When I found out my friend Andrea’s fleece blankets were being zucc’d from Facebook because they feature her drawings of guns (Egad!), I felt that I needed to let you know about them.
Art of the Gun’s Etsy store features a variety of her work, including prints and now queen sized fleece blankets like this one, emblazoned with the Winkler Axe and Tan Glock 19X image.
Check out the Etsy shop.
U.S. Marines with 3d Reconnaissance Battalion, 3d Marine Division conduct an M18 pistol live-fire range at Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan. This routine training enables Marines to maintain proficiency in marksmanship and close combat. The M18 Modular Handgun System is a striker-fired, semi-automatic, 9-mm pistol. Fielded in 2020, the M18 will replace all other pistols in the Marine Corps inventory, including the M9, M9A1, M45A1 and M007.
The M18 falls under our Portfolio Manager Ground Combat Element Systems. PfM GCES provides and sustains fully integrated kinetic weapon systems and equipment to increase the lethality of our Marines.
By Sgt Jennifer Andrade
Rheinmetall has a new print and online magazine entitled DIMENSIONS which offers greater depth on the things that the company is involved in.
A horrible scourge is stealing the health from many of my friends, and taking the lives of still others. Heavy metal poisoning is an affliction we are just beginning to comprehend. It almost sounds like some quaint illness from the 19th century but its effects are manifesting themselves in members of the profession of arms. So far, the SOF community has been at the forefront of identifying it but as this briefing by Jim Schatz shows, so many more have been exposed to heavy metals.
Jim Schatz left us with a great deal of information on small arms, but this briefing on the effects of heavy metal poisoning, presented to the NDIA Joint Armaments Forum in 2014, is one we should all review. Just take a look at the symptoms. They are easy to rationalize as another illness, or “just getting old”. As you’ll learn in this briefing, exposure is much simpler than spending lots of time in a shoothouse. I’ll go one step further than this briefing and remind those who’ve deployed that exposure to industrial waste is more likely in locales that lack effective means of disposal.
Please, take a few minutes to go over this briefing. Many of our breathren are suffering from the effects of heavy metal poisoning. One of them could be you.
To download your copy, click here.
Thanks to the SOF Health Initiatives Program for sharing this briefing with us.
BOISE, Idaho — Pfc. Cooper Hayes has only served in the Idaho Army National Guard for 14 months, but he has already compiled a career’s worth of accomplishments. Over the past 11 months, the 20-year-old has completed the U.S. Army’s Ranger, Airborne and Air Assault schools.
“It’s been a long year,” Hayes said.
Hayes moved from Bothell, Washington, to Boise to attend Boise State University and enlisted into the Idaho Army National Guard in October 2021 to help pay for college, where he is a business student.
He took a semester off from school to attend the Army’s 11B infantry school at Fort Benning and was planning on being home in time to resume classes in August. That changed after he was offered the chance to attend Ranger School.
“I wanted to challenge myself and be the best Soldier I can be,” he said. “So, I decided to take another semester off and go to Ranger School. It sucked in the moment, but it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve done in my life.”
On average, less than 50 percent of Soldiers complete the first phase of the three-phase course, making it one of the Army’s most challenging courses. The course is 61 days and tests Soldiers’ physical stamina, mental toughness and tactical fundamentals.
After earning his Ranger tab, Hayes completed the Basic Airborne Course to earn his jump wings. Earlier this month, he completed the Army’s Air Assault School. Air Assault School has close to a 55 percent fail rate, including a washout rate of 15 percent on the first day.
“Airborne and air assault were great experiences,” Hayes said. “They are both another thing to add to my resume.”
Hayes is currently assigned to C Company, 2-116th Combined Arms Battalion, Idaho’s only infantry company. He plans to commission through the Boise State University Army ROTC program.
By MAJ Robert Taylor, Idaho Army National Guard
The Hungarian state is building a new explosives plant to produce RDX (Research Department eXplosive) at its site in Várpalota, Hungary. Rheinmetall Denel Munition Pty (Ltd) from South Africa is supplying the necessary plant technology. Under the contract signed on 15 December 2022, a new plant will be built and operated by a joint venture consisting of Rheinmetall and N7 Holding, a state-owned Hungarian enterprise.
The contract is worth a figure in the low three-digit million-euro range.
Now that the planning phase is complete, the project will start in 2023, so that production can begin by 2027. The explosives produced in the new plant can be used for artillery, tank, and mortar ammunition, among other things. The contract covers the supply of plant engineering, technology, and process know-how as well as the associated documentation, training, and all activities necessary to achieve full-scale production.
The project is a strategic investment by Hungary in cooperation with Rheinmetall in response to the shortage of explosives resulting from strong demand for ammunition in Europe and NATO. At the same time, it promotes Europe’s independence from overseas imports in this sector.
Once completed and taken over by the Hungarian state, Rheinmetall AG will be the primary customer for the explosives produced by the plant.
ANOKA, Minnesota – January 6, 2023 – Federal Ammunition is proud to announce new handgun ammunition options for 2023. Several all-new products and line extensions will be showcased and on display at the 2023 SHOT Show (Booth No. 11838), January 17–20 at the Venetian Expo and Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada. These new additions include new offerings in Federal’s Train + Protect, Punch, and Gold Medal product lines.
Federal engineers designed both Punch ammunition and the new 30 Super Carry cartridge from the ground up for self-defense, and the two have come together in a load that’s far easier to shoot effectively. The blending of the two technologies gives shooters an extremely effective option for real-world defense.
Compete at the highest level with loads designed specifically for the action shooting sports. New Gold Medal Action Pistol—available in 9mm Luger and 40 S&W—offers even better accuracy and consistency than original Gold Medal, and it’s loaded to power-factor requirements. The fully encapsulated FMJ bullet and Catalyst lead-free primer deliver cleaner shooting.
Federal has made it easier than ever to honor your birthright to bear arms with a new Train + Protect load in 10mm Auto. The full-power offering features a VHP bullet to deliver both precise, practical performance at the range, and instant, reliable expansion on impact.
Attendees of the 2023 SHOT Show are encouraged to stop by Booth No. 11838 for a first-hand look at these new products and more. Information about the new products and line extensions can soon be found on Federal’s brand website.
For more information on all products from Federal or to shop online, visit www.federalpremium.com.
LEWISTON, Idaho – January 5, 2023 – Speer and CCI Ammunition are proud to announce new ammunition options for 2023. Two all-new products will be showcased and on display at the 2023 SHOT Show (Booth No. 11838), January 17–20 at the Venetian Expo and Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada. These new additions include Speer’s Gold Dot Carbine and CCI’s Clean-22 Hyper Velocity ammunition.
“We are extremely proud of these two new product introductions,” said Jesse Whiteside, CCI and Speer’s Product Management Senior Director. “For the first time ever, defenders can get Speer Gold Dot’s legendary accuracy and terminal performance in ammunition built specifically for carbine platforms. Also, CCI rimfire shooters can now get all the benefits of Clean-22 technology with the flat trajectories and power of an extreme velocity load.”
New Speer Gold Dot Carbine produces ideal velocities through carbine-length barrels and cycles flawlessly. The G2-style, elastomer-filled bullet nose is tuned to produce extremely effective penetration and expansion through common barriers. Available in one 135 grain 9mm Luger load.
New CCI Clean-22 22 LR Hyper Velocity clocks in at 1,550 fps, while its exclusive purple, polymer bullet coating reduces fouling, especially in suppressed rimfires.
Attendees of the 2023 SHOT Show are encouraged to stop by Booth No. 11838 for a first-hand look at these new products and more. Information about the new products can soon be found on Speer and CCI’s brand website.
Speer and CCI Ammunition can be found at dealers nationwide. For more information on all products or to shop online, visit www.speer.com and www.cci-ammunition.com.
