Tom Austin and Sam Houston bring an enormous amount of night vision, tactical and hunting experience that will continue to grow TNVC and our newest sister commercial entity, NightGoggles into a premier NV/Hunting company which our valued customers have come to expect. We are all extremely excited with the growth of our two companies and we will continue to provide the best customer service and education in our respected fields of work.
Tom Austin
NGI/TNVC
Programs Director
Tom Austin’s passion for the outdoors runs deep. His father, an avid outdoorsman, instilled the love of hunting, fishing, camping and sport shooting in Tom at an early age. His childhood was filled with high adventure. Barely a day passed by when Tom didn’t have a fishing rod or firearm in his hands enjoying Gods creations with friends and family.
In his early twenties, Tom entered the Utah State Peace Officers and Training program, graduating with honors, producing a perfect score at every pistol qualification earning him the award of Top Shot at the academy.
Upon graduating, Tom was quickly recruited as a Police Officer where he served the citizens proudly as he climbed the chain of command from patrol to investigations. There he was assigned to operate as an Under-Cover Agent of an elite unit of the department known as the Narcotics Strikeforce. The unit trained for and performed high-risk operations and no-knock warrants with the SWAT Team, FBI, ATF, ICE, and DEA. During his tenure as a Police Officer, he received several Mayor’s Awards, a Distinguished Unit award for outstanding teamwork in hostile situations, two Life Saving awards, and the rank of Expert Marksman. He’s certified in several NRA disciplines and enjoys sharing his knowledge and experiences about firearms and his love for the second amendment.
After nearly a decade, Tom resigned from the police force to pursue his dream as a Professional Hunter. His goal was to not only do things differently, but to up-the-ante by guiding hunters that wanted the ultimate challenge coupled with the ultimate thrill. Nothing is more exciting or daunting than hunting another hunter. As a result, Tom opened his “predators only” guide service aptly called Predator Strikeforce. He literally hunts predators from Canada to Mexico and every hilltop and valley floor in between. As an added challenge, Tom films the hunt for his clients using broadcast quality equipment giving the hunter an opportunity to relive the hunt though the footage he captures. His footage has been seen on The Outdoor Channel, Sportsman’s Channel, Weather Channel, and Wild TV.
When Tom isn’t traveling the country for Predator Strikeforce, he is writing editorials for Predator Xtreme magazine, Outdoor Life, AR Guns & Hunting, Trapper & Predator Caller, Petersen’s Hunting and Hunting Illustrated just to name a few. He’s been awarded “writer of the year” and “column of the year” for three consecutive years. He serves as Pro Staff and Field Staff for several cutting edge companies in the outdoor industry where he conducts predator hunting seminars and serves as a guest lecturer for hunting events around the globe.
For Tom, hunting, firearms and the outdoors aren’t just an obsession, but a way of life.
Sam Houston
Programs Manager – NGI/TNVC
Sam Houston is a veteran hunter in varying capacities. Spending over 10 years in the Navy using lowlight cameras, Image intensification, and thermal cameras and many other sensors as a P-3 Orion crew member tracking and hunting submarines, spying on overland and maritime targets and supporting troops on the ground around the globe.
Transitioning from the Military to a Private Sector Contractor in 2010 operating, flying and maintaining UAV’s and as a Sensor Operator onboard clandestine forward deployed surveillance aircraft supporting SOCOM military assets in places like The Middle East, Eastern Africa and Subsaharan Africa for the past 6 years.
In addition to owning and operating a Night Vision and thermal hog hunting company taking clients into the swamps, forests, and jungles of The South Eastern United States to detect, stalk, and harvest feral hogs, he is a graduate of multiple firearms and NV centric training classes from some of the most reputable trainers in the industry, assists in firearms training with Greenline Tactical, a Night Vision subject matter expert, a certified UAV operator, and rotary wing pilot.
Tags: NightGoggles, TNVC