A “Boo Boo” bag is part of a medical kit reserved for minor cuts and blisters (headaches, too), the non-life-threatening stuff that’s inconvenient but nonetheless needs to be treated.
We’ve presented ready made versions in the past with many preferring to make their own. This video featuring former Special Forces Medic Luka, shows what he puts in his “Boo Boo” bag.
Read more at ufpro.com/blog/article/civilian-edc-whats-my-combat-medic-bag.
Irvine, CA (September 17, 2020) – 5.11, Inc., the global innovator of purpose-built apparel, footwear and gear, has debuted a weekly podcast, “Call to Service” – Presented by 5.11. The mission of the podcast is to provide an inside look into the lives of public safety personnel and provide dialogue between professionals. Guests vary from an array of backgrounds including tactical operators, law enforcement, fire, emergency services, and active and veteran military personnel.
5.11 as a company was built on servicing the professional community through producing end-user-tested apparel and gear that meets the needs of life’s most demanding missions. Over the years, 5.11 has introduced several other initiatives to bridge the professional and civilian communities including programs like Quiet Warrior, Everyday Hero, and in-store ABR (Always Be Ready) Academies where 5.11 provides cost-free clinics for store patrons instructed by professionals in an effort to educate guests on areas of expertise such as trauma/first aid, fitness, and concealed carry.
“In trying to figure out a way to truly honor our first responders and frontline workers, we came to the conclusion as a team that telling their stories was the first step to doing that,” said 5.11’s Chief Marketing Officer, Debra Radcliff. “Our hope for “Call to Service” is that in learning about the professional community and what they endure on a daily basis.”
“Call to Service” has the opportunity to act as a platform to dive into current day trends from a larger collective of individuals,” said 5.11’s Director of Professional Marketing, Chris Skahill. “This process of sharing information between a strong mix of guests from a variety of assignments and backgrounds across regions will give visibility to different practices and comparisons allowing for opportunities for growth.”
“Call to Service” will be hosted by 5.11’s Director of Southwest Sales, Will Ayres. Ayres has been with 5.11 for 9 years. Working across the globe for 5.11 during his tenure, Ayres has spoken with countless public safety workers and understands the hardships these individuals face on a daily basis as well as the importance that dependable gear, like 5.11’s, carries for these men and women.
The first “Call to Service” podcast featured an interview with former US Navy SEAL and Tident Concepts, LLC President, Jeff Gonzalez, followed by ShivWorks founder and former law enforcement and SWAT officer, Craig Douglas. In the coming weeks, “Call to Service” will feature interviews with Mike Pannone, former operational member of U.S. Marine Reconnaissance, Army Special Forces (Green Beret) and 1st SFOD-D (Delta); Larry Zanoff, Israeli army combat veteran; a SWAT department from Southern California; Rick Hogg, 29-year US Army Special Operation Combat Veteran and owner of War HOGG Tactical; Ryan Starling, active San Bernardino County Firefighter and SWAT Engineer Paramedic.
“Call to Service” episodes will be available each Thursday, and can be found on a variety of platforms, including iTunes, Google, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Pocket Casts, Deezer, Castbox, Amazon and iHeart.
PressCheck Consulting’s Chuck Pressburg talks fighting gun set ups. There’s a ton of real world valuable info here on how a fighting gun should be configured and things to consider regarding enablers…lights, sights, lasers, etc….
Train with Chuck: presscheckconsulting.com
About: SGM(R) Pressburg retired from the US Army on January 1, 2017 after 26 years of active service, mostly in Special Operations and Special Missions Units. After Infantry and Airborne Training in 1990, Chuck completed the Ranger Indoctrination Program and was assigned to the 1st Bn, 75th Ranger Regiment.
Chuck’s experience includes:
• 10 years in the 75th Ranger Regiment including Platoon Sergeant of a 65-man strike force that was deployed to Afghanistan two times in 2001/2002. Chuck’s platoon was highly decorated for combat action receiving 10 Silver Stars and 11 Bronze stars with “V” during their first deployment.
• 24 months Rifle and Sniper Squad Leader – 82nd Airborne Division.
• 2 years Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) (Founding member, 1st active Army unit member deployed to combat, Selection Class #1, Operational Training Course (OTC) Class #1).
• 20 months in Operation Iraqi Freedom conducting Small Kill Team (SKT) operations and Direct Action raids in support of conventional and Special Operations Forces.
• 12 years, HQ USASOC performing various operational and staff tasks including a two-year assignment to the G8 section where Chuck performed Science and Technology R&D. While assigned to USASOC, Chuck graduated from the Defense Acquisitions University’s Combat Developer’s Course and The Human Factors Engineering (MANPRINT) Course. Chuck spent several years assisting in material acquisition programs for SOF.
WESTFIELD, Massachusetts – August 19, 2020 – In light of the exceptional circumstances facing traditional sales and distribution channels, Savage Arms has developed the 2020 Fall Sales Training video series to help educate retailers and customers. The informational content highlights Savage’s technological advancements and will serve as an introduction to new products.
“We were hoping we’d be back to business as usual by now,” said Rob Gates, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Savage. “While we won’t be able to see many of our customers face-to-face, we can still keep everyone informed on what’s happening here at Savage—and that starts with our 2020 Fall Sales Training videos.”
The 2020 Fall Sales Training curriculum will cover a range of subjects. Introductory topics will help new customers build a comprehensive overview of the brand and its innovations. The breadth of the catalog will be broken out into segments dedicated to Savage’s centerfire rifles, rimfires, and shotguns. In addition to announcing new products, these videos will help facilitate person to person training sessions and can be passed along to dealer and retailer store staff.
To access the training videos, please contact your local Savage sales representative. Topics include:
1 Why Savage?
2 Savage Technology
3 2020 New Products
4 Centerfire Product Information
5 Rimfire Products Information
6 Shotgun Product Information
7 Marketing Overview and Tools
The 2020 Fall Training series is available now through your local Savage representative. In addition, Savage reps will be available for virtual appointments with customers and buy groups.
Email salessupport@savagearms.com to contact your local sales representative.
Immokalee, Florida – August 19, 2020
Immokalee, FL August 19th. FORCE CENTER announced today that it will be hosting its first ever, 2-day open house event on Friday August 28th and Saturday August 29th. The training center, branded FORCE CENTER, formerly served as the location of the Hendry Correctional Institute Complex. The 1200 acre center offers various structures and property available to rent for a variety of training scenarios including active shooter response, cell extractions, shoot house, and 360 range. In-house trainers are also available to provide advanced training to law enforcement, military, security professionals, fire and EMS first responders and responsibly armed civilians.
“Our doors are open to any and all customers who need an all-inclusive, first class training facility in South Florida.” said John Szkolnik, CFO of FORCE CENTER. “We are here to not only provide the best in class facility but one that that breeds a strong community of like-minded individuals who care about training and wish to sharpen their skills across the board.”
Friday August 28th is reserved for Law Enforcement personnel only, and they can rsvp via this link: forcecenterusa.com/law-enforcement-rsvp
Saturday August 29th is open to the general public, and they can rsvp with the link below:
forcecenterusa.com/open-house-rsvp
The open house will include helicopter fast-rope demo’s, explosive breaching, free lunch for attendees and much more! We invite you to come attend this exciting opportunity and get a tour of a former maximum-security prison. 31101 Nafi Drive, Immokalee, FL 34142 from 10AM – 4PM both days. (Attendees must RSVP).
The FORCE CENTER is located in a remote area in Immokalee, Florida, just 40 minutes east of Naples, Florida. Force Center encompasses 1200 acres of secured land and includes multi-operational training venues, furnished scenario buildings, an off-road tactical driving range, 360 firing range, a 1-mile precision rifle range with a 4 story sniper tower, FAA certified unrestricted airspace 3721(Class G), a 3,500ft runway, and multiple landing zones for helicopters. The center is designed to serve Military, Fire/EMS first responder, K9, Law Enforcement and civilians in all their training needs. The Center offers unique training facilities that can train your team for reality-based active shooter scenarios, prison riots, IED overviews, explosives training, and first aid. Additionally, Force Center can provide tactical flight training services in conjunction with Airborne Tactical Training.
FORCE CENTER also offers on-site housing accommodations consisting of a five-acre housing village with six duplexes and a larger open barracks area capable of sleeping up to 50+ personnel. Each Duplex has 3 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, full kitchens, living rooms and covered parking for one vehicle.
For more information on FORCE Center, its services, and its facilities, visit www.forcecenterusa.com
Grafenwoehr, GERMANY – Intelligence Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade recently completed the Army’s Military Intelligence Training Strategy (MITS) Tier II training on July 25, 2020, as part of the 173rd Brigade Field Training Exercise 20. This training is designed to build combat readiness and prepare the Brigade for the upcoming training event, Exercise Saber Junction 20.
MITS validates that Military Intelligence staff and units are prepared and proficient in their core tasks, through several qualifying events in the Human Intelligence, Intelligence Electronic Warfare, Combat Electronic Warfare Intelligence, Analysts and Geo-Analysts Platforms.
“This tier II event is important to us, because it gives us an opportunity to aggressively train in our critical intelligence tasks that our jobs require.” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Chuck Damboise “It allows us to tell the brigade commander that we are ready to fight and win any mission that the 173rd has.”
The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army’s Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapidly deployable forces to the United States European, African and Central Command areas of responsibility. Forward deployed across Italy and Germany, the brigade routinely trains alongside NATO allies and partners to build partnerships and strengthen the alliance.
“The only [other] time that we get validations is when we’re at the school house [(Advanced Individual Training)].” Said Paratrooper Pfc. Aaron Wilkerson, a Human Intelligence Collector (35M). “Outside of the school house no one is really coming by to make sure you know what you’re doing. MITS is to ensure you know what you’re doing at your job.”
As part of his tier II validation, Wilkerson conducted a role-play scenario in which he practiced tactical questioning on a person pretending to be a detainee. In turn he passed the intelligence gathered to the other intelligence platforms for their validations.
MITS is a four tier strategy executed as individual stand-alone events and sequenced in order from Tier IV – Individual training, Tier III – Intelligence Crews, Tier II – Intelligence Platforms, and Tier I – the entire Intelligence War Fighting Function during a brigade exercise. The progression of the four tiers allows intelligence leaders and paratroopers to conduct focused training toward defined goals that are expected to be completed prior to a brigade-level combat training center rotation, like those executed at the National Training Center, Joint Readiness Training Center, or the Joint Multinational Readiness Center. Earlier this year, in late March, the 173rd started using this new training strategy.
Due to COVID-19, the unit had to work around the virus prevention measures in order for training to go smoothly. Tier II validation was scheduled to take place in April. However, this validation was rescheduled to the Tier I validation period. The largest issue that the unit faced in this particular training was the tier II Human Intelligence validation. The Human Intelligence Collectors are required to conduct tactical questioning of Human Intelligence Collectors from other units that pretend to be detainees. In order to combat the spread of the virus, both parties were required to sanitize, maintain appropriate social distancing, and utilize personal protective equipment.
Tier II played an important role in the operability of the brigade’s intelligence platforms. This training allowed Danger Company to remain technically and tactically proficient in their skills as intelligence platforms, as well as to provide the commander with an assessment on their capabilities and operational status.
The final portion of MITS, tier I; the War Fighting Function validation, for the 173rd Airborne Brigade was previously scheduled for late July or early August this year. However, the validation has been rescheduled for early 2021 due to COVID-19 spread prevention in mid-March. The War Fighting Function validation requires the cooperation of all the intelligence platforms to conduct an operation as a whole. This factor demands that all information, evaluations, and decisions must be precise and accurate in order to complete the mission.
Story by SGT John Yountz, 173rd Airborne Brigade
Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) to Deliver JTAC Training to Air Force Special Operators
Washington, DC — August 13, 2020 — Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC), part of the Textron Systems segment of Textron Inc (NYSE: TXT), announced today that it has been selected to provide live contract close air support (CCAS) training for Joint Terminal Air Controllers (JTACs) under the U.S. Air Force’s Combat Air Forces Contracted Air Support program.
A team flying ATAC’s L-39 Albatros and Valkyrie Aero’s A-27 Tucano aircraft will support Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) JTAC training at numerous bases and locations throughout the continental United States. The contract calls for approximately 900 sorties and more than 1,100 flight hours on tactical ranges annually, with flight operations commencing in the summer of 2020. This is the first CCAS award the Air Force will grant the contracted air services industry for what could be up to 10 locations under the Combat Air Forces Contracted Air Support program.
“ATAC is proud to support the training of AFSOC JTACs, the gold-standard in their field”, said Scott Stacy, ATAC General Manager. “This work expands on ATAC’s previous air-to-ground training and positions the company for future growth in this important training area”.
The ATAC-Valkyrie team also supports JTAC training under the U.S. Navy’s Terminal Attack Controller Trainer (TACT) program, and recently completed an evolution for the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC) on the Fallon ranges. The ATAC-Valkyrie team was competitively selected to participate in the TACT program in April 2019.
ATAC is the global leader of tactical airborne training, having pioneered much of what are now contracted air services industry standards with a fleet of over 90 aircraft, over 60,000 flight hours, and 20 years of operating experience. ATAC has provided a wide range of contracted air support capabilities to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in locations world-wide, including the continental United States, Hawaii and the Western Pacific region. ATAC has helped train crews from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps and regularly operates out of as many as 25 different air bases per year.
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. —
U.S. Marines with the Scout Sniper Course 2-20, Reconnaissance Training Company, Advanced Infantry Battalion, School of Infantry – West, participated in a stalking and infiltration course in the Romeo Training Area on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, July 26.
The Marines started at a designated grid point then moved forward by various means toward two observers. The objective was to close with a target, fire two shots and then exfiltrate from the training area. The trick is the Marines had to do it all without being detected by the observers. To help them in that, the Marines applied camouflage paint and built their own ghillie suits.
“The most important part of this exercise, in my opinion, is learning how to properly utilize camouflage,” said U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Steven O’keefe, an instructor with the Scout Sniper Course. “The Marines must also learn to utilize the things in front and around them.”
Some challenges that add to the difficulty of stalking exercises are the different types and height of vegetation in the area, route selection, size of the area and the time of day.
“The most important part of this exercise, in my opinion, is learning how to properly utilize camouflage.”
Staff Sgt. Steven O’keefe, Scout Sniper Course instructor
Camp Pendleton has over 25 stalking lanes for sniper training. The training areas differ by vegetation, size of the area and terrain.
Prior to this training the students participated in land navigation, classes on the basic infantry skills, live-fire exercises and other stalking lanes.
“The hardest part for me was moving to the final firing point without being detected,” said Lance Cpl. Norman Ballard a student with the Scout Sniper Course. “The vegetation in this lane is also taller, so that makes the final firing point difficult to find in this lane.”
The class started with over 20 Marines and is now expecting to graduate 14 when the 12-week course ends in late August. Between now and then, the Marines will conduct more ranges and stalking lanes, before finally ending with a culminating event that puts all the skills and knowledge they’ve gained from the course to the test.
By LCpl Drake Nickels
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
