We’re at the 2017 Marine South Expo and we’re going to share some cool stuff with you.
Archive for the ‘MDM’ Category
Marine South 2017
Thursday, April 13th, 2017Blue Force Gear Showcases Micro Trauma Kit Now! At Marine South Expo
Thursday, April 13th, 2017POOLER, Ga., March 13, 2017 – Blue Force Gear®, the designer and manufacturer of the world’s finest weapon slings and tactical equipment, will showcase the Micro Trauma Kit NOW!™ (Micro TKN) at this year’s Marine South Expo. U.S. Marines will be able to demo the product first-hand at booth 121 at the Camp Lejeune, North Carolina-based show from April 12 to April 13.
Designed to hold essential lifesaving medical supplies, like a decompression needle and combat gauze, the Micro TKN attaches directly to your belt and is the smallest version of the Trauma Kit NOW! collection. The Micro TKN is available in several variations and can be purchased with or without medical supplies.
Two main components make up the Micro TKN – the outer MOLLE or belt mounted pouch utilizing Ten-Speed® technology and a removable insert that keeps the medical supplies organized. The MOLLE is horizontally mounted on the belt to not obstruct torso movement. The front outer pouch features a laser-cut cross with several signal indicators – black, red, or highly reflective glow-in-the-dark insert.
Blue Force Gear designed and developed the Micro TKN with help from an 18 Delta Special Forces Medic.
“The Micro Trauma Kit NOW! is the perfect tool for Marines to carry downrange because deployment of the first aid supplies can be done with one hand or even a single finger,” said Ashley Burnsed, CEO of Blue Force Gear. “The kit provides all the essentials needed to save a Marine’s life in one pouch.”
Marine South Expo attendees can find Blue Force Gear’s new products and current lineup in booth 121. James Byer, Blue Force Gear’s Government Business Development Manager and retired Infantry Marine, will be in attendance at the show.
MDM – SERE Industries OM27-S
Friday, September 30th, 2016
I saw a lot of interesting gear at Modern Day Marine but the OM27-S from SERE Industries stuck out for a couple of reasons. First off, is the obvious; it’s a multi-functional tool, but creator Tim Langan is also a Marine Corps Veteran and based the design on need. Items built fulfill an operational need always garner my attention. Langan says, in addition to its use a tool, the OM27-S can also be used for fitness applications. Those of you who participated, may recognize the tool from type US Army’s 2016 Advanced Warfighting Experiment.
The OM27-S consists of the OS-100 Operational MultiPurpose Support Bar which serves as the tool’s shaft, OG-1 MultiPurpose Survival Tool which resembles the spearhead, M5 MultiPurpose Utility Handle which looks like a hammerhead, CCW-101 Cervical Counterweight and MutiPurpose Shovel which is the hexagonal item, and the Tactical Survival Bag/Field Litter-Splint.
The SERE OM27-S Survival Tool is a one-of-a-kind hybrid multi-functioning tactical tool designed for infinite combinations of use and brings the individual a system of over 50 solutions for a variety of operational applications in multiple threat environments in 7.7 pounds.
There’s a lot of capability here. I’m going to try to purchase one to enhance the BII for my Pinzgauer. The SERE Industries OM27-S is available for unit and agency purchase through Federal Resources.
MDM – TCI Bluetooth Module
Friday, September 30th, 2016I was walking through the aisles at Modern Day Marine when I ran across the Quantico Tactical booth. It was like a mini trade show in itself, but one thing I wanted to get out right away was this Bluetooth Module for tactical comms headsets from Tactical Command Industries. It was set up as a component on a rig like you see below and was so unobtrusive I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it if Retired TACP Jim Price hadn’t pointed it out to me.
I picked it up to check it out. It’s super simple, connecting to the switch via a pigtail with just a few buttons to conncet your Bluetooth enabled device to the rest of your comms. The hardened three button design is standard with many commercially available Bluetooth headsets and earpieces and the buttons are large enough to be used with gloves on. It is rechargeable via mini USB.
Think about how often you use a cell phone. Now, you can integrate it into your gear, when needed. For some, it will be your primary comms. Others will fit it into the PACE structure somewhere. Shoot, some guys will connect their cell just so they can listen to music through their headphones.
Granted, this isn’t the first deployment of a means to integrate cell service. But this was designed by TCI to work specifically with their widely deployed dual communications architecture found in the later R.3 and the new R.4 dual push-to-talk systems. TCI’s dual communications system is specifically designed to separate the two audio channels so there is no shared connections and no physical or electronic way for audio from one channel to bleed into the transmission on the other. Additionally, their PTT’s incorporate a lock out feature that disables the opposite PTT switch from the one that is in use. Because of these features, a cellular device, which requires no PTT as the microphone is active once a call is placed/accepted, has its audio in mute mode while the other channel is in active use. This prevents radio traffic, either received or transmitted, from being heard on the cell phone. This feature keeps radio transmissions, which may be encrypted, off of the cell phone audio. That would be a major problem, enabling threats to work to undermine our encryption. This system is by far more secure than the common practice of using a cell phone by lifting up an earcup to talk on it. This may actually expose the phone to radio traffic that is not cleared for cell phone transmission resulting in inadvertant disclosure.
Finally, the module is impedance agnostic. It will work with both high and low impedance headsets. There is no need for an extra cable or impedance matching hardware to be incorporated.
The Blue Tooth Adapter from Tactical Command Industries is available for unit and agency purchase through Quantico Tactical.
MDM – Gore CHEMPAK
Friday, September 30th, 2016At Modern Day Marine the WL Gore & Assoc booth has traditionally been about organizational clothing and individual equipment but with an ever increasing emphasis on CBRNE, Gore brought out its latest CHEMPAK technologies. Created as an alternative to traditional carbon fabric suits, Gore has incorporated not only new, breathable membranes, but also innovative design features to enhance the garment’s functionality and by extension, the comfort and endurance of the wearer.
They displayed three different suits. Although they all look similar, and are based on the same technology, they offer different sets of features. Named the CPCSU-2 Chemical & Biological Protective Combat Suit family, they are based on work done for SOF Chem-Bio suits and designed for a wide range of mission sets including combatting WMD, military humanitarian support operations and military support of civilian authority operations.
Providing durable, broad protection, it is easy to don and offers MOPP interfaces to the suit. When compared to traditional carbon suits, the CHEMPAK material improved heat loss by more than 20 percent.
This Flex Fit design was created for increased range of motion and lower audible signature. The thermal burden in this suit is also lower than others.
This suit was designed for affordability. Consequently, it doesn’t incorporate some of the features of the other two suits. However, thanks to the CHEMPAK membrane, the thermal burden remains lower than carbon suits.
Design Features
Gore has done some great work on these suits. Those of you who are divers may see some familiar concepts from dry suits. However, the features below may not be available for all of the suits.
Many of you are familiar with Gore-Tex TOPO fabric, a recently introduced stretch membrane for protection from the elements. The CHEMPAK suits integrate a similar stretch technology. These are incorporated as panels into key areas of the coverall to ensure flexibility while maintaining integrity of the suit’s environment. In all three cases, these are coverall designs which decrease the possibility of contamination via a compromised suit.
Another example is this glove interface which allows the wearer to quickly transition from MOPP 3 to 4 by pulling his hands in and inserting them into the attached gloves. Then, the user simply rolls up the opening and secures it with Velcro to seal it off and stows it under the cuff.
The CPCSU-2 also offers a removable hood which integrates into the suit as well as the mask. The advantages here are obvious; there’s no entry of outside air under gaps in the skirt of the traditional external hood. The membrane will also breath better than the rubber hood traditionally used with protective masks.
Finally, the legs of the CPCSU-2 open up to facilitate donning, yet close easily. Here, you can see the stretch material.
You may notice that the outer shells are removable. This is for maintenance as well as allowing the user to change his ‘paint job’ based on the environment he will be working in. In addition to environmental camouflage patterns, the user can select solid colors for low profile work or high visibility hues for disaster relief. Additionally, the user can specify different face fabrics for the shell. For example, full FR protection, no melt/no drip or anti-static are different shell fabric options.
Finally, independant testing shows that the CPCSU-2 family is lighter and lower unpacked volume than carbon-based suits.
For more information, visit www.goreprotectivefabrics.com.
Probably the Coolest Thing at Modern Day Marine
Friday, September 30th, 2016Granted, it’s not very Marine, but it’s poignant nonetheless.
MDM – Geissele Automatics Bayonet Mount
Thursday, September 29th, 2016The M-4/16 has a bayonet lug just below the barrel due to a requirement that it has the ability to mount a bayonet. Unfortunately, that lug gets in the way when you want to use an extended handguard.
When Geissele was developing their submission for the cancelled M-4A1+ RFI, they decided to develop this Bayonet Mount which attaches to a Picatinny rail section at the bottom of a handguard.
This frees up a lot of real estate.
MDM – ArmorWorks Is Back!
Wednesday, September 28th, 2016After a brief hiatus, ArmorWorks is back in the market actively supporting several prime contractors with seating and armor systems both here and abroad.
Right now they are concentrating on the vehicle market, manufacturing seats for armored vehicles along with vehicle armor, including metal composite armor. However, they’ve got a long history of PPE development behind them they can reach from, based on customer requirements.
