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Jay Leno Joins Forces with Veterans Charity Ride for a Second Year

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016

LOS ANGELES – July 29, 2016 – Comedian and host of Jay Leno’s Garage, Jay Leno, will serve as honorary chairman for Veterans Charity Ride and its new year-round motorcycle therapy program. Leno first became involved with the organization during its inaugural ride last year when he hosted veterans at his garage in Los Angeles. The Veterans Charity Ride to Sturgis will kick off again this Saturday, July 30. Leno, a longtime motorcycle enthusiast, will support the veterans as they ride from Los Angeles to the 76th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. The ride provides motorcycle therapy to veterans as an outlet for post-traumatic stress (PTS) and other challenges associated with assimilation back to civilian life.

“This is the second year I’ll be supporting the Veterans Charity Ride, and I’ve already learned so much from interacting with these courageous men and women,” said Leno. “I’m very thankful to be part of such a worthwhile and life-changing event with heroes who share my passion for cars and motorcycles.”

In addition to Leno, actor Mark Wahlberg, another motorcycle enthusiast, has shared his support for Veterans Charity Ride. This year, Wahlberg created a personal greeting video, as well as a series of videos, announcing his support of the program and showing his gratitude to veterans for their service.

“I’m so inspired by the brave men and women I’ve met through Veterans Charity Ride, and it has been an incredible experience to work alongside them on such a great cause,” said Wahlberg.

Joining the veterans for the launch at LA. City Fire Station #77, 9224 Sunland Blvd, Sun Valley CA 91352 on Saturday is Danny Trejo, iconic actor, motorcycle enthusiast and veteran supporter.

“I am honored to be at the launch of the Veterans Charity Ride. These veterans have given so much to this country, and I am happy to support them as they take off for this life-changing ride,” said Trejo.

Founded by veteran Army paratrooper Dave Frey and Emmy-award-winning director Robert Manciero, Veterans Charity Ride, along with main sponsor Indian Motorcycle, treats veterans to the ride of a lifetime. During the 1,776-mile ride through the western United States, the participating wounded and amputee veterans not only ride together but also come together to share their experiences with one another. The ride ultimately serves as a mechanism for them to begin to heal, de-stress and find emotional balance through the brotherhood of riding. Recently designated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Veterans Charity Ride will broaden its commitment to veterans with year-round support as an outlet for their stress, and create a way for them to bond with other veterans.

“As a veteran, I’ve used riding motorcycles as a way to alleviate stress for years. Many veterans, especially today’s younger veterans, suffer from PTS and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and they need a positive outlet to help them cope,” said Dave Frey, founder of Veterans Charity Ride. “Motorcyclists will tell you that riding isn’t just a hobby; it’s an experience that deeply impacts you. I realized that motorcycle therapy could be that positive experience for veterans.”

Several veterans who have suffered traumatic amputations will also participate in the ride. They will ride Indian Motorcycles with sidecars donated by Champion Sidecar. The sidecars the iconic journey to Sturgis possible for riding enthusiasts who can no longer operate traditional motorcycles without modification, including veteran Marine Sean Carroll, who will join the ride for a second year as a mentor.

This year, the ride will make six stops, including Las Vegas and Denver, before arriving in Sturgis for the weeklong rally and its festivities. During the rally, the veterans will partake in the ultimate Sturgis experience, which includes riding as special guests during the Buffalo Chip’s Freedom Celebration Ride.

Sponsorship and support for Veterans Charity Ride is provided this year by Indian Motorcycle, Monster Energy, Champion Sidecars, Lexus, Liberty Sport, Nordic Components, Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys, Sturgis Buffalo Chip, Cycle Gear, WASPcam, Branigan Communications, WhiteHeart Foundation and Resurgence Jeans.

For more information about Veterans Charity Ride, visit http://veteranscharityride.org.

Posted in Charity, Press Release | 2 Comments »

National PTSD Awareness Day coming up June 27th

Friday, June 17th, 2016

Click to view .pdf

The Elk Institute is in need of donations to sustain their free services for our active duty and veterans. Dr Carrie Elk has been doing some phenomenal work with Veterans suffering from PTSD at the Elk Institute. She has even been known to make trips to military bases in order to reach those who can’t travel. If you give to Combined Federal Campaign, consider this charity. If not, visit their website, learn more, and help them help our men and women.

elkinstitute.org

Tags: Elk Institute
Posted in Charity, Medical, Veterans | 2 Comments »

Spirit of Blue Foundation Awards Patrol Rifle Grant To Cicero (NY) Police Department

Monday, June 13th, 2016

Cicero Police Department Receives Patrol Rifle Grant From The Spirit of Blue Foundation.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – June 13, 2016 – The Spirit of Blue Foundation announced that it has awarded a Safety Equipment Grant to the Cicero Police Department (CPD) for the acquisition of three AR-15 style rifles and essential accessories, valued at $9,065.43. The rifles constitute the creation of the CPD’s patrol rifle program, a capability they do not currently have, for the protection of its officers. CPD Officers will be trained in their use and the rifles and accessories will be staged in patrol cars for deployment.

Spirit of Blue presented the Cicero Police Department three LMT Defense rifles along with essential accessories to start their patrol rifle program. Receiving the grant was Town Councilor Mike Becallo; Town Supervisor Mark Venesky; Sergeant James Snell; and Chief Joseph Snell (left to right). The grant was presented by Spirit of Blue Executive Director Ryan T. Smith (center).

“These rifles will be a great asset to the Department and the community. It is important that we are prepared to respond to critical incidents with the proper equipment,” commented Chief Joseph Snell of the Cicero Police Department. “Having the proper equipment and resources provides a higher level of safety for our Officers and the residents of Cicero.”

The CQB16 rifles were generously donated by premier rifle manufacturer LMT Defense, which was founded in 1980 to provide the US Military, law enforcement and government agencies with precision engineered, high quality weapons. Since that time LMT Defense has gone on to distribute its product to militaries, national police agencies and VIP protection details in 43 nations around the world. Each rifle will come complete with an EOTech Holographic Weapon Sight, Magpul Back-Up Sights and five 30-round PMAG ammunition magazines, a Blue Force Gear Ten-Speed Chest Rig and VCAS weapon sling, all donated by their respective manufacturers.

“At the most basic level a rifle is a tool, and these are tools that any modern law enforcement agency must have to protect its officers and the residents they serve,” explained Ryan T. Smith, Executive Director of the Spirit of Blue Foundation. “We are pleased to be able provide these tools to the Cicero Police Department and we are grateful to our many safety grant sponsors who donated their great products to make this grant possible.”

Statistics preliminarily released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund show that 44 law enforcement officers have already lost their lives in 2016, a decrease of 8% so far from the prior year. But 20 of those deaths were firearm related, a 25% increase over the same period in 2015. The reality of these statistics, and the increasing number of underfunded law enforcement agencies across the country, fuel the Spirit of Blue safety grant initiative.

The Spirit of Blue Foundation actively encourages the public at large to honor and appreciate law enforcement officers who serve to protect our communities. By supporting the Spirit of Blue Foundation, the public can make an impact in the lives of law enforcement officers every day. To learn more about the Spirit of Blue, or make a donation, visit www.spiritofblue.com.

Tags: Spirit of Blue Foundation
Posted in Charity, LE, Press Release | 10 Comments »

FEDERAL RESOURCES PRESENTS HOLLYWOOD MOVIE, RANGE 15, IN CHARITY EVENT AT IAFC CONFERENCE

Friday, June 10th, 2016

Baltimore MD, June 16, 2016 – Federal Resources, a first responder solution provider located in Stevensville, MD, is hosting an exclusive showing of the new independent movie, RANGE 15, at the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) International Hazardous Materials Response Conference on June 16th, 2016 in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Baltimore. The movie, tagged as the first film made entirely by veterans for veterans, stars actual veterans and Medal of Honor recipients alongside famous Hollywood actors.

RANGE 15 is the collaboration of two veteran-owned clothing companies, Ranger Up and Article 15 Clothing, run by Nick Palmisciano and Mat Best. The companies gained popularity among veterans and others through comedic videos placed on YouTube. With their dismay of Hollywood portraying veterans as unhappy “neanderthals”, the pair decided to team together and film a comedy to showcase that veterans can indeed have fun.

Nick and Mat set up an IndieGoGo campaign and raised over $1 million to acquire the funds for a feature length film. Federal Resources, a company that believes in and honors our veterans, became a key sponsor to the film, offering technical expertise and advice for the movie. The movie, a comedy horror zombie film, showcases many hazmat responders throughout the film. HazMatIQ instructor and Federal Resources Director of Training, Chris Waier was on set to ensure the responders were portrayed accurately.

The movie stars Mat Best and Nick Palmisciano along with William Shatner, Keith David, Danny Trejo, Sean Astin and other Hollywood heavyweights. Veteran and Navy Cross recipient Marcus Luttrell, who inspired the movie “Lone Survivor”, and Medal of Honor recipient Leroy Petry also star.

“This movie is for the veteran community. It’s not for anybody else if they don’t want it to be.” exclaims writer and star Nick Palmisciano. “I hope it does a lot to bridge the veteran – civilian divide. But if it doesn’t and the only thing that happens is that our community has a movie that they love, then we succeeded.”

Federal Resources will host a screening of the film on June 16th in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Baltimore during the IAFC Hazmat Conference in Baltimore MD. The event will feature a cash bar and a screening of the film in its entirety. Admission cost will be a donation of “anything you can give”, with a $5 minimum donation. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the YVORRA LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, CHIEF JOHN M. EVERSOLE ENDOWMENT FOR HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESPONDERS. The doors will open at 6:00 pm EST for the cash bar social hour, followed by the film at 8:00 pm EST.

Posted in Charity, Press Release | 1 Comment »

And The Winner Of The Arc’teryx SOC-F Fundraiser Auction Is…

Friday, June 10th, 2016

Congratulations Brannon!

You need to visit www.soc-f.org in order to make your donation and claim your prize. They will arrange shipment of your pack once you’ve made payment.

For the rest of you, the 25 liter waterproof pack will be available after SHOT Show when a whole new line of products will be announced.

Thanks to Arc’teryx for the donation of this unique product to raise funds for SOC- F.

Tags: SOC-F
Posted in Arc'teryx, Charity | 5 Comments »

3rd Annual CW2 Duskin 3-Gun – Part 3

Friday, June 10th, 2016

Jump to Part 1 Jump to Part 2

This year the CW2 Duskin 3-Gun match hosted 167 shooters through 7 stages which honored the lives of fallen SF members. Signs were posted at each stage in memory of the fallen from a particular unit with each member’s name listed. Like a typical 3-Gun match, each stage required the shooter to use a combination of pistol, rifle, and shotgun or all three. Unlike your typical match, the CW2 Duskin 3-Gun included its signature physical stages requiring shooters to clear walls, scale an assault ladder from a ground mobility vehicle into a shoot house, drag a 150-pound dummy, 180-pound chain, and carry kettle bells with a combined weight of 140 pounds. Below are descriptions of all 7 stages each with a video link of its execution. Stand by for our final post with the full match video!

STAGE 1 In Memory of the Fallen of 2nd Battalion

This stage highlights the work 2nd Battalion did in the hay day of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The stage takes place in one of the shoot houses and is target heavy, fast and up close, and personal. Competitors make entry on the 2nd floor via the ladder of an assaulter ground mobility vehicle. They clear the top floor with a carbine and finish the floor with some long range shots out a window. Moving down to the first floor, competitors finish clearing the rest of the house with their pistol.

STAGE 2 “Shotguns Be Damned” – In Memory of Mike Duskin

Mike loved shooting pistol and rifle; shotgun not so much. He thought 3-Gun would be a lot better if it were just 2-Gun. In memory of Mike’s shotgun hatred, competitors are tasked with harnessing that hate and anger to complete this shotgun heavy stage. Shooters engage a combination of clays and knock down targets before finishing with the always friendly Texas Star. Should competitors need to, they can finish off with their pistol.

STAGE 3 “Crushing Steel” – In Memory of Mike Duskin

This stage has become a staple of the Duskin 3-Gun. If Mike wasn’t on the range he was in the gym. If paperwork needed to get done, the gym is where you could find Big Mike. In memory of two of Mike’s greatest passions, we combined these 2 skills into one stage that is all steel and all muscle. The challenge; crush the steel, be like Big Mike. Shooters engage some steel, lift heavy objects (this year a 180-pound chain and two 70-pound kettle bells), and shoot some more. Just for fun, this year competitors finished off with a Death Star (a swinging Texas Star). As is customary, shooters can opt to go shirtless for this stage for style points just as Mike would have.

STAGE 4 In Memory of the Fallen of Air Force Special Operations Command

This stage was dedicated to 3rd Group’s AFSOC brothers. Most of the places you find ODAs you will also find CCTs, JTACs, and PJs. They have spilled the same blood and slung the same lead. To honor their Air Force brethren, this stage has competitors breaking out of an “ambushed” vehicle and engaging targets in, around, through and under a series of vehicles with their pistol and carbine.

STAGE 5 In Memory of the Fallen of 4th Battalion

This stage highlights 4th Battalion’s work in austere AOs with little support. This is a meeting gone bad stage. Competitors start seated at a table. They must “fight” their way out of the shoot house with their pistol, scale a wall, recover their carbine from beneath a dummy, and finish off the bad guys. This stage starts slow and quickly escalates to running and gunning.

STAGE 6 In Memory of the Fallen of 1st Battalion

1st Battalion made a name for itself during its tenure in Afghanistan by racking up a large number of long range kills. This stage highlights those accomplishments and honors its fallen. Competitors start off with a long range engagement at 450 meters with an issued M110 before engaging pistol targets that reach out to 80 meters. Finally, they finish off the array with a series of carbine targets out to 350 meters.

STAGE 7 In Memory of the Fallen of 3rd Battalion

This stage is dedicated to the work of 3rd Battalion in Afghanistan. Competitors engage a series of targets through a maze with pistol, shotgun, and rifle. This highlights some of the close engagements that presented themselves in the green zones of such splendid places like Shok Valley, Kapisa, and Kunar. In the middle of the mix, competitors must “rescue” their buddy and move him to safety before securing the area.

Tags: CW2 Duskin 3-Gun
Posted in Charity | 4 Comments »

Charity Auction for Special Operations Care – Fund of 2017 Arc’teryx LEAF Drypack 25

Thursday, June 9th, 2016

Arc’teryx is notorious for being tight lipped about new products until their traditional launch at SHOT Show each year. However, this one time they are making an exception in order to help the Special Operations Care – Fund raise money. Those two organizations have asked us to help them out by hosting this auction of a 2017 25l Waterpoof Pack called the Drypack 25, in MultiCam. These won’t even be announced until late January 2017, so you’re not only getting a rare sneak peek but also a chance to own one. While earlier Drypack models were very mission specific, this one is great for a variety of uses, including many recreational pursuits.

This is the one everyone has been waiting for. The Drypack 25 incorporates an oral inflation tube as well as laser cut PALS compatible slits which offer a lower snag hazard than externally sewn-on webbing. As you can probably tell, it’s a laminate construction with a 725D Cordura face fabric, but it also has an internal urethane coating. This is in a light color which aids with identification of gear when digging through the pack in low light. Another feature you aren’t going to see from the photos is the laminated frame suspension.

There is a waterproof TIZIP with T handle retention loop, which facilitates a wide opening in order to access your gear.

It also has padded dual density shoulder straps as well as a sternum strap.

The waist belt is removable and stowable.

Internally, there is a zippered pocket in the main compartment for smaller items as well as a Velcro Loop Panel for use of the Velocity Systems Inserts developed for LEAF’s Khard series of packs.

Made in Canada.

Thanks to Richard King Photography for the photos!

Rules:

In this post and only this post, place your bids in the comment section below. You can use a pseudonym but you must use a valid email address. If you do not, your bid will be deleted and the profile set to SPAM. The email address will be used to contact the winner.
This is an auction for charity so keep the comments to bids only.
Highest valid bid wins.
Be prepared to promptly pay what you bid.
Bids and payment are in US Dollars ($).
Bids will be limited to $100 increments. No more, no less. (example: If I bid $300 then you can only raise the bid to $400.)
Duplicate bids will go to the earliest bidder. We don’t have bidding software to stop you from making a duplicate bid so make sure you refresh the page before you place your bid.
We will make a determination on which bid was first based on the date time stamp assigned by our server of the comment.
If you create a new profile there may be a delay while it is processed.
Do not bid from a proxy server.
At our discretion, bids which we feel may be fraudulent, will be deleted. The profile used will be set to SPAM.
The winning bidder must make restitution with SOC – F within 24 hours of the end of the auction. Failure to do so will result in the next highest bidder being chosen as the winner and allowed to make payment, and so on.
This auction only goes for 24 hours and will close at 1559Z on 10 June, 2016.
Void where prohibited.
Remember this is for charity so don’t be a dick.

I will start the bidding at $100. You guys can take it from there. Good luck. I definitely envy the winner.

Tags: SOC-F
Posted in Arc'teryx, Charity | 54 Comments »

SSD To Host Charity Auction of Unobtanium Arc’teryx Gear for Special Operations Care – Fund

Wednesday, June 8th, 2016

Starting tomorrow (Thursday, 9 June 2016) at 1600Z, SSD will post a charity auction, on this site, to raise funds for the Special Operations Care – Fund, a group which we support and has done immeasurable good for America’s Special Operators.

Bidding will only last for 24 hours but the prize will be something special, something no one has, and something they won’t have for some time. It’s a new Arc’teryx LEAF product that hasn’t even been acknowledged publicly yet. So check your credit card balance and be prepared to bid your ass off.

Tags: Arc'teryx LEAF, SOC-F, Special Operations Care-Fund
Posted in Arc'teryx, Charity | 17 Comments »