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Archive for August, 2023

Veteran Business Focus – Silver Oak Leaf Inc

Saturday, August 12th, 2023

I asked fellow veteran John Long about his company Silver Oak Leaf Inc. The name is a no-brained as he’s a retired Lieutenant Colonel but what he’s up to is pretty interesting although John sums to up nicely, saying he’s “Creating Strategic Teaming Relationships.”

He went on to say, “I launched Silver Oak Leaf Inc six years ago to continue to improve Personal Protective Equipment.”

John’s position is that protection begins at the uniform layer out and includes more than ballistic protection – such as flame resistance, specific developments for extreme cold weather (artic) and extreme hot/humid (jungle). ?

He helps industry transfer innovative textile based products such as lighter weight fabrics to innovative cold weather fibers to power and data e-textiles and working to improve flame resistance and increased durability.

This year he expanded to focus on developing and delivering innovation for hands, feet and face extreme cold weather protection.

Using the experience he gained over the last 30+ years as a US Army officer and industry executive, John helps assist in navigating organizational structures to overcome barriers in funding, testing and trial.

John wrapped up our conversation by relating, “So I was the PEO Soldier guy then after retiring joined Propper Intl as Dir Business Development then to INVISTA and the Cordura brand as Innovation Manager. Then launched my own company Jan 2018. I manufacture uniforms for DLA as well as specific development projects and do strategic planning on a project basis.”

silveroakleafinc.com

BDG Rehearses ACE, Validates SFS Tactics at Red Flag

Saturday, August 12th, 2023

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. — The 820th Base Defense Group (BDG) honed their air base defense expertise necessary for Agile Combat Employment, July 16 to 30, 2023, during exercise Red Flag 23-3 at Nellis AFB, Nev.

During the exercise, 83 air base defense professionals and security forces members combined forces from seven squadrons to independently rehearse forward operating site and contingency-location missions while validating security force-specific implementation.

“The BDG is unique in that we focus on the downrange deployment related execution tasks,” said Col. Joe Sorensen, 820th BDG Commander. “The BDG benefits from being singularly focused on expeditionary and contingency operations, allowing us to develop combat-related capabilities and provide that expertise to elevate the security forces enterprise.”

A BDG headquarters element aligned 66-members from various organizations’ Air Force Specialty Codes into a blue force team which executed three iterations of establishing the temporary basing structure required for Agile Combat Employment.

ACE relies on the agile combat support provided by forward operating sites and contingency locations to provide temporary basing options for refueling and rearmament of aircraft closer to the fight to provide flexibility to combatant commanders in how they employ air assets.

“The first thing that we highlighted was the success of our headquarters element,” said Master Sgt. Bradley Akers, 820th BDG weapons and tactics chief. “We haven’t had a formal battle staff training program in the BDG for quite a while, so this has been the opportunity for us to redesign it, retrain it, and see how it operates.”

This headquarters element received warning orders and air tasking orders anywhere from 30 to 72 hours in advance of a mission and was responsible for generating operations orders, organizing squads, aggregating mission information and directing security and sustainment for up to 36 hours of continuous field operations.

“Had we not had the BDG’s headquarters element, it would not have been nearly as successful as it was,” said Master Sgt. Niles Bartram, 377th Weapons System Security Squadron weapons and tactics chief. “It was a pretty clear indicator that the BDG members bring a significant capability, and we need to find a way to duplicate that in some of our traditional squadrons if we’re going to be able to execute these ACE mission-sets or future theater operations.”

These personnel didn’t have access to aircraft to perform their training, but they didn’t allow this limitation to impede their ability to provide a realistic training and testing opportunity required to validate the tactics they generated. A motivated adversary force led by Air Force Special Operations Command’s Deployed Aircraft Ground Response Element provided a very real threat which tested defensive fortifications and Airmen’s fortitude alike.

These blue force air base defenders entrenched in the desert landscape in temperatures elevating to a peak of 117 degrees Fahrenheit as their adversaries launched physical attacks with blank rounds and attempted to exploit vulnerabilities found through ground reconnaissance.

Through this arduous testing of defensive capabilities, 820th BDG members and their mission partners validated that their new squad sizes and formations function and survive first contact with an adversary.

“We took a lot of tactics that are in development at the BDG, new [unit type code] squad sizes, to include rifle squad, weapons squads, headquarters elements, reconnaissance teams, and we’ve tested all those out there with non-BDG security forces members to see what kind of leveling training is needed security forces-wide,” said Akers. “We learned that a lot of our new squad sizes and formations work, and they can be trained throughout the enterprise with minimal leveling training.”

These validations contribute to the 820th BDG objectives of restructuring to meet future warfighting demands.

“We’re trying to bring ourselves back to focusing on defense aligned with doctrine,” said Akers. “We’re reorganizing ourselves, and we’re trying to use that information to reorganize the whole career field to do any type of defensive operation.”

Story by 1st Lt Christian Little, 93rd Air Ground Operations Wing

Olympic Hopefuls on the Path to Paris: One Year Out from the 2024 Games

Friday, August 11th, 2023

COLO SPRGS, CO – It’s said that all roads lead to Rome, but for Team USA, the destination is Paris, the host city of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Athletes all over the country are working tirelessly day in and day out to hone their strength and skills with their sights on one goal: the opportunity to represent their country on an Olympic team. With opening ceremonies taking place July 26, 2024, we are now one year out from the world’s preeminent contest of sport.

American competitive shooting has a rich and proud history, boasting legends like Olympic Hall of Fame inductee Lones Wigger, women’s trailblazer Margaret Murdoch, and icons Gary Anderson and Lanny Bassham. The USA claims the most Olympic medals of any country in shooting at 116, almost twice the count of the second-place country, China. Bolstered by a culture that values the safe, sporting use of firearms, today’s Olympic heroes and hopefuls follow in the footsteps of history’s giants to make history of their own. Each is pursuing a dream many years in the making, with a unique story that led them to the Path to Paris.

Dubbed “The King of Skeet,” three-time gold medalist and Paris Olympic hopeful Vincent Hancock found his competitive drive-in baseball as a child, but by age 11, thanks to shooting with his father, skeet shooting had captured his full attention. By age 14, he had won his first Junior National Championship, and at 16 he had captured a World Championship title. In 2006, at age 17, he joined the United States Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) to further his training. Only two years later, he stepped atop the highest podium in the world to be awarded the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the youngest winner ever in that event. His Olympic path continued in 2012 as he won another gold in London, the first shotgun athlete to win consecutive Olympic gold medals. Hancock again dominated at the 2020 Tokyo Games to win an unprecedented third gold medal in skeet. 

“I’m not a superstitious person, so I’m not much on good luck charms or rituals,” says Hancock. “What I do believe in is consistency. With that in mind, I do like to compete in the same clothing and shoes that I practice in, so I have multiples of everything!”

Now on the Path to Paris, looking to qualify for the 2024 Olympics, Hancock is also intent on giving back to the sport by coaching and mentoring other athletes. “I would say to my younger self to always remember to have fun,” said Hancock. “Remember why you started shooting.” 

Rifle Olympic hopeful Sagen Maddalena also had important early influences leading her to shooting sports: her father and grandfather. Starting out in a 4-H shooting sports program, she later joined the award-winning California Grizzlies junior high-power rifle team, where she was motivated to beat the boys. Maddalena went on to shoot for the University of Alaska Fairbanks rifle team and earned eight All-American titles. Like Hancock, Maddalena also joined the USAMU, going on to earn multiple national titles, set national records, and earn a spot on the 2020 Tokyo Olympic team, finishing 5th in Women’s 50m Rifle 3-Positions. Later that year, she won the prestigious invitation-only International Shooting Sports Federation President’s Cup in the same event, then secured the silver medal and a USA quota spot for the Paris Olympic Games at the 2022 World Championships in a nail-biter final. She hopes to be the one filling that quota on her Path to Paris.

Among her many memories of competing overseas, tobogganing in Austria remains a favorite. She targets bass at the end of a fishing rod while off the range. “Be a sponge,” she would tell her younger self. “Listen and watch your mentors and coaches. Watch and learn from your competitors.”

A 4-H club and a father’s influence also gave pistol Olympic hopeful Katelyn Abeln her start in shooting sports, though it wasn’t until she shot air pistol at a makeshift target in a CrossFit gym that she fell in love with the sport. She competed at her first National Junior Olympic Championships at the age of 12 and hasn’t looked back. Rising in the junior ranks, Abeln joined the Ohio State University pistol team and has since become an accomplished open competitor, winning a gold medal at the 2022 Championship of the Americas in Women’s 25m Sport Pistol and securing a quota spot for the 2024 Paris Games for USA. 

While shooting is serious business for Abeln, she emphasizes the importance of fun, from upbeat music prior to a competition to making memories with other competitors. At her first international competition in the Czech Republic, she recalls, “We played cards in the hallway of the hotel, explored the city, and ate new food. It doesn’t seem like much when you are in the moment, but looking back, [the memories] seem more special than ever.” Crowned this year’s National Champion in 25m Sport Pistol, Abeln has the Path to Paris clearly in her sights.

These and numerous other hopefuls train with determination as they dream of representing the USA on the world stage next year, building upon an impressive history of American competitive shooting athletes. While only a select few will be named to the team, every athlete’s sacrifice and drive for excellence in the shooting sports makes us proud.

Opening Ceremonies for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place July 26, 2024. Watch for Paralympic athlete features as we approach one year out from the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremonies, to be held August 28, 2024.

Support your Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls on the Path to Paris and beyond by donating to USA Shooting at usashooting.org/get-involved/donate or by becoming a member at members.usashooting.org/memberregistration.

By Reya Kempley, USAS Strategic Communications Coordinator 

 

USAF Pararescue Specialists & Astronaut/Entrepreneur Larry Connor Announce World-Record Skydive to Raise $1 M for Special Operations Warrior Foundation

Friday, August 11th, 2023

Alpha 5 Project Announces World-Record Skydive to Raise $1 Million for Special Operations Warrior Foundation

Alpha 5 Team Will Use Michigan Created Balloon– the Largest in America for 35,000 Transport Before Jump

[Melbourne, Fla.–August 10, 2023] – Operator Solutions, a leading provider of specialized search and rescue solutions to the commercial spaceflight and private sectors, and Larry Connor, pilot of the Axiom Space Ax-1 Mission and Founder and Managing Partner of The Connor Group, a nationally recognized real estate investment firm, are proud to announce the launch of the Alpha 5 Project, a mission to set a new world record for the highest HALO (high altitude, low opening) formation skydive and raise $1 million for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) through donations at specialops.org/alpha5.

To break the existing unofficial world record for the highest HALO formation, skydive, the five jumpers will ascend to an altitude of 35,000 feet in a specially designed hot air balloon along with a balloon pilot and O2 Tech while following HALO safety protocols and wearing full oxygen equipment. From there, the jumpers will exit the balloon, link arms, and form a five-person formation before safely separating and landing. A representative from Guinness World Records will be present to assess and validate the record-setting achievement.

The Alpha 5 Project mission is to highlight the invaluable work carried out by SOWF, while also serving as a tribute to the remarkable skills and technical prowess of U.S. Air Force Special Warfare Pararescue Specialists known as “PJs.” SOWF honors fallen Special Operations Personnel, and all Medal of Honor Recipients, by providing comprehensive educational opportunities to their children, “cradle to career,” from preschool through college, as well as immediate financial support to wounded, ill, and injured Special Operations Personnel.

Impressed by Operator Solutions’ commitment to excellence during the Ax-1 Mission to the International Space Station, Connor approached Founder and CEO Brandon Daugherty to collaborate on a high-altitude jump for a purpose. Daugherty, a PJ, and Chief Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, assembled a team of four current and former PJs (including himself) to perform the jump alongside Connor, as well as a full support team to ensure its safe and successful execution.

“The Alpha 5 Project combines the challenge of setting a world record with the purpose of raising awareness for an incredible organization that honors the legacy of Special Operations Personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our Nation,” said Connor. “I’m proud to be able to shine a light on these unsung heroes and the incredible technical expertise and dedication of the PJs and the Special Operations community. They are the best of the best.”

“Special Operations Warrior Foundation is an incredible organization that cares for the children and the legacy of America’s Special Operations Personnel and, as someone with seven overseas deployments to combat zones, it’s a cause that is near and dear to my heart and to everyone in the Special Operations community,” added Daugherty. “We’re excited to make this jump to shine a spotlight on this great organization and raise the funds that will allow them to continue their mission.”

“We invite the Nation to join us in celebrating the exceptional capabilities of America’s PJs and the enduring mission of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Together, we can make a significant impact on the lives of our country’s heroes and ensure a bright future for their children,” shared Major General (Ret.) Clayton M. Hutmacher, President & CEO of Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

The Alpha 5 Project will take place at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, NM, within the jump window of September 15 to October 15 (due to weather conditions and restrictions).

100% of funds raised will go directly to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

Learn more and donate at specialops.org/alpha5.

TacJobs – Knights Armament

Friday, August 11th, 2023

Multiple positions are currently open at Knight’s Titusville facility.

Please feel free to look under the Employment Opportunities’ page at www.knightarmco.com/careers

Wilcox Industries 2023 Catalog

Friday, August 11th, 2023

Download it here.

T8 ANTHEM from Garmont Tactical

Friday, August 11th, 2023

Made in the USA, the T8 ANTHEM is an athletic, comfortable style, with lightweight soles and uppers assembled in Tennessee. Utilizing a traditional 1.8mm suede leather upper, and an abrasion resistant and breathable nylon fabric insert offering an athletic fit and feel. Additional features include Zama alloy hooks that provide a safe and reliable closure system. The Garmont® PU Footbed, combined with an injected PU outsole creates needed flexibility and lightness as well as comfort. MSRP $215.

Available now in size 7-14 in medium and wide widths.

garmonttactical.com/product/26378694/t-8-anthem-regular

FirstSpear Friday Focus – Limited Edition Spicy Uber T-shirt

Friday, August 11th, 2023

Embrace your rowdy side with the Limited Edition Spicy Uber T-Shirt! This edgy shirt is a nod to the clandestine air support dedicated to SOF units It’s comfortable fit and lightweight fabric make it perfect for every occasion. With a wicked MH-47G design that packs a punch, this shirt will turn heads and get a conversation going.

Not for the faint of heart — it’s the fiercest way to show your pride for our rotary wing warriors. Own the night and show them who’s boss with the Spicy Uber T-Shirt, while supplies last.

Visit FirstSpear to find American Made kit and accessories, Built For The X.