Finnish suppressor manufacturer Ase Utra displayed their new training suppressor. It’s a Denny device and can be used for non-blank firing training such as combatives or non-firing rehearsals. This sample has been painted but they are working on a Cerakote version.
If you need a blank firing device, Ase Utra offers this model from their partner Thales which was developed for use with the Austeyr and has been adapted to their muzzle attachment. 
I’m sharing this story by the Iowa Air National Guard’s 132nd Wing PAO for two reasons:
1. My father was a full time Guard guy (technician) at the 132nd Fighter Wing while I was growing up, so I have a personal interest.
2. The Wing has given up its F-16s and now conducts ISR, as a ground control station for UAS. When they had fighters, it made sense for the Wing to deploy to other locales, in order to familiarize themselves with the operating environment and practice wartime tasks. Now that they don’t have airplanes, it’s interesting to see the Wing’s personnel still conduct exercises at other bases.
Des Moines, Iowa —
Hawaii. A beautiful island paradise full of scenic ocean and mountain views, pleasant tropical breezes and piña coladas. What the members of the 132d Wing were preparing for though is anything but pleasant. Throughout the beautiful island, gas masks were being donned, weapons readied, sleeves rolled up, boots muddied and sweat falling as Iowa Air Guardsmen prepared themselves and others for hazardous and deadly situations.
Master Sgt. Patrick Kazeze, 132d Communications Flight, takes inventory of computer equipment February 13, 2018, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii. The 132d CF Airmen inventoryed equipment, disposed of outdated computer hardrives and performed maintenance on underground network cables. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Michael J. Kelly)
Approximately 69 Airmen of the 132d Wing deployed to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii, February 10-23, 2018 for Exercise Sentry Aloha to develop their deployment readiness skills alongside their active duty and Hawaii Air National Guard counterparts.
Airmen from civil engineering, emergency management, fire emergency services, communications, security forces, force support squadron and medical all trained in a variety of environments and scenarios with local active duty and guard members.
Master Sgt. Matt Henning, 132d Wing Command Support Staff, acts as a casualty during an active shooter drill at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii. The drill was conducted to measure the response time and readiness of emergency personnel. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Michael J. Kelly)
The Emergency Management (EM) team trained approximately 466 active duty, Guard, and Reservist Airmen in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) attack survival skills. The training included proper use of CBRN equipment, simulation of different disaster scenarios, decontamination training and self-aid and buddy care (SABC).
“Getting to see the different perspective each instructor brings really helps pinpoint better ways to help people survive, especially those deploying,” said Tech. Sgt. Rachel Albee, 132d Wing Emergency Management.
Tech. Sgt. Rachel Albee, 132d Wing Emergency Managment, instructs Hawaii Airmen in proper decontamination tactics February 13, 2018, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii. The 132d EM trained approximately 466 active duty, Guard and Reserve Airmen. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Michael J. Kelly)
EM had access to equipment and facilities unavailable their home station which allowed them to effectively train Airmen for disaster scenarios. The efforts of EM were instrumental in deployment readiness of the Hawaii Airmen and were greatly appreciated.
“They integrated well with our flight members and provided much needed support in the readiness surge getting Airmen deployment ready,” said MSgt. Kareem Fuertes, emergency manager, 154th Wing, Hawaii Air National Guard.
Master Sgt. Randy Warden, a combat arms training and maintenance (CATM) instructor, 132d Security Forces Squadron, gives instructions to shooters February 14, 2018, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii. The CATM team oversaw the weapons training and qualification for deploying Hawaii Airmen. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Michael J. Kelly)
Instructors from the 132d Security Forces Squadron’s combat arms training and maintenance (CATM) team oversaw the weapons training and qualification for deploying Hawaii Airmen. The training was conducted in new, state of the art indoor range which allowed for a greater diversity of shooting scenarios and allowed for faster qualification time.
Hawaii Air National Guard Airmen fire M-4 carbines during weapons qualification February 14, 2018, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor- Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii.The 132d Security Forces CATM team oversaw the weapons training and qualification for deploying Hawaii Airmen. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Michael J. Kelly)
“It was great being able to see how it works and talk to the CATM group here to find out the pros, cons and all the maintenance that is needed if we were able to obtain one,” said Tech. Sgt. Savannah Page, CATM instructor, 132d SFS.
The 132d Medical Group trained on administrative systems and also worked real world medical operations at Tripler Army Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. The training included a rare hands-on Aerovac training mission, the on and off loading of patients in critical condition from aircraft. The training, which most ANG members seldom receive except in deployed locations, presented many challenges which the 132d MDG used to prepare themselves for future missions.
“The biggest obstacle for the training is the unpredictability of the actual flights,” said Staff Sgt. Kelsey Searls. “Aircraft availability, stability of the patients, weather, paperwork; all of it can change the flight times at any moment, making training on actual aircraft and running live missions, sometimes impossible to get during an annual training tour.”
132d Communications Flight Airman from the 132d Wing, Iowa Air National Guard open up a manhole cover while working on underground cables February 22, 2018, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii. The 132d CF Airmen inventoryed equipment, disposed of outdated computer hardrives and performed maintenance on underground network cables. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Michael J. Kelly)
132d Communications Flight worked on a variety of projects on base including inventorying equipment, disposing outdated computer hard drives and tapes as well as prepare underground network cables for use in base operations. They also upgraded the base’s computer systems and software.
“It was great getting to work with new people in a total force integrated environment,” said Senior Airman Ben Trotter, spectrum operations technician, 132d Communications Flight. “We provided manpower which organized their assets as well as training for us which will make us a more efficient communications flight.”
Communications Flight Airmen disposed of over 200 computer hard drives, inventoried and processed in approximately 250 computers, updated the software on 40 computers and fixed approximately five thousand feet of network cable.
Staff Sgt. Megan Newton, services, 132d Force Support Squadron, makes a pie in the Hale Aina Dining Facility, February 14, 2018, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii. The 132d FSS Airmen provided five thousand meals for base members. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Michael J. Kelly)
The 132d Force Support Squadron’s services Airmen provided meals at the Hale Aina Dining Facility on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The Airmen were able take inventory of the produce and supplies of the dining facility which helped them gain more knowledge of accountability systems.
“Working hand in hand with the active duty was rewarding as was the mutual exchange of ideas and knowledge of the services field which will make our shop better,” Chris Newton, services shift leader, 132d FSS.
The services Airmen also helped prepare a special meal for the base in honor of Black History Month. In total, the 132d FSS served approximately five thousand meals to active duty, Guard and Reserve Airmen. They also conducted the physical training tests of approximately 500 Airmen.
U.S. Navy and Air Force security forces rush towards the scene of a shooting during an active shooter drill February 15, 2018, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii. The drill was conducted to measure the response time and readiness of emergency personnel. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Robert Shepherd)
Sentry Aloha exercises are held to provide the Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force and other Department of Defense agencies an opportunity to execute current, realistic, integrated training specifically designed to develop combat operations and skill sets.
By Staff Sgt. Michael J. Kelly, 132d Wing Public Affairs
In this episode, John Spears of Forge Tactical discusses many misconceptions of red dot sights on handguns.
John “Doc” Spears is a former 18 Delta Special Operations Medic and sniper who served in the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). He has worked in counter-insurgency/counter narco-terrorism and interdiction projects throughout Central and South America. He specializes in small unit tactics and sniper operations and is a master shoothouse instructor. He is a defense industry consultant and trainer for multiple manufacturers including many of the Forge Tactical sponsors. After leaving active duty and completing his education he returned to the defense and training industry and became a student of Pat Rogers. He subsequently became Pat’s assistant instructor and began teaching all advanced tactical courses with EAG in 2009. Chappy joined them soon after. Doc and Chappy formed Forge Tactical in 2017 after Pat’s death to continue the mission of training America’s armed protectors.
How do we properly scan? We’ve all the seen people on the range that keep their eyes in their sights and move their weapon from left to right as a habit. While it looks good and they are checking the block on performing this critical task, sometimes those people aren’t actually identifying anything and are setting themselves up for failure.
If you keep your eyes in your sight while scanning, you are limiting yourself to what is within that toilet paper tube sized housing. With some sights, this is even smaller. As much as we train to go into broad target focus with the sight in line with our eyes, having it there will inevitably pull you back into what’s only visible from that housing. On top of this, red dot is already on your target.
We put our sights on target thousands of times and pull the trigger. Do you think anything will be different when you have to discriminate between a threat and a non-threat? Your brain has been wired to see a red dot or sights on target and pull the trigger. How about when other good guys have a weapon like a police officer responding to a call? Give yourself the time and space necessary to properly identify those around you in an actual situation. By lowering the weapon slightly so that the sights are not immediately visible and on your target, you are creating the amount of time and space necessary for your brain to identify the target, and potentially tell your firing hand not to pull the trigger if needed. I would want that split second extra to determine if what was in the suspect’s hand was a cell phone, an unidentified person holding a badge, or the shape in the middle of the night was actually my wife who accidently tripped over my gym bag while she was checking on the kiddo. There’s a lot of situations that this could be important, I’m sure you can think of several and add it to the comments below.
A good rule of thumb with a rifle is to be able to turn your chin over your buttstock. With a pistol, lower the gun down to your upper chest or break it back enough to be able to see the torso area of those around you. Hands aren’t always above the shoulder line to determine if they have a gun, and badges aren’t always high on the chest to easily see. When you have your weapon pressed out in your line of sight, you are effectively cutting off the majority or the torso that gives us the ability to identify what we need, get a snapshot of the person, and proceed into our “snapshot… hands, aim, shoot” process of target identification.
Scan with your eyes and actually identify the targets to your left and right of your area. ID target, engage until target begins to go down, gun down, eyes lead gun, and snap onto next target if required. Use your eyes to gather information and determine whether or not you will give commands or engage depending on your situation. You can only shoot as fast as you can see, and you can only make decision as fast as you can process information. Don’t limit yourself on either, or set yourself up for failure.
Drew Estell is the owner of BAER Solutions, and served for a decade in Special Operations. He has been fortunate enough to serve with soldiers and instructors who were invested in his success, and as such have benefited from the years of experience that each of them had. During the course of his multiple combat deployments and experiences, he has learned that no shooter is the same.
In addition to weapons training classes, BAER Solutions offers leadership and team building consultations. BAER Solutions also works with police departments to take lessons learned from SOF deployments and apply them to the specific needs of the local governance and populace. By combining SOF tenets of Village Stability Operations and the concept of Community Policing, they deliver a consulting and training package called Unconventional Policing.
For more information this topic, create your free account at Greyhive and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch the pistol ready position videos demonstrating this.
Snapshot is a bi-weekly series from Greyhive featuring content written by our Experts. It is our goal to deliver information that prompts you to examine your preparedness from all angles, not just how quickly and accurately you shoot.
FORT MCCOY, Wis. — Twenty-five Soldiers came to Fort McCoy to learn how to survive and operate in a winter environment as students in a cold weather operations class during the first two weeks of January.
Soldiers who are students in the Fort McCoy Cold-Weather Operations Course learn about specialized knot-tying as part of course training Jan. 10, 2018, at Fort McCoy, Wis. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Scott Sturkol)
“This course gave me confidence,” said Staff Sgt. Joseph Chrysler with the 339th Psychological Operations Company of Arden Hills, Minnestoa, after completing Cold-Weather Operations Course Class 18-02. “It gave me confidence in my cold-weather clothing and gear and helped me (rebuild) skills that are not used every day in today’s Army … Also, some of the best parts of this course were learning to build a thermal shelter and (bivouacking) overnight in the elements.”
The course, also known as CWOC, is modeled on the Cold-Weather Leader Course taught by the Army Northern Warfare Training Center at Black Rapids, Alaska, said course instructor Bill Hamilton.
Hamilton said the course is designed to challenge students. “Our program of instruction includes overnight operations in the field,” he said. “We teach them a finite set of individual, leader, and small-unit collective tasks within a structured ‘crawl, walk, and run’ methodology.”
Instructor Hunter Heard with the Fort McCoy Cold-Weather Operations Course teaches Soldiers who are course students about specialized knot-tying as part of course training Jan. 10, 2018, at Fort McCoy, Wis. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Scott Sturkol)
Tasks taught include cold-weather injury identification and treatment, proper ways to wear cold weather clothing, cold weather risk management, snowshoeing and skiing, and adverse effects of cold weather on military equipment, Hamilton said.
Training also includes developing winter fighting positions in the field, camouflage and concealment, building improvised shelters, and numerous other areas that are important to know in order to survive and operate in a cold weather environment.
“We start off with classroom training for a few days and then it’s training in the field every day until we’re done,” Hamilton said. “In the field, the students spend time ruck marching for dozens of miles, skiing, snowshoeing, building tents and shelters, and more.”
Soldiers who are students in the Fort McCoy Cold-Weather Operations Course learn to ski and about skiing techniques Jan. 11, 2018, at Whitetail Ridge Ski Area at Fort McCoy, Wis. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Scott Sturkol)
After being exposed to the cold weather in the field, many students said understanding the Army Extreme Cold-Weather Clothing System, or ECWCS, was most helpful. The system, which is issued through the Fort McCoy Central Issue Facility, includes a lightweight undershirt and underwear, midweight shirt and underwear, fleece jacket, wind jacket, soft shell jacket and trousers, extreme cold/wet weather jacket and trousers, and extreme cold weather parka and trousers.
“You have to have confidence in your gear … It’s how you stay alive in extreme conditions,” said Staff Sgt. Anthony Steinhoff, who with the Wisconsin National Guard in Richland Center, Wisconsin. “In this course, they teach you how to properly dress for the cold.”
“Practical, hands-on application of using equipment seems to be one of the best ways for students to get familiar with the equipment needed to survive in cold weather,” Hamilton said.
Toward the end of the course, all students participated in cold water immersion training. Joe Ernst, also a CWOC instructor, said cold water immersion is critical to the ability to survive and operate in a cold weather environment.
“The experience of a service member being introduced to water in an extreme cold environment is a crucial task for waterborne operations and confidence building,” Ernst said. “For a person to fall into water in that environment, the onset of panic generally introduces itself quickly. For our service members who will be operating in an extreme cold environment, it is a task that, if not trained for, can produce unnecessary casualties.”
“The best parts of this course was learning to build an improvised shelter and the cold water immersion,” said Sgt. Hunter Carlson with the Wisconsin National Guard’s 1158th Transportation Company at Beloit, Wisconsin. “I didn’t enjoy doing either of them, but I realize how important learning those skills are and being able to use them.”
Army ROTC Cadet Molly Brown with the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse said she appreciated all of the training.
“Everything you need to know to succeed in (cold weather) is taught in this course,” Brown said. “This course significantly prepared me and taught me the skills needed to (operate) and survive in a cold weather environment.”
By Scott Sturkol and originally published at Army.mil.
Introducing the @tmacsinc Signature Steel Target. Click the link in the bio to buy yours. The dimensions were engineered by Pat McNamara to ensure you receive the maximum training value.
The top measures 6 5/8″ wide and the bottom at 11 1/2″, with a length of 18″. System includes the TMACS Inc Strike Face, Base, Post Top and Strike Face Bracket with Bolts. Ships unpainted. Patent Pending.
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Are you prepared to fight in the night? N-Vision Optics has teamed up with SIG SAUER Academy to bring you Night Vision Operator. This course will familiarize current Military or Law Enforcement officers with the functions of night operation devices, while supplementing existing tactics.
Course Outline
Classroom Discussion:
• Image intensifications vs. thermal
• Night Vision science
• Night Vision optic anatomy, operation, mounting, & procurement options
• Infrared devices (Illuminators, lasers, and accessories)
• Mounting and zeroing process for infrared optics
Range Portion:
• Moving and navigating with Night Vision
• Static shooting positions out to 50m using both Infrared Devices and red dot optics
• Total darkness tactical and bolt lock reloads
• Total darkness basic malfunctions
• Total darkness positional shooting
• Total darkness barricade & bilateral shooting
• Total darkness target to target transitions
More Information
For more information, dates, and registration visit www.sigsaueracademy.com/productdisplay/night-vision-operator.
For a complete list of products and product information visit www.nvisionoptics.com.
