GOOD TO-GO meals are two-serving dehydrated meals that reconstitute in 20 minutes when boiling water is added. The three currently available menu options are Herbed Mushroom Risotto, Smoked Three Bean Chili, and Thai Curry. The ingredients are all natural, and the meals are gluten free. GOOD TO-GO meals are made in the USA.
squareup.com/market/good-to-go-9
Intelligent Armour Limited is holding a contest through Facebook. Like their Facebook page and share the above image for a chance to win the featured helmet, which was shot 5 times as part of NIJ testing. The helmet can be shipped worldwide to the contest winner.
The competition will end on May 31st, 2014, so get your entry in while you can.
www.facebook.com/IntelligentArmour
The 525 Battlefield Surveillance Brigade has a long, rich history of providing direct and general Intelligence support to America’s rapid deployment forces. They’ve been stationed on Fort Bragg, NC off and on since 1948.
The 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade provides intelligence analysis and collection support to the XVIII Airborne Corps. It is the only rapidly deployable battlefield surveillance brigade in the United States Army. The brigade headquarters, two MI battalions and a Cavalry Squadron are stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The brigade’s capabilities include a full range of advanced intelligence analysis and intelligence collection that includes counterintelligence, long range surveillance, aerial signals intelligence, and Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (TENCAP). Its Soldiers come from across the range of Military Occupational Specialties in the Army to include military intelligence disciplines, infantry, aviation, signal, and the full range of critical Combat Support and Combat Service Support experts. Its mission is to provide all-source, predictive intelligence and electronic warfare in support of worldwide contingency operations.
Over the years, they’ve lost their share of personnel but it turns out that they are the only unit on Bragg without a memorial. Although I was never assigned to the 525th MI, I have many friends who have been and I served as a SIGINT NCO for many years in another unit on Bragg and as an Intelligence Officer in a unit on Pope AFB for a few more. Naturally, Lightning Friends and Family Memorial Organization’s story, and their effort to pay for a memorial is of interest to me. I thought it was a good idea to share the organization with SSD’s readers as well as info on their upcoming golf tournament.
The Lightning Friends and Family Memorial Organization was established for the purpose of constructing a Memorial to honor fallen Soldiers of the 525th BfSB. The Lightning Memorial is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit public charity organization. All contributions are tax-deductible. The permanent monument will be erected on Ft. Bragg, NC. This memorial project will recognize those service members and their families who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving.
To learn more, ‘Like’ them on Facebeook – www.facebook.com/pages/Lightning-Friends-and-Family-Memorial-Organization
A short while ago, Mechanix Wear came out with a thinner variant of their ‘The Original’ glove design. ‘The Original’ high dexterity Covert glove features a 0.5mm synthetic leather palm for optimal tactile control. The synthetic leather extends to the form-fitting finger design, which reduces material bunching and improves feel. Breathable TrekDry material form-fits the hand for optimal dexterity. The wrist consists of a Thermal Plastic Rubber closure for a secure fit and nylon cord loop for storage.
My experience with the ‘The Original’ high dexterity covert has been overall positive. It’s a very dexterous and comfortable glove that offers precise control when manipulating a weapon, and it also manages to stay cool.
www.mechanix.com/tactical/the-original-05mm-covert
Our very first post was six years ago. Here we are, almost 11,000 posts later. Happy anniversary to us!
If you follow any of the internet forums you will see the argument of whether competition shooting is a plus or minus for ‘Real World’ application. The ‘ game boys’ will argue that competition is the key to success, and the ‘tactical gurus’ promise that gun games will doom you to the flames of Hell. The truth falls somewhere in the middle. First of all, I will make it clear that I am not anti-gun competition. I was a founding member of IPSC, IDPA, and the guy that started three-gun competition in the USA. I have been active in all three, never a ‘great shooter’, but a pretty ‘good’ one back in the day.
Gun games will definitely produce highly skilled shooters. In my classes over past 35 years I have noted that typically the best shooters have come action shooting backgrounds. I think that those shooters who have subjected themselves to the stress of shooting in competition have certainly learned some important lessons about how well they perform when out of their comfort zone. Gun handling, quick accurate shooting, and movement with a weapon are skills that can be mastered via gun games. To bad mouth gun games as not realistic or valid for developing combat marksmanship skills is not wise.
Look at the number of top trainers with Alias Training and you will find most have a gun game history. Jim Cirrillo was one of the top gun fighters of his era…he was also a PPC champ and always said that his competition background was a key to his success in his many shootouts. So, gun games have benefits…..Right. But, they also have some real negatives. If you pursuethem to become really good in your particular discipline, you will have to adopt techniques and practices that can be harmful in the real world. Like everything we do in life…….you are what you practice. The more you practice, the more it becomes subconscious.
Case in point: I had a nice young man in a class recently that was very skilled. He was an active USPSA competitor and very quick and accurate. Every time his relay would finish their drills, he would quickly unload and holster his pistol ( magazine out, slide quickly to the rear and catch the ejected round in his hand). Even though I told each relay to top off their weapons and then holster prior to scoring and pasting targets…He did this every time, and was never ready to shoot when his relay was called to the line the next time. Later in the day as his relay finished and everyone else was reloading and holstering, he was still clearing and unloading his pistol. I finally walked over and asked him, “Why in the Hell do you keep unloading your sidearm when you are finished with a shooting task?” He got red in the face, and then answered ‘habit’. Well, now we can see the negatives of gun games and the many things that you will program as a reflexive response. There are a whole host of things that the well seasoned game boys do that are pure stupid in the real world. Yea, I know that most will tell you that I would not ‘do that’ if it were for real. Ray Charles could a see how bogus that statement is. Remember, you are what you practice. I note that many of the top gun game boys really think that because They are so good and fast on the trigger that in the real world they will automatically win any encounter with the bad guys…..yea, I had a dose of that mindset myself back in the day.
Understand what the good and bad of gun games bring to the table. They are great fun, I recommend that anyone that carries a blaster give them a try, but don’t become a slave to them.
-Ken Hackathorn
Ken Hackathorn has served as a US Army Special Forces Small Arms Instructor, Gunsite Instructor, and NRA Police Firearms Instructor. He is currently an FBI Certified Firearms Instructor, Certified Deputy Sheriff with Washington County SO, Ohio, and a SRT member and Special Response Team trainer. Ken has trained US Military Special Operations forces, Marine FAST and SOTG units and is a contract small arms trainer to FBI SWAT and HRT.
Ken has provided training to Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and been active in small arms training for the past 25 years. He has written firearms related material for Guns & Ammo, Combat Handguns, Soldier Of Fortune, and currently American Handgunner and contributed to at least six other gun/shooting journals. Ken was also a founding member of IPSC and IDPA.
To see Ken’s Training Class Schedule visit aliastraining.com.
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.
The guys over at Thyrm, manufacturer of the SwitchBack, shared with us a recent review by on Firelance Media of the Costa design, which they developed in partnership with Costa Ludis. Occasionally, we like to share content from others on the blog space, so here’s the review in its entirety. Read it over and be sure to tell the original author what you think.
When I was out at SHOT SHOW, I had a few minutes to catch up with Chris Costa and he told me about a new product coming out from Thyrm, called the Switchback. A few weeks later, Andrew Frazier, owner of Thyrm shipped me two versions of it, a small size for a light like the Surefire EB1, and a large version, for a light like the Surefire Fury.
I’ve been carrying the Switchback daily for about 2 months and I really like what the product has to offer. Check the video below for my full review.
You may have seen an article come out recently from David Reeder at Recoil Magazine outlining his experiences. If you haven’t read that article, do it right after watching this video. It explains a lot of the finer points of the buzz surrounding the Switchback.
TL;DR
In a nutshell, the Switchback is a good product that is worth purchasing and for about $20 you can try it out and not have buyer’s remorse. I really like the thought that went into the design and I’m going to keep one on my Fury for now. I’ll probably find myself switching it with the Raven Clip depending on the day. I have quite a few low light classes coming up, including shoothouse and vehicle classes and my goal is to really put it to the test while under stress. Most of us don’t practice low light techniques enough as it is. Buying a Switchback is not going to suddenly change your world. What it WILL do is give you a solid piece of gear for your pocket light and it will make you practice your light techniques more. To me that’s worth the price.
Review by Matt Stagliano – firelancemedia.com/review-the-switchback-by-thyrm-and-costa-ludus
SilencerCo has partnered with Operation Supply Drop to benefit “8-Bit Salute”, a charitable event which aims to send gaming-themed care packages to combat deployed and injured troops. SilencerCo will be selling 5 t-shirts with designs reminiscent of old-school Nintendo games, all outfitted with the various suppressors in their product line, with part of the proceeds of every shirt sold going to charity.
The first shirt in the series, the Game Over – Saker 762 tee, is currently available. The 4 remaining designs will be released over the next four weeks, with a new design available every week.
www.store.silencerco.com/collections/merchandise
