A great overview of iRobot’s line brought to you by Warrior Expo 2011.
Warrior Expo 2011 – iRobot 
October 26th, 2011
Tags: ADS Inc, iRobot, Warrior Expo
Posted in ADS, EOD, Robotics | Comments Off on Warrior Expo 2011 – iRobot
Osprey – Special Operations Patrol Vehicles Afghanistan and Iraq
October 26th, 2011
The new title from Osprey Publishing, “Special Operations Patrol Vehicles Afghanistan and Iraq” (New Vanguard 179) is a great companion to author Leigh Neville’s other Osprey titles focusing on Coalition SOF in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The work does a good job of covering almost all of the vehicles used by SOF in the modern era. Unfortunately, it’s only in the text and not with photos. However, the book gives a great basic overview of the vehicles and serves to help the reader understand why there is a requirement for a purpose built SOF Ground Vehicle the so-called Ground Mobility Vehicle 1.1. Additionally, the artwork by Richard Chasemore is fantastic and should be sold as prints to men in the units who use these vehicles. They are very detailed and very accurate.
TF Checks Out the SureFire MAG5-100 HCM
October 25th, 2011Our very own Tactical Fanboy gave the SureFire 100 round MAG 5-100 high-capacity magazine a go during a training course conducted by 914 Consulting at C2 Shooting Center on his birthday. While not a comprehensive test, he shared it with several other students who used it in a variety of rifles by various manufactured with no problems noted.
The SureFire 100-round High-Capacity Magazine is constructed from Mil-Spec hard-anodized aluminum. It weights 3.3 lbs. (!) fully loaded, and has a length of 12.2 inches, so have fun trying to go prone. It features reliable functioning thanks to mechanical simplicity and high-quality, non-binding springs coated with cadmium for low friction and corrosion resistance. Any weapon that can accept STANAG 4179 compliant magazines can accept one of these. Specifications aside, can a magazine with this high a capacity actually work reliably?
The rifle is a Blackheart International BHI-15 with a Lucid LLC HD7 Red Dot Sight.
My initial analysis: yeah, it can. See, I was at a training class yesterday (more on that later) and I happened to bring a hi-cap mag along. Not for the class, mind you, but because I was at the range and I finally had a chance to test it out. It took a long time to load, and it was heavy [said Captain Obvious], but it seated just fine and I had no feeding failures. I had a few of the other students try it out as well, so it went through multiple AR-15s from many different manufacturers, and still had no issues. I’d have to use it a few more times, and in different weapons, to be completely sure, but as it stands it’s my full belief that SureFire made a great product in this magazine.
http://www.surefire.com/MAG5-100
Blue Force Gear Joins The Spirit of Blue Foundation
October 25th, 2011Blue Force Gear has announced that they are joining The Spirit of Blue Foundation as a Safety Grant Sponsor. The Spirit of Blue Foundation raises money to help upgrade the equipment of our nation’s LE community.
“The Spirit of Blue Foundation captured our attention from the moment that we heard about their mission to support the Law Enforcement professionals who protect our communities. We have been looking for ways to help raise awareness about training and equipment needs of the Law Enforcement community and Spirit of Blue seems to be the perfect avenue to accomplish that goal,” said Ashley Burnsed, President of Blue Force Gear, Inc. “As Blue Force Gear has seen great success with its product among the ranks of the military, it is a natural extension for that same gear to find its way to the street with law enforcement.”
“SWAT, Tactical and Emergency Response teams are in ever increasing demand nationwide,” stated Ryan T. Smith, Vice Chairman of the Spirit of Blue Foundation. “For these teams to operate at their peak and stay safe in the process they need the right gear. More and more, patrol officers and deputies also need access to this same equipment as the risks they face grow. We are excited about the unique solutions that Blue Force Gear has created and that agencies will be able to use their Safety Grant funds to purchase this equipment.”
Five non-profit organizations actively supporting the law enforcement community have already teamed up with the Spirit of Blue Foundation for the 2011 holiday campaign that launched in October. Those organizations – The National Troopers Coalition, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, National Sheriff’s Association, Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and the Jeffrey S. Parola Foundation – represent roughly 125,000 officers, deputies and agents nationwide.
As partners they are promoting the sale of the Spirit of Blue’s blue ribbon holiday wreath honoring and benefiting the law enforcement community. Consumers who purchase the product during the Campaign will be allowed to select which non-profit they would like to see benefited from the sale and the Foundation will donate a portion of the proceeds accordingly. At the same time, consumers will be asked to nominate a law enforcement agency that they would like to be considered to receive a Safety Grant award. At the end of the Campaign, the Spirit of Blue Safety Grant Program randomly selects nominated law enforcement agencies to receive a safety grant award. The safety grants will be redeemable exclusively through the consortium of Safety Grant Partners made up of law enforcement equipment brands such as Blue Force Gear.
Preliminary statistics through October 2011 released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, in conjunction with Concerns of Police Survivors, revealed the number of U.S. law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty rose 21% percent over the same period in 2010. Firearm-related deaths reached 53, an increase of 29% from the same period in 2010. The reality of these statistics and the increasing number of underfunded law enforcement agencies across the country fueled the safety grant initiative.
The Spirit of Blue Foundation, along with Blue Force Gear, is asking consumers to ‘get in the Spirit of Blue’ this holiday season by purchasing the Spirit of Blue Wreath and giving back to the law enforcement community. The wreaths are available for purchase through December 19th and winners of safety grants will be announced in early February 2012. To learn more about the Spirit of Blue campaign, or to order a Spirit of Blue Wreath, visit www.spiritofblue.com.
Land Rover Defender Commercial
October 25th, 2011Now, if they’d just start bringing them into the US.
Eagle Nest Outfitters Lounger
October 25th, 2011The Lounger from Eagle Nest Outfitters is just what I needed to relax after a hard day of writing. I’d seen it hanging in outdoor stores but the Lounger was ever properly set up to give it a go. However, at the most recent Outdoor Retailer, ENO had a couple of Loungers set up and they beckoned me into their booth to try it out. Truthfully, after a long day of walking the show floor, I thought I was in heaven and I knew right then I had to have one so when my birthday came earlier this month I got myself a present.
The real quandary was how to hang it. None of my eaves hang out far enough to keep me from laying up against the house and none of my trees had the right limb for the job, so I had to come up with a different plan of attack. Instead, I settled for a stand I found on Amazon that is designed for use with other brands of loungers. They all basically look the same online so I bought one. Sure, it was easy enough to assemble, coming in only four pieces. But, as usual, Murphy showed up. The top piece sits on a sleeve and is held fast by two bolts. Unfortunately, the bolts are too big. Naturally, no return instructions but since the bolts were really redundant anyway, I decided to keep it.
A word of caution for those who decide to go my route. The ENO Lounger is built a little different than other brands. In fact, you cannot use the clip and spring that Amazon recommends you purchase with the stand. If you do, you will sit so low that your rear will scrape the base of the stand. You’ll be just fine attaching the Lounger right to the stand’s eyelet or if you need a little more height, you can fit the Lounger’s attachment ring around the tube of the stand. If you do this, prepare a collar to pin it in place as it could slip off if you bounce around too much. Better yet, don’t bounce around. Just relax.
The Lounger itself is available in a variety of colors and is very comfortable. It features a pillow for your head, removable drink cozy, two side pockets for magazines or books (my iPad fits fine in one) and an adjustable, suspended foot rest. The frame is collapsible aluminum so it can be transported and will accommodate up to 260 lbs.
As for performance? So far so good. I’d recommend a Lounger to anyone who has the means to hang it and use it, liberally.
www.eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com
Operation Urgent Fury
October 25th, 2011On the morning of October 25th, 1983 America awoke to reports that our troops had invaded a small Caribbean nation named Grenada in order to liberate American medical students from danger posed by political instability. Joined by Regional Security System troops from a variety of Caribbean partner nations they swiftly overwhelmed the Grenadian and Cuban troops. While Operation Urgent Fury was in name, a joint force operation and included the use of Special Operations Forces, it highlighted many interoperability issues such as use of operational overlays and radio issues.
I was in high school when this went down and it made me want to be in the Army even more than I already did. Thankfully, over time, many of the stove pipe issues suffered by the pre-Goldwater-Nichols military were beginning to be identified when I joined a few years later. Interestingly, the operation was conducted with many systems still in use from the Viet Nam war. Our next time at bat, in Panama, saw several new weapons developed during the Reagan buildup such as the F117 stealth fighter and the Marine Corps LAV. Additionally, SOF took a much more prominent role in operation Blue Spoon.
Let us not forget the 19 Americans killed in action and the 116 who were wounded. Unfortunately, there were 24 Grenadian civilians killed in the conflict and our communist Grenadian and Cuban foes also suffered heavy casualties.
