If you are a Range Safety Officer or member of EMS / Fire then the newly introduced Red color for FirstSpear’s Sleeper soft armor carrier might be just the ticket.
Designed in conjunction with Crye Precision, the Sleeper SOCOM’s SPEAR BALCS soft armor as well as Hard Armor plates cut to SAPI/ESAPI/SPEAR as well as Swimmer cut. The Sleeper is also available in Black, Coyote, Ranger Green and MultiCam sizes Small – XLarge.
Magpul Dynamics has a new Director. Duane Liptak Jr is a former Marine Corps Major. According to a Magpul Dynamics press release he is a decorated combat veteran with experience in Tactical Aviation and Special Operations. He also brings a vast knowledge of the shooting industry as well as experience developing, managing, and executing training programs from his previous position at Brownells Inc, where he held the position of Director of Government Programs and Training
Duane’s military achievements include stints as a Squadron XO, FAC(A) (Forward Air Controller-Airborne) Instructor, Pilot and Flight Lead for a USMC F/A-18D Squadron deployed to Iraq, and Plank Owner in Marine Special Operations Command, where he stood up the first operational Marine Special Operations Company as Air Officer, Operations Officer, Team FAC, and Weapons, Lasers, Night Vision, and Communications subject matter expert.
The long anticipated launch of TAC-TV has finally arrived. Hosted by US Army Special Operations Veteran Larry Vickers, TAC-TV not only provides access to the series of the same name in an extended format, but also includes the Daniel Defense Vickers Tactical training videos. All-in-all, there’s 10 hours of HD content. Additionally, they’re adding Hackathorn content and they’ve planned hours and hours of behind the scenes and other surprises as well as user submitted videos. My cable system hasn’t carried any of LAV’s previous series so it’s great to finally get access to full shows. One other thing I really like about the site is that registration is simple and you can even log in with your Facebook account.
And while access to the video content is pretty cool all on its own, there’s also the TAC-TV giveaway. In honor of the 1911 (One of Larry’s favorites) and its 101 years of service, TAC-TV is doing an unprecedented membership event. In the 101 days from launch they will be giving away a great deal of prizes as members progressively reaches certain levels. Everything from a DDM4 V7 to the ‘moon rock’; the 10,000th member will win a Custom Vickers 1911. TAC-TV they will film the making of the pistol and the winner will be presented the gun on television.
The very first prize is a DDM4 V7 for being the 100th person to sign up for a full year. Any bets as to how long it will take for that prize to be claimed?
After the jump, checkout the full giveaway list. It’s both impressive and extensive.
In late January, Open Range Service Group coordinated the Military Mountain and Cold Weather Workshop, a two day round table workshop designed to bring together Military and DoD personnel with industry leaders in the area of military equipment for cold weather and mountainous operations. Held in Essex, Vermont the location is well known to those in military mountaineering circles. The forum of discussions provided insight on operational requirements based of lessons learned, current technology and future developments to support mission requirements and future needs. Topics covered ranged from advanced fiber technology and materials used for insulation in cold weather protection garments, individual mountain equipment to include stoves, sleep systems and lighting. A third day was dedicated to actual ice climbing training that utilized products discussed in the workshop briefings.
Denali Climb for the Fallen, 2nd Ranger BTN, Open Range Service Group from Marc Womack on Vimeo.
The conference kicked off with a presentation on the Denali Climb for the Fallen by members of the 2nd Ranger Bn and led by Open Range Service Group. This video is a synopsis of the ascent. The group summited Denali on Memorial Day of 2011. This key presentation really set off the tone of the entire event and while the climb was completed under training conditions, the environmental challenges faced by the crew were the same as in combat. This led to excellent observations on kit, nutrition, health and techniques. In later presentations, I was able to make direct correlations back to the initial address which was very helpful considering I had never undertaken a climbing expedition.
I attend a lot of seminars and trade shows and I have to say that this event was well worth my time. The subject matter was poignant and the speakers and attendees were a great mix. There was heavy attendance by military and industry personnel involved in mountain and cold weather ops. I was really impressed with the backgrounds of military and civilians alike and everyone added to the discussion but from different perspectives. While ultimately, everything is based on civilian climbing, different units adopt different techniques and gear at different speeds.
If you have the opportunity to attend one of ORSG’s events in the future, make sure you do it. I can’t think of many conferences where you can talk about new techniques and technologies and then try them out. If it’s even half as good as this one, you won’t be disappointed.
I want to give out a special thanks to my hosts Open Range Service Group and in particular, sponsor Primaloft.
Also, be sure to ask ORSG about their excellent performance t-shirts from New Balance commemorating the Denali Climb for the Fallen. Proceeds from sales of the shirts go to the Pointe du Hoc Foundation.
Panteao Productions: Make Ready with Jim Fuller, the AK Armorer’s Bench is now available for purchase. Unlike other tactical training video producers, Panteao also offers a unique feature. You can stream all of their videos with a membership.
Jim Fuller, founder of Rifle Dynamics and widely recognized as one of the industry’s leading experts on the AK design, talks Kalash history then walks you step by step through disassembly, cycle of operation, cleaning the AK, the trigger group and trigger group choices, changing furniture, sights, muzzle devices, trigger guard removal, barrel pin removal, front sight gas block alignment, fitting the safety, scope mounts, rails, and more. After-market parts and modifications are also reviewed in detail.
This is a trigger assembly mock-up he built to demonstrate how the weapon functions:
There’s also a good video on ATACTV where Mr Fuller talks weapons, you should check it out.
-DR
Many years ago as a young hard charging Corporal of Marines I attended the Non-Comissioned Officers Leadership school located in Quantico, VA. Now back in the cold winter of 1983 this wasn’t the polished, balanced and well thought out curriculum that young Marine leaders attend in their leadership schools today. We lived in an ice cold 100 year old wooden barracks that were about 10 feet off the Amtrak train tracks way back in the woods behind the Marine Officer Candidate School (OCS). All of our instructors were OCS drill instructors that were on a winter break from “pushing” candidates through OCS. Needless to say they had little interest in our “development”, but seemed to take sadistic pleasure in trying run us into the ground on the dozens of muddy running trails that are everywhere on that part of the base. Any actual leadership training was transmitted in the form of extra duty, pushups and endless hours of drill practice on the always windy parade deck. However there was one exception. 
Assigned to OCS in military exchange duty was a British Royal Marine Colour Sgt. A big, red headed easy going guy (who could run like a race horse) he was the official “PT” instructor for the NCO school, and a talented experienced leader in all respects. He gave us a class one day on the fundamentals of physical training. All old school stuff, eat 3 balanced meals away, PT everyday, don’t smoke, drink in moderation and try to get enough rest. Pretty tame compared to all the flashy high tech training advice you see 24/7 in the media today. While It was a good class, it was pretty forgettable except for one thing he said that I never forgot right up to this minute. That was he statement “don’t confuse efforts with results.” When your trying to get in shape and maybe lose some weight you have stick with what works. Don’t waste anytime beating your head on the wall trying to make something work that sounds good, but doesn’t really work. In my book “Corps Strength” I outline a simple and effective fitness plan that when applied correctly will get you, and keep you in outstanding physical condition and help keep your weight under control. High tech and high price aside, what the old Colour Sgt knew almost 30 years ago is just as true today. Is that in the end what counts is results and little else.
Good luck and be safe,
MGunz
The Inov8 Bare-XF 210 was designed for every element of fitness. It incorporates zero differential and zero midsole as well as a sticky rubber sole to provide a strong base for lifting weights. Additionally, the one piece TPU lacing support provides durability on the shoe when climbing ropes. Look for them at www.extremeoutfitters.us/inov8bare-xf210.
If you are interested, they also have a good stock of the F lite 230’s, another great shoe for Crossfit users. The F lite 230 offers a bit more support than the Bare-XF 210 and is only 20 grams heavier. They are available at www.extremeoutfitters.us/inov8f-lite230.
All of Inov8 shoes ship free from Extreme Outfitters.
Join sponsor Elzetta Tactical Lighting for Low Light Training followed by a Zombie Shoot this October 27, 2012 in Cave City, Kentucky.
Expert Low Light Combat Pistol Training will be presented by Dave Spaulding of the American Institute of Marksmanship. It looks to be a good time and a great chance to pick up some low light pistol training.
Stay tuned for more info by visiting elzetta.com/ZombieShoot
