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MDM 26 – Foundation Outdoors Freeze Dried Meals

Wednesday, April 29th, 2026

Foundation Outdoors got their start as a subcontractor for other freeze dried meal brands but eventually decided yo launch their own. Based in Utah, the addition of a military focused line of meals was a natural progression.

Using all natural ingredients, their meals are known for their high caloric density and tastiness. They are definitely worth a try.

One of the things that really drew me to this brand are their adventure dog treats made from all natural foods.

Get their military catalog here.

Posted in Fieldcraft, K9, MDM | No Comments »

“Quest for the GI Holy Grail” Infantry, 1972

Monday, April 6th, 2026

I ran across this great article form the May-June, 1972, issue of Infantry Magazine by Lieutenant Colonel Larry S. Mickel. It concerns the history of the canteen cup, which was near and dear to many a Soldier’s heart from the majority of the 20th century.

Here’s the text:

The Army’s continuing search for a “better” canteen cup is reminiscent of Sir Gawain’s quest for the Holy Grail. Inthat respect, this chalice of infinite use has once again been modified to meet the fighting man’s standards. But before lauding its most recent modification, we should take a look at the developmental history of the canteen cup.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t until 1863 thatthe need for

a cup as personal gear was even recognized. Army regulations ofthatyearstate:

“On marches and in the field, the only mess furniture of the soldier will be one tin plate, one tin cup, one knife, fork and spoon to each man,to be carried by himself on the march.”

Photographs of the period generally show a round cup tied in random fashion to the soldier’s belt.

During a spurt in development of field gear in

1910, the army standardized an aluminum cup which nested with an aluminum canteen in its carrier. According to the 1916 Manual For Army Cooks, the “new” cup was smaller than the 1863 tin version,hold ing 1.5 pints rather than 1.75 pints. This was the cup that ultimately held millions of gallons of coffee throughout two world wars (Cup A) and which “burned the lips long after the coffee was cold.

“The often reported complaint about heat retention in the rolled lip of the aluminum cup,led the Army to the use of steel in the current standard canteen cup (Cup B),and to eliminate the rolled lip, substituting a flared lip of double thickness. However,our troopers still complain that the lip retains heat, that both the lip and handle-securing rivets collect food particles,and that the handle is noisy and difficult to operate while wearing gloves. These complaints, recognized by the Infantry Research and Development Liaison Office at Fort Benning, prompted the US Army Natick Laboratories to provide 50 modified cups to the infantry board forproduct improvement testing.

The test cups (Cup C) have been modified from

the present standard cups by eliminating the double thickness of metal at the lip. The riveted handles were removed and replaced by two interlocking wire handles, secured by a spot welded backing plate.

For two months, the test cup and a like number of standard cups were subjected to every conceivable use and abuse by members of the Infantry Board and the 197th Infantry Brigade, in the mountains of Georgia and the swamps of Florida. They were parachuted, worn through obstacle courses, thrown from trucks, and subjected to wood fires, burning gasoline,

and heat tablets. Test troops used them to contain the whole spectrum of food and beverages, from C-rations to beer. Troops preferred the test cup because of its cooler lip.

It should be noted that the lip of the test cup remains cooler than the standard cup lip; the same is true of the test cup handles. Troops also found the new cup easier to clean, and favored the operation of the handles.

The absence of noise when operating the handles was a big plus factor for the modified cup, and could save lives in the combat environment.

After testing, the Infantry Board concluded that the test cup was, in fact, an improvement and recommended it over the current one. Consequently, the new wire-handled cups have recently been classified “standard – A” and it should be in the field soon.

While the GI Holy Grail may never be found, at least we have located a vessel from which can enjoy hot coffee.

Personally, I preferred model B. It was lighter than the WW II-style depicted in A but had that same great handle. Plus, all the A-style cups I ever got ahold of were seriously nasty inside with some major corrosion. Either way, you’d have to look out for them in surplus stores as we had already fully adopted the style depicted in example C with the wire handles that would do whatever they wanted unless you grabbed them just right.

Posted in Field Gourmet, Fieldcraft, History | No Comments »

New PDW Watch Band Compass Kit 2.0

Thursday, November 9th, 2023

The Original Expedition Watch Band Watch Band Compass Kit Returns with Major Updates

This Fall 2023, PDW debuts their newly updated Expedition Watch Band Compass Kit 2.0. The original titanium cased dive rated button compass returns with a totally re-engineered 2-pc case with a screw down bezel making compass change outs toolless, easy and quick. An explorer’s tool and for those who find a way or make one. A best grade, versatile, amphibious-rated, EDC, Survival and Field compass accessory that can be worn on a nylon NATO to MN Para type watch bands in 20mm to 22mm, or in its silicone carrier for multiple carry options. Our button compass unit is rated to a depth of 100M/300′ and encapsulated in the lowest profile, precision machined titanium case available today. The kit includes four colors of silicone carriers. Available in a fine matte, polished (satin), or black PVD finish to match watch cases.

The Expedition Watch Band Compass Kit 2.0 is available in the three noted case finishes and now includes all four colors of silicone carriers.

The Design and R&D Team at PDW states:

“After numerous production runs of our all-time best selling EDC product, we took some time to step back and revisit our original concept for this compact compass design, which included the screw down bezel. Due to the cost prohibitive steps in machining when we first introduced this years ago, we didn’t pursue this original design. Now that CNC production has become readily available driving costs down from years ago, we decided to return to this original format. This updated version is the lowest profile we could make it and the ease in which the user can now simply change out without any tools, the button compass itself for a replacement or to a thermometer, is a significant upgrade. This is the original titanium cased watch band compass and remains the high standard.”

The PDW Expedition Watch Band Compass Kit 2.0 is available for $76.00-$79.00 via their website, prometheusdesignwerx.com.

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Tour of Zussman Urban Combat Training Center – Ft Knox

Saturday, February 19th, 2022

Mission Spec provides a short tour of Zussman Urban Combat Training Center (c 2009) at Ft. Knox, one of DODs premiere MOUT facilities.

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Battleboard x Rite In The Rain Land Nav Kit

Thursday, January 21st, 2021

The Land NAV KIT by BATTLE BOARD is tailored to fit many styles of Rite In The Rain All-Weather Field-Flex Notebooks. The cover features a transparent abrasion resistant polycarbonate display surface that pins a map securely underneath for accurate, efficient maneuver planning. Write and erase on the polycarbonate surface with grease pencils, alcohol pens, and non-permanent markers (not included). This comprehensive kit contains the Land NAV Cover, the No. 980T Tactical Notebook, and No. 97 All-Weather Pen. The 980T features 16 pages of reference material such as templates for sector sketching, 9-Line MEDEVAC, range cards, first aid, and more. The 97 is an All-Weather Pen that can write through precipitation, at odd angles, and in extreme temperatures (not for use on the polycarbonate cover).

www.riteintherain.com/no-bb980t-kit-land-nav-kit

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Introducing the Wndsn High-Viz Quadrant Telemeter

Wednesday, January 29th, 2020

“I don’t paint things. I only paint the difference between things.” –Henri Matisse

Wndsn Messtechnik is introducing the latest iteration of one of the most popular Wndsn Telemeter products. After more than a thousand units sold, the new white Wndsn Quadrant Telemeter is released in the beginning of 2020 in a high-contrast, high-visibility version with a number of new features.

The Wndsn Quadrant Telemeter is a measurement and calculation instrument for indoor and outdoor use, its users require attributes such as ruggedness, durability, and integrity of the various scales. For black and transparent instruments, Wndsn uses cast Acrylic that works reliably under these conditions and is deep-engraved.

To increase legibility without losing durability in the process, after various tests examining legibility, resilience, and resistance of different surfaces, a new material has been chosen: A sandwich acrylic consisting of a black core with matte white outer surfaces that are cut through by engraving, thereby exposing the black material underneath for high contrast and scales that cannot wear off (a requirement that prohibits simply printing the scales).

Other new and updated features on the Wndsn High-Viz Quadrant Telemeter are:

1. A 100 MIL mark on the angular size scale, it’s a special value for various calculations, one of which being the point where an object of unknown size has a height of 0.1x the known distance, or vice versa.

2. Another scale mark, just as easy to miss; this one is also to be found on the angular size scale and is located at 7.5°. Wndsn’s naked-eye astronomy users have asked for this one, 7.5° equals 30 minutes of earth rotation and the mark can be used against a fixed star to measure minutes passed in the sky.

3. The slope/tan scale on the quadrant side received a makeover and got redesigned according to the updated Wndsn style guide for logarithmic scales. The result is a more refined scale with higher precision and better readability.

Wndsn Telemeters are wallet-size distance and altitude nomographs developed in the Wndsn applied science lab. They combine a thousand years of civil engineering, surveying, navigation, and astronomy in durable, low-tech, high utility instruments that can be brought anywhere, are self-containing, and independent of external, modern technologies.

The Wndsn Quadrant Telemeter is a naked-eye observation instrument for measuring angles via various inputs and sighting methods. In addition, the Quadrant Telemeter is a graphical, analog computer providing functions to directly process or convert the acquired values.

Scales on the Wndsn Quadrant Telemeter:

+ angular size and distance

+ height or depth of object

+ altitude or elevation

+ computation of sine, cosine, and tangent from a given angle and back

+ degree and slope quadrant

+ shadow square

+ inclinometer

The various engraved scales enable the user to copy dimensions from the real world onto a small ruler in their hand, and read the matching distances directly from the instrument, thereby computing arbitrary navigational distances and other essential information about the world around us, as long as a triangle is formed between user, scales, and object of interest.

Under certain conditions or in cases where laser rangefinders tend to fail or result in errors, Wndsn Telemeters prevail and can be used as primary or “second opinion” tools, to cross-check values obtained with different means, or in austere situations when other methods fail or are unavailable.

The credit-card sized instrument is handmade in Germany and manufactured in the spirit of astronomical instruments of the Renaissance, built by the likes of Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Gemma Frisius. The scales are laser-engraved and precision-cut into 3 mm black, acrylic with white, matte surfaces. The device carries the Wndsn maker’s marks; scientific instructions are engraved and supplemented by a printed how-to in both English and German. A 240-page printed manual is included as a PDF and is also available separately at Wndsn or via bookstores.

The new Wndsn High-Viz Quadrant Telemeter is available at:

store.wndsn.com/products/wndsn-quadrant-telemeter-wqtm-75x7x500q90i30-white-acrylic

Alexander Becker

Wndsn Messtechnik UG (haftungsbeschränkt)

Obentrautstr 43

D-10963 Berlin

Germany

+491723904525

info@wndsn.com

store.wndsn.com

Posted in Comms, Fieldcraft, Press Release | 3 Comments »

DSEI 19 – Silva Expedition 5 6400/360 Global Compass

Thursday, September 12th, 2019

In the Brigantes booth we took a look at the Silva Expedition 5 6400/360 Global which is beginning to replace the Militaire with the British military.

The Expedition 5, seen to the left, is a global compass while the Militaire is designed for northern hemisphere use. The baseplate features romers, measurers and magnifying glass but also has an inclinometer, variable declination, and measuring lanyard.

To make it a global compass, Silva magnetized the central gimbal, which rests on a sapphire for the smoothest needle movement possible. The gimbal allows the magnetic elements to point at magnetic north without disturbing the needle and reducing accuracy.

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Wndsn Applied Science Lab – Wndsn Quadrant Telemeter

Thursday, August 29th, 2019

We live in a world that revolves around automation, but having the answer to everything at your fingertips comes at a price: vulnerability. Whether it’s due to a power outage or enemy action, the digital tools we currently use to conduct mathematical equations can be turned off in an instant. But for centuries we relied upon simple tools to help help us make these calculations. There have been calls to get back to these basics, for use as a backup, if nothing else.

Enter Wndsn Applied Science Lab and their Telemeters, simple observational tools for measuring angles via various inputs combined with a number of means to directly process the acquired values.

Their current flagship, the Wndsn Quadrant Telemeter is a naked-eye observation multitool for emergency navigation, for training and education, and a visualization tool. The current version is made of brass.

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