Don’t forget, the HALO Summit begins in two weeks at San Diego’s Paradise Point Resort in Mission Bay which will be closed to the public Oct 29 – Nov 2. Featuring lectures, interactive seminars and scenario-based training, The HALO Summit concentrates on countering terrorism at home and abroad.
ITS Tactical listened to the folks using their excellent ETA Trauma Kit and developed a training version. It is critical to train with your equipment but it’s expensive to expend trauma kit after trauma kit. The INERT version provides a low-cost option for regular training. They put some thought into this one.
ITS provides a great description of the product –
The components you’ll find in the inert kit are all the same items you’re used to seeing in our kits, with the exception of the Combat Gauze Inert Moulage Trainer. This blue packaged Combat Gauze is for simulated training only and not for medical use. It’s the same z-folded Combat Gauze in our ETA Trauma Kits, but it lacks the hemostatic agent necessary to stop real bleeding. The inert Combat Gauze also features a resealable closure, so you can repack it and train with it again.
With these Inert ETA Trauma Kits, there also may be expired components included. It’s important that this kit is not used to “refill” another of our ETA Trauma Kits, as this inert kit was designed with the sole purpose being used in a dedicated training environment. Along with the bright blue tell-tale pack of inert combat gauze, we’ve also stamped our insert card in blue with “INERT.” Again, this kit is for training ONLY!
The reason we’ve chosen to include an inert version of every component from our ETA Trauma Kits, is to ensure you’re training with the identical items you’ll be using in a real life situation. In the event you have to use an ETA Trauma Kit, you don’t want it being the first time you’ve ever had exposure to the components. Train like you fight.
Notice they talked about the inert version of the combat gauze. This is what it looks like.
Here’s the Entire Contents List
QuikClot Combat Gauze LE Inert Moulage Trainer (1)
HALO Chest Seal – INERT (2)
MojoDart Decompression Needle – INERT (1)
Naso Airway Adj. 28fr w/ Surgilube – INERT (1)
Israeli Bandage – INERT (1 – 4?)
Ace Bandage – INERT (1 – 4?)
Z-Pak Gauze – INERT (1)
Combat Casualty Card (1)
Nitrile Gloves (1 Pair)
Pencil (1)
Contents List w/ TCCC Care Under Fire Instructions (1)
A you can see, its everything in their standard ETA but intended specifically for training. Now, there’s no reason to pull out a trauma kit and have to learn how to use when it’s needed most. Like they said, “Train Like You’ll Fight.” Amen.
www.itstactical.com/store/its-eta-trauma-kit-inert
Between the booth girls, calendars, advertisements, and the average chick in an action movie, a lot of us guys have an image that pops into our heads when we hear “girls” and “guns” in the same context. Guilty as charged. When I go into my “man cave” it’s a gun room, totally devoid of anything feminine other than a 9mm 1911. Because of my background in male-only military units and a male-dominated industry, I think of the Hot Shots calendar or Kate Beckinsale in Underworld. Gun culture is a predominately male endeavor. Guys, that’s something we need to strive to change. I’m sure a lucky few have a wife or girlfriend who wants to go blaze away. For the rest of us, here’s a few good reasons to get your better half out behind a gun:
1. PROTECTION: I’m pretty comfortable with a gun. I’m pretty comfortable with the idea of taking someone’s life in legitimate self defense. I generally feel pretty good about my abilities to defend those I care about as well. However, I can’t always be around, and I bet a lot of the SSD readers can’t either. I’m gone 50% or more of the time personally. A couple of nights ago, my girlfriend had a shady looking/sounding person start beating on the door. At 3:45AM. In the country, in a really sweet house in the middle of a very large nursery. Most of us knuckle draggers would be thanking God that our prayers were answered while we try to decide what blaster to grab. My much better half was not as amused. Home alone with two kids and two dogs who were absolutely going bonkers, she was freaked out. Luckily, she did the right thing and consolidated the family in the back bedroom, got out the Glock 19 and Surefire light I gave her, called 911, and waited for someone to come through the door. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. 60 minutes later when the Deputy arrived to a call of someone beating down a door and screaming to let them in (3 miles from the station…ponder that for a minute), he said they found a dazed person walking down the road claiming their car had broken down. Think about that response time. An HOUR to get to a call of someone breaking into a house while acting deranged. Had they busted through a window with the intent to harm, the cavalry was a long time out. Whether it’s your wife, girlfriend, daughter, mother, neighbor, friend, cousin…if you have the ability to help them defend themselves in the world we live in today, why wouldn’t you?
2. WOMEN VOTE: There’s no doubt that we’re in a politically tumultuous time in America. I personally feel that if the current administration gets re-elected, gun rights will be on the agenda for them as they continue their assault on the Constitution. Women have voted more than men by 3-5% in every election since 1980 according to Rutger’s University’s Center for American Women and Politics. When I vote this year, make no mistake of what I am voting for. I am not voting for a political party. I am not voting for Romney as a person. I am not voting for taxes, entitlements, big corporations, small business, war, peace or anything else. I’ve got my own uber-conservative views on all that stuff. But when I cast the ballot, I am voting for my guns, and my right to buy, own, and sell them. My 2nd Amendment RIGHT to keep them. I believe gun control only punished law-abiding citizens, and I exercise my right to vote to keep that removal of my ability to defend myself and my family at bay. We need all the help we can get with that, and while I don’t have any statistics I’d bet males make up the majority of the staunch 2A advocates. As we try and use the system to protect our way of life against the liberal/socialist agenda every vote counts.
3. QUALITY TIME: We all make concessions in a relationship. I spent a lot of time in malls, shops, wine tastings, cocktail parties and other absolutely miserable crap like that in the past to try and make girls happy. I spent most of that time wishing I was at the range. I spent tens of thousands of dollars on purses, shoes, jackets, little dresses, and jewelry. I swiped the debit card for all of that stuff thinking about how I’d rather give Shooter’s Supply that money. It would have been pretty cool to have been able to do something with the significant other that actually involved anything I cared about. Just imagine for a moment your wife or girlfriend wanting to go shoot instead of whatever else. Imagine not having to hide the new guns you bring home, but having that new Glock or AR welcomed into the household. Pretty cool, huh?
There are a lot of reasons for gun guys to encourage their girls to become gun girls. These three stuck out for me, but no matter your reasons I think getting more women involved in shooting sports and defensive training is a great idea. Northern Red and Stoic Ventures offer female-specific shooting courses that come highly recommended, in addition to your local Concealed Carry class that everyone needs to take. Also, there is an increasing number of women’s shooting organizations popping up around the country, check and see if there is one local to you. Just don’t be mad when your guns start disappearing into her safe.
–www.northernred.com
–www.stoicventures.com
“As you plan out your training strategy keep in mind that limits begin where vision ends. When it comes to teaching and learning, I believe that without attitude, aptitude and desire lives a fault line where information meets its boundary.
Whether training for street fighting, shooting or fitness, you must believe in yourself. The mind navigates the body. In other words, how you think will determine how you perform. A positive self image and confidence increase one’s ability to perform. Your goals should be ambitious but realistic. Set short term intermediate goals to assist you in meeting your long term ambitious goals.”
Patrick McNamara
SGM, US Army (Ret)
Patrick McNamara spent twenty-two years in the United States Army in a myriad of special operations units. When he worked in the premier special missions unit, he became an impeccable marksman, shooting with accurate, lethal results and tactical effectiveness. McNamara has trained tactical applications of shooting to people of all levels of marksmanship, from varsity level soldiers, and police officers who work the streets to civilians with little to no time behind the trigger.
His military experience quickly taught him that there is more to tactical marksmanship than merely squeezing the trigger. Utilizing his years of experience, McNamara developed a training methodology that is safe, effective and combat relevant and encourages a continuous thought process. This methodology teaches how to maintain safety at all times and choose targets that force accountability, as well as provides courses covering several categories, including individual, collective, on line and standards.
While serving as his Unit’s Marksmanship NCO, he developed his own marksmanship club with NRA, CMP, and USPSA affiliations. Mac ran monthly IPSC matches and ran semi annual military marksmanship championships to encourage marksmanship fundamentals and competitiveness throughout the Army.
He retired from the Army’s premier hostage rescue unit as a Sergeant Major and is the author of T.A.P.S. (Tactical Application of Practical Shooting).
Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Alias Training & Security Services. Each week Alias brings us a different Trainer and in turn they offer some words of wisdom.
The Daniel Defense Torture Test II episode of TAC TV is being filmed at H2O Fowl Farms near Dunn, NC.
Initially envisioned as a Skeet and training range for hunting waterfowl, H2O Fowl Farms has recently made significant improvements to their plot and introduced multiple 25 meter bays.
In addition to their hinting roots, H2O Fowl Farms now hosts monthly IDPA matches as well as weekend pistol and rifle training courses featuring top trainers.
H2O Fowl Farms continues to improve the layout of their range complex and is conveniently located near I95. There are plenty if major hotels and places to eat nearby as well.
If you’re in the area, check them out.
But seriously, if you’ve ever wondered what goes on at a Costa Ludus class, this video by Spartan Village’s Prairie Fire gives you a good idea.
I didn’t have a good title for this. I still don’t, and the one above this line kind of sucks. Sorry folks. I say this because I am not sure how there could ever be a debate. I regularly talk with guys who are weak, overweight, lazy, or make lifestyle choices that limit their lifestyle and performance. These guys don’t work at Best Buy, they’re not executives in an office, they’re Military and Law Enforcement “professionals.” I always get the same line at some point in the conversation, “I see a bunch of skinny guys that can’t do their job” or “You’re telling me you’d rather have an unmotivated stud that a motivated fat guy?” Well, I don’t know about that. Yeah, some fit guys suck at work. That dude can probably summon up some effort on demand if he had to. You can’t summon up a 6-month fitness program on demand though. Plus, I have to assume if a guy has a job protecting the public, his buddies on his flanks, our Nation and it’s way of life he should take that seriously. I’m not really sure what a motivated fat guy is, unless he’s injured. An otherwise capable guy with those responsibilities wouldn’t let him self be a poor physical performer if he had all that heart and motivation he speaks of. That logic bomb is pretty much a JDAM on the argument in most cases.
Why is physical performance important? Well, we (Military and LE) work jobs that at their fundamental level are physical. When the dispatch calls up that shots have been fired, or some dirtbag starts lobbing indirect fire on your platoon, it’s time to do your job. All the mandatory Equal Opportunity training or additional details you picked up probably won’t be at the forefront of your mind at that point. All those things used as excuses to not work out, or train combatives, or eat a decent meal that didn’t come in a bag, won’t seem that important. You’ll remember that you are a cop, or an infantryman, or whatever got you on the middle of this shit show. You’ll begin to move, and do what you know what you need to do. For the first few steps everyone will most likely feel like a world-class sprinter. And then, something magical will happen. All that hard work you put in at the gym, on the trail, on the bike, will allow you to stick to the plan and perform your job to the maximum of your potential. Or conversely, all those skipped training days, missed opportunities, and upsized value meals will come up and assist you in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Which one are you?
I know guys with legitimate reasons (not excuses) to be out of shape. Guys get injured, it’s common in these fields of endeavor. In my day job all of the 5 guys I work closest with have had on the job injuries while they were still in the military that took over 6 months to recover from. That was just to get functional again, and most aren’t 100% and may never be. Broken backs, shattered knees, gunshots, dislocated hips, all kinds of gnarly stuff. I know guys that get stuck in truly austere locations that don’t have access to equipment or proper nutrition, or work a schedule where they literally don’t have time to work out often. Guys attend schools or training programs that literally run 20-24 hours a day for 8-12 weeks. This stuff is legitimate, it takes away the opportunity to stay fit, and it’s not a reflection of an individual decision to let yourself go.
There are limitations during everyday life that can make this a difficult task. There aren’t a lot of 9-5 jobs in the military or law enforcement. It’s a tough sell to work 12-16 hour days in the rear or on shift and then take 2 more away from the family to go run or go to the gym. It helps me out to just plan on that being a part of my work day, to mentally accept that I don’t exercise before or after work, I work out as a part of work. I don’t go to the gym after work, because work isn’t over until my workout is complete. There are also a number of good programs that aren’t as time consuming. I’m not a huge Crossfit fan because I think Olympic lifts for time are a recipe for disaster, and that their benefit is in proper execution rather than rapid execution. That said, the concept of group workouts, competing against yourself and others, and a culture of striving to gain higher levels of performance is pretty motivational and it warms my heart to see all the formerly fat people outside my local Crossfit gyms. Most of these workouts from Crossfit, Gym Jones, or similar programs aren’t that time consuming and there is usually a facility and good coaches to support them in every town. It’s fun, like going to the bar with your friends, only instead of Miller Lite you get kettlebells and pull-ups. My buddy Pat McNamara at TMACS, Inc. offers a great functional fitness class in addition to his firearms and tactics classes. For a military or LE guy wondering what direction to go to improve, that’s a great place to start or refine you current routine. He’s a beast, and is proof that after destroying your body for over two decades, getting older, and getting opened up by ortho surgeons a bunch of times that you can still crush 20 year-olds in the gym daily if you understand the importance of physical performance and apply yourself accordingly.
Try eating right also. I live on the road now, and that’s the hardest thing of all for me. Sometimes, it’s just easier to eat a cheeseburger and go to bed and I fall victim to that more than I’d like. All calories are not created equally. Get yours from the foods your body needs for function, not what it needs to get rid of to function. Fortunately, most restaurants are good about offering healthier choices now. If they don’t advertise them, just ask and they can usually help you out. If they can’t, go somewhere else. Check out the Paleo diet, or the Eat This, Not That books for some easy ways to improve your diet. You’re giving up performance in your diet that no amount of exercise can replace. Take some time to do the research and eat healthy. You’re buying food anyways, you might as well buy good food.
I know starting a plan to workout and sticking to it is pretty demoralizing initially. Get over that initial discomfort and check the ego of not being the baddest dude in the gym. The improvement happens so rapidly that after a couple of weeks you’ll be recovered by the next day and ready to shoot for that next goal, max rep, 5K time, or target body weight. Utilize a coach or partner as your honest broker, sanity check, and motivator. Most importantly, get out there an do it so you can be ready when it’s time to perform on the job. It’s something we can all do, and it improves your quality of life in every aspect.
www.tmacsinc.com
www.morrisonsystem.com
www.gymjones.com
Jon Canipe served on Active Duty with the US Army as a Special Forces Weapons Sergeant at 5th SFG(A) and was a Senior Instructor at the JFKSWCS, training SFQC students in planning, unconventional warfare, small unit tactics, CQB, and advanced marksmanship. He is a veteran of multiple combat tours, and still serves in the Army National Guard’s 20th SFG(A) in addition to working as an industry consultant and small arms instructor.
Mad Minute
The Mad Minute can make or break a unit’s ability to shift on the fly or flex to the situation. This is a simple concept and when used effectively is a combat multiplier. Warrior leaders, use this and your warriors will never fail you.
This is how the Mad Minute works. Say you have 10 targets to hit in one night. During planning and the Orders brief or however your unit does it, have your guys remember just the first target. Tell them there are additional targets and to be prepared for a long night, but have them know the first one cold. You execute and the first hit goes down flawless. Before you load vehicles or exfil (depart your target) leaders talk over the plan for what’s next on the hit list. Then leaders brief your warriors and make sure they are tracking (understand) on the next plan. If there is no time, brief the plan in the vehicle. If you’re in a helicopter draw stick figures on paper or small white board. It’s easy. Depict house, helo, men and an arrow of which way to move to the target. Simple caveman cave wall drawings. This way it’s fresh in the warriors’ minds and they know what to do. Establish stick man SOPs if need be.
Shrek says, “Right in the middle of the worst mass casualty event I ever witnessed. A day I wish I could forget.”
Take the time to always do a mad minute. Senior leaders let your men tell you what they are going to do for each separate mission. This is not time to bullshit or play grab ass. Say the plan and move out. This is why it’s called the Mad Minute and not the mad hour, happy hour or 10 minutes. Too much extraneous communication can lead to confusion. Or, debate could cause someone to think the plan has changed. This is not the time to debate anything. Say the plan, be clear and concise.
If however, the goal of your Mad Minute is to change the plan, get your leaders together and change it. Be sure to make clear this is a change to the original plan so there is no confusion. Then brief your warriors, “Change 1 is…….”
We do this to make sure we don’t make any mistakes and cost any warriors’ lives because of doubt or misunderstanding. Mission success is directly tied to your plan. If your plan fails, you fail. If you forgot the plan and got a warrior killed you’ll bear that guilt every second for the rest of your life. Shit happens, but it happens because of your mistakes, it’s an unacceptable, worst possible scenario for everyone.
Some things to consider. Don’t over plan. This could lead to a warrior over thinking rather than focusing on what he is supposed to do. This will make him inflexible and unable to adapt to the situation. Keep the plan simple with room for flexibility because the enemy will never do what you want. Otherwise, we would not have war. However, if the situation changes, go with it and let the plan swing the other way. But don’t things cowboy style. That has disaster written all over it. There is a sweet spot of not overplaying and yet retaining some type of plan. There may be time for cowboy shit, but that is last ditch scenario when the plan went to shit and you’re trying to fix or get out of a bad situation. At this point it’s Medal of Honor action. The problem is you should avoid this situation at all costs seeing as most MoH are given to dead men.
So take a minute talk through the plan (whether you need it or not), disseminate to your warriors and move out smartly. I can tell you how many hits this simple act saved my and my mates asses.
The mad minute is simple. Just make sure you warriors understand what’s next. This takes a second and when used regularly can increase your units effectiveness. Also when used regularly, it’s the right time and place for a senior leader to change a plan due to ever changing intel and enemy situation.
-Shrek
SGM (ret) John McPhee served a distinguished career in U.S. Army Special Operations for over 20 years, retiring in 2011.
John has spent his adult life in Special Operations and Special Mission Units. He is a Master Instructor in all aspects of special activities, missions and operations. He has over 6 years of private special activities consulting and is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in: Special Activities, Operational Preparations, Limited Signature Operations, Reconnaissance, Singleton Operations, High Threat Dignitary Protective Services, Extreme Long Range, Designated Marksman, Advanced Precision Rifle Marksmanship, Combat Marksmanship, Live Fire CQB/CQC, Advanced Pistol Marksmanship, Advanced Carbine Marksmanship, Ariel Gunnery (Rifles, Shotguns, Ariel Personnel and Vehicle Interdictions, Mechanical, Ballistic and Explosive Breaching, Freefall Instructor Programs, Infiltration/ Exfiltration Techniques, Ground Mobility, Unit Pre-Deployment Training, and Research and Development of; Soldier Systems, Weapons, Ammunition, Thermal and Night Optics.
Qualifications;
Special Forces Target Interdiction Course
US Army Sniper School
NRA Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun, Instructor
NRA Range Safety Officer
Advanced Mountain Sniper Course, Instructor
Advanced Freefall, Instructor (Ratings Current)
Freefall Coach (Ratings Current)
California Personal/ Executive Body Guard Certification (Rating Current)
2005 Budweiser World Cup Super Heavyweight Jiu-Jitsu Champion
2004 Presidential Security Detail (Ariel Heavy) Cartagena, Colombia
He has trained countless U.S. Special Operations forces, thousands of International Tier 1 Operators and Special Forces around the world. He is one of the handful of operators with over a decade of combat having served in multiple theaters from Bosnia and South America to recent war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Alias Training & Security Services. Each week Alias brings us a different Trainer and in turn they offer some words of wisdom.
