The Skin Diver from Hazard 4 joins the Combat Seal and Combat Base rash guards as one of three new shirts meant for use in the water. In all three cases they’ve assembled a garment made from the strategic placement of materials in different areas.
In the case of the Skin Diver they’ve combined 2mm neoprene on the chest with 1.5mm neoprene for the abdomen/back/arms. Additionally, Hazard 4 has incorporated loop material panels on the arms and chest for unit patches, i.d.’s, name-tapes, morale patches, and glint tape.
CMSgt Frank Dailey (USAF, Ret) and I have known one another for many years. He is, among other things, both an avid fisherman and an avid humanitarian. I’ll tell you, Frank is one of the best NCOs I ever worked with and has always went out of his way to take care of the troops.
He recently retired and has been doing a lot with the organization Heroes On The Water. It allows him to combine two of his passions in order to help make the lives of our wounded vets a little better. Several times per month, Frank is out on the water in a kayak communing with nature through exercise and introspection. Even better, he does it with other veterans, some of whom are wounded.
…many of the wounds are invisible: 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan Vets show signs of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or depression.
From 2003 to the present time (2010), there have been 5,773 U.S armed forces deaths and 31,902 ‘visible’ wounded from hostile fire, IED amputations, burns and other injuries.* In addition, it is estimated that there are 300,000 suffering with PTSD and 320,000 with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). Reports indicate that the numbers of injured military personnel is increasing by 50 per month since mid-2008.**
Alarmingly, there are 950 suicide attempts each month by veterans who are receiving some type of treatment from the Veterans Affairs Department with an average of 18 veterans committing suicide each day.
Programs like HOW are very important for our Wounded Warriors. Please, take some time to visit their site to learn more. Maybe you are in need of help, or want to spend time with these recovering men and women. Or, you just want to donate. Regardless, this is a fantastic way to help out, especially for those of you interested in fishing.
We’ve run across a couple of interesting government procurements of High Threat Concealment gear recently. First we find out through a story in Government Security News that “Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is issuing this Notice of Intent to award as a sole source requirement to High Threat Concealment (HTC), 708 Gum Rock Street, Suite E, Newport News, VA 23606 for Low Profile Systems (both Left and Right handed).”
We’ve watched Combat Flip Flop’s Griff train all over the US and Europe as he prepares to run with Bulls in Spain, in flip flops no less in an effort to raise awareness to get the Afghan factories up and running. Here’s a recent training session in the Netherlands.
Earlier today, Griff made a trial run in running shoes and filed this report on Facebook.
Running with the Bulls Day 1:
Success! The CFF crew ran with bulls and made it to the ring successfully. Thanks to DK and Uber Group for providing the training footwear.
The AK’s are on deck for tomorrow’s run.
Challenge: 10000 likes
Dare: Flip Flops in the bull run
Bet: We can raise awareness and get Afghan factories back up and running.
To keep up-to-date on what Griff is up to, ‘Like’ them on Facebook.
A Former Marine friend sent this to me and asked me to publish it “as is.” Doctrine Man does a pretty good job of sharing interesting insight on Facebook. You can follow him here.
Hodge Defense Systems has launched their website. Aesthetically, it is unlike anything seen in our industry but I like the look. It’s simple but the are some cool little details that draw the eye and entertain. Kind of like the marginal drawings on restricted unit prints.
But, enough of the website. Now on to the carbines they are actually building. A you will see below, Hodge uses some of the best components available. This is only the AU Mod – 1 which is a 5.56 model. There is also another model planned.
Specs–
Upper & Lower Receivers – Mil-spec,forged 7075 type III hard coat anodize
Barrel – 16″, CHF, CL, Gov, MID, Micro Pinned GB, A2
BCG – M16, HPT, MPI, staked, DLC, 158 carpenter steel
Fire Control Group – ALG QMS
Selector – Reversible billet steel
Handguard – Geissele MK IV 13″
Charging Handle – BCM / Vltor
Buffer – H2 or H (request only-H2)
Receiver Extension – 6 pos, Mil-spec, sling plate, Ambi HK or MASH
Stock – Magpul CTR, with enhanced butt pad
Trigger Guard – Magpul MOE
Mag Catch – Mil-Spec
Bold Catch – Full Serration
Forward Assist – Tear Drop
