weapon on safe and finger off the trigger until your sights are aligned and you have made the conscious decision to fire.
• Know your target, foreground, background, left and right. Be aware of the ballistic capability of your weapon, the intended target and the backstop.
Down range is an administratively designated area where projectiles are intended to impact. Conditions and range status will identify it as a direction where a weapon may or may not be safely pointed and discharged. A Safe Direction by definition is a conscious decision to point and manipulate a weapon in a direction where a negligent, accidental or mechanical failure discharge cannot harm personnel or equipment.
Down range is not always a safe direction
If you have any doubt as to your actions STOP, THINK and then act accordingly because you can’t recall the bullet once it’s gone. Be safe and not a robot. In practice robotic actions are devoid of thought and that is ultimately dangerous. Protocol be damned, think first!
– 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.
Freedom Fighters Foundation is a non-profit civil liberties organization, with the goal to “advance and protect the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution as originally intended by the Founding Fathers.” Nearly every member of the organization either works directly for the Government or as a security contractor. Freedom Fighters Foundation is currently holding a sweepstakes for one lucky winner to receive a ‘Tactical Training Adventure’, where they’ll experience an all-expense paid 5-day course, including classes with multiple weapon systems and aerial gunner training.
The full details of the available prizes can be read below:
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Visit FFFUSA.ORG to complete an entry form for a chance to win, no purchase necessary to enter or win, some limitations do apply see sweepstakes rules for complete details.
freedomfightersfoundation.org/sweepstakes
