This time, the KCRF patch made its way to Southern Israel.
Keep ’em coming!
You Never Know Where They’ll Show Up
August 16th, 2015Survival Tactical Systems – Woodland Hat
August 15th, 2015
Survival Tactical Systems is offering their own Woodland Hat. Lightweight with a Woodland front panel and bill, and a light green mesh back. It adjusts via a Velcro back strap. Made in the USA.
www.survivaltacticalsystems.com/sts-equipment-apparel-swag/sts-woodland-hat
Additionally, Survival Tactical Systems has a couple of upcoming events.
There’s the upcoming SMOKECHECK course September 18-20th in Central Eastern PA. For more details, click the link below.
www.survivaltacticalsystems.com/smoke-check-products/sts-smokecheck-15-02-1
Survival Tactical Systems will also have booths #306 – #307 at the upcoming First Strike Military Expo at the NC State Fairgrounds Expo Center. The event is happening September 12th through 13th.
www.facebook.com/pages/1st-Strike-Military-Expo/426298724189740
Gunfighter Moment – Joshua Vandenbrink 
August 15th, 2015
For this week’s Gunfighter Moment, we’re introducing a new Gunfighter to the fold, Joshua Vandenbrink. Joshua has served as an Air Force Pararescueman between 2001 and 2014, and is an avid outdoorsman as well as a teacher of emergency medicine to Military personnel and civilians from around the world. We look forward to seeing Joshua’s words of wisdom in the coming weeks.
Joshua Vandenbrink was an Air Force Pararescueman from 2001-2014. He has deployed 20 times between Africa, Iraq, and Afghanistan both as a rescue PJ and in other US Government capacities. In addition to his Military service, Joshua spent a year in Iceland doing rescue operations on land and in the North Atlantic Ocean, as well as two years in Alaska working for the National Guard. During this period, he performed real world civil search and rescue around the state, including time with the National Park Service on Mt. McKinley. Outside of work, Joshua has spent a great deal of time in the backcountry hiking, skiing, surfing, mountain biking, kayaking, shooting, and riding enduro motorcycles. From the Yukon Territory to Southern Chile, Joshua never stops learning new ways to conquer the most remote and austere environments this world has to offer. These days, he can most often be found in the backcountry of Colorado teaching emergency medicine to Military personnel and civilians from around the world.
Josh often says that his Military career taught him so much that he is grateful for, and it’s his turn to give back to his community through his training programs. He finds great satisfaction in seeing people go from being fearful of the backcountry to safely pushing past their comfort zones and adventuring out beyond their wildest dreams.
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 SSD readers hard earned words of wisdom.
You Never Know Where They’ll Show Up
August 15th, 2015
This time, the KCRF patch made its way to the Isle of Skye.
Thanks to ‘J’ for the picture. Keep ’em coming!
Prometheus Design Werx – BoB Tool
August 14th, 2015
Prometheus Design Werx has just restocked the BoB Tool. The BoB (Break or Beer) is a compact, titanium tool designed primarily for functions tailored to support EMTs and other First Responders. The functions of the BoB include the capability to rapidly open and close oxygen tank valves and break auto glass to retrieve victims. It also has a 10mm wrench, a 1/4″ hex bit driver, a recessed key ring, and a bottle cap lifter.
Included Tools
prometheusdesignwerx.com/collections/one-piece-tools/products/pdw-bob-tool
Steve Reichert Training – SRT Ballistics Course
August 14th, 2015
The SRT ballistics course is a full 8+ hour course that immerses the student in every aspect of bullets in flight. This course is a very intense and in depth dive into what very few people fully understand. The instructor for this course is Dr. Lyman Hazelton.
Dr. Hazelton has served as a faculty research scientist at the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Science of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His work as a Project Scientist and acting Principal Investigator, he led a team from MIT and the NASA Ames Research Laboratory to create a computer system to provide astronauts with AI based scientific assistance, the “PI-in-a-Box” experiment. The experiment successfully flew on SLS-2 (STS-58).
Following this mission, he headed the design team for the onboard science computer system (hardware and software) for the Chandra X-ray Observatory CCD Imaging Spectrometer. Dr. Hazelton has done previous work in lasers, holography, spectroscopy, and plasma physics. He has fifteen published scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, and has delivered numerous presentations at national scientific meetings. His “PI-in-a-Box” project won a NASA Presidential Commercial Space Act Award and he has received personal certificates of recognition from NASA and the American Association for Artificial Intelligence. He holds an Interdepartmental (dual) doctorate of philosophy in Aeronautics and Astronautics and in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
For more information visit: SteveReichertTraining.com/srt-ballistics-course
Polaris Defense – Contract Awarded For Ground Guidance Route Planning Software Integration Into ATAK
August 14th, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS (August 13, 2015) — A contract for Ground Guidance software expands the patented route planning and terrain analysis software for the U.S. Army by integrating it into the Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK) platform. The software suite from Primordial, which is owned by Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII), provides on and off-road routing for mounted and dismounted soldiers, accounting for terrain, weather, enemy activity and equipment load. The contract also includes a computer-based training (CBT) package.
Military small unit leaders face complex tradeoffs when selecting equipment and routes. Ground Guidance, when integrated into platforms like ATAK, plans efficient and safe routes to and from mission objectives and allows soldiers to account for other variables that impact speed and time.
“We continue to expand the integration of Ground Guidance onto our mission planning platforms because it accelerates mission planning, enables dynamic and rapid re-planning, facilitates thorough course of action (COA) analysis, and is critical for remote mission planning,” said LTC Robert Klarenbach, U.S. Army. “Bottom line, it increases the combat effectiveness of our soldiers.”
Also, with each platform and integration comes user evaluation and testing to improve the software and verify the accuracy of route metrics such as distance, duration, energy expenditure, calories burned and exhaustion.
“Ground Guidance dramatically accelerates mission planning, facilitates on-the-fly re-planning, and improves route quality by automatically generating fast and concealed routes through on- and off-road terrain,” said Randy Milbert, Director of Software, Polaris. “As a result, small combat teams are more autonomous, nimble and adaptable in quickly changing battlefield conditions.”
Ground Guidance has been integrated into FalconView, TerraExplorer, Nett Warrior, X-Plan, Ringtail, Tactical Ground Reporting (TIGR) and Google Earth. Primordial has also secured Ground Guidance contracts with major defense contractors including General Dynamics, Rockwell Collins, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon.
www.polaris.com/en-us/military
FirstSpear Friday Focus – Improved IFAK Med Thong
August 14th, 2015
For this week’s FirstSpear Friday Focus, we’re taking a look at the Improved IFAK Med Thong. Utilizing the 6/9 attachment system, the Med Thong can attach to either standard PALS/MOLLE or the 6/12 Pocket Attachment System. The Thong can fit a variety of IFAKs, and the inclusion of 6/12 slits along the sides and top flap allows for the attachment of additional medical pouches, such as the FirstSpear Tourniquet Pouch and Rapid Access Pocket, Pressure Dressing.
Available in Black, Coyote, MultiCam, and Ranger Green. Note that this products consists of the Thong only, and does not come with the Med Pocket.
www.first-spear.com – Improved IFAK Med Thong
