PHOENIX, Ariz. (October 18, 2021) – American Humane, the country’s first national humane organization, yesterday reunited retired Military Working Dog Irk, a 9-year-old German Shepherd, with Staff Sergeant Sheridyn Rupp, his former handler and best friend, in Phoenix, Arizona.
“We at American Humane honor the lifesaving contributions of all veterans, including the four-legged military dogs who risk their lives to courageously serve our country,” said Dr. Robin Ganzert, President and CEO of American Humane. “Tragically, these K-9 veterans are still sometimes separated from their human counterparts, who they formed a deep bond with. We are honored to reunite SSgt Rupp with MWD Irk, and wish Irk a happy, peaceful retirement with the person he loves best.”
MWD Irk is trained as a Patrol Narcotics Detection Dog. He served his time at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois for six years, helping to train his handlers on the basics and tactics of working with a Military Working Dog. MWD Irk worked alongside SSgt Rupp at Scott AFB for 22 months – the longest handler he ever had. While assigned as a team, the two conducted daily trainings on obedience, bite-work, narcotic detection and base security measures. The two have been separated for a year.
“Irk is one of the sweetest K-9’s I have met,” said SSgt Rupp. “He is brave and served with all his heart. However, because of his age he is starting to slow down, and the decision was made to give him a loving home and a couch to lay on for his retirement. I am so grateful to be reunited with Irk and cannot wait to give him the retirement he deserves.”
SSgt Rupp was active duty for eight years. She now serves in the Reserves at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, working as a Diet Therapy Technician.
Retired MWDs often have medical issues stemming from their physical jobs, so American Humane veterinarian Dr. Lesa Staubus travelled to Arizona to ensure MWD Irk’s health and safety. The reunion took place at the Lulu’s Fund headquarters in Phoenix. Lulu’s Fund, which is part of the Timothy T. Day Foundation, supports organizations in the animal rescue community throughout the United States.
American Humane recently launched a Military Working Dog Reunification fund which will make it possible to bring even more of our K-9 veterans home thanks to the generous help of donors. Proceeds from this fund will also provide free specialty and preventative medical care to make retired MWDs as healthy and comfortable as possible during retirement. To donate and support our nation’s furry heroes, including MWD Irk, visit www.AmericanHumane.org.
Movies, guns, some tactics, some snark, and lots of nostalgia. Those are a few of the things you’ll find in the Saturday Night at the Movies film reviews from GunMag Warehouse. Interested in an example? Remember Dogs of War (book not movie)? Come take the…
Slow Boat to Zangaro
The Dogs of War
by Scott Waters
Carrying on with the idea of a period film that started when I reviewed The Way of the Gun sometime back, I took a spin through my DVD collection (yeah, I still have one). There it was, that classic of Bush War post-colonial havoc, The Dogs of War.
Set principally in the fictional country of Zangaro (played handily by Belize), this 1980 film, based on the Frederick Forsythe novel, revolves around a small group of mercenaries who set out to lead the overthrow of that country’s despotic leader. Starring Christopher Walken, Tom Berenger, and Colin Blakely, the film also has worthwhile supporting roles by JoBeth Williams and Ed O’Neill.
If you’ll forgive me a small indulgence here, I’ve often through that Walken, in his youth, looks almost translucent (see The Dead Zone or the second half of The Deer Hunter). In The Dogs of War, you get the sense that looking through his skin and seeing into his soul, you’d feel troubled indeed.
While the film is ostensibly about a team of mercenaries developing and executing a mission, it’s perhaps more accurately about morality and errant compasses, centering on Walken’s character, Jamie Shannon. I say this based on many watchings of the “European” version, which adds about 14 minutes of character development over the so-called “U.S.” version. Early on, Shannon attends a baptism for a fallen comrade’s newborn — he is the Godfather. The widow, however, explains that he will be allowed nothing to do with his Godson’s life.
There you have the central tension for the very stoic Shannon: he’s a man who wants some facsimile of domesticity but can’t find a way to it. Shortly thereafter, fate and a job offer intervene, forcing him to revert to the hard skills and harder stares of his profession.
Here’s a more off-the-cuff reading of what this film is about: it’s a love letter to the fictional XM-18. Many are the scenes of the team firing from what is essentially a rotary magazine shotgun. It’s all gleaming chrome and stubby purpose. Based on the Manville Gas Gun that first appeared in 1935 and was designed for crowd control purposes, the movie version was modified by the film’s armourers.
In one fun scene, an arms dealer extols its virtues, including the variable-load possibilities that he refers to as a “mixed-fruit pudding”. In that same scene, Shannon pops out a zinger when he asks the dealer if he’s ever been in combat, to which the dealer replies, “no, I’m Canadian.”
There are folks out there who hate this film, and one podcast in particular (it shall remain nameless but you can search for “Christopher Walken podcast” on YouTube) seemed to not know what to make of it at all. Is it an action film? Is it a drama? Is it a thriller?
Well, I submit that it’s all of those genres and none. It does fit nicely within the genre of 70s military procedurals that Fredrick Forsythe (author of the original novel) is known for. If you enjoy Forsythe’s The Day of The Jackal or The Fourth Protocol, you’ll likely enjoy this film.
In another memorable scene, the team has gathered in a hotel room to plan the mission. They talk about who to source their materiél from and the need to drive hard bargains; they drink beer and order food: pizza and maybe “drinking pudding”. The French team member, played with a certain charm by Jean-François Stévenin, then offers a very memorable toast,
“Vive la mort, vive la guerre, vive le sacre mercenaire.”
This translates to: “Long live death, long live war, long live the cursed mercenary.”
Much film time is spent on logistics: hiring a ship and crew, transporting Uzis across European land borders, negotiating the sky-high prices for 9mm quad (a term I never bothered to research until right now). For me, this stuff is a real pleasure. The film slows down, and the viewer is forced into the back-end of warfighting. But this is what will make or break the operation. What’s that quote?
Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics.
But the main reason I come back to The Dogs of War, again and again, is that it’s a period piece. I’m not referring so much to post-colonial exploits in Africa, but more that of a pacing style in action/thrillers that is hard to come by these days. There are pleasantly long periods where little excitement occurs, but the film is immensely watchable for just those reasons. The same can be said for The Day of The Jackal or more recently, the George Clooney vehicle, The American.
By the time we reach the climactic assault we’ve watched the guerilla army that Shannon’s team will lead demonstrate their military discipline, as well as their proficiency with Uzis. There’s also a subplot involving a journalist (played with great verve by Colin Blakely) that winds its way through the first two acts. All these elements lead to the final assault.
The approach onto objective by the force is a quietly tense pleasure, and then, finally, all hell breaks loose, including many a loving shot of the XM-18 being reloaded and firing off all of its 18 rounds. Having said all that, it’s the slow build-up – like the boat that carries them from Europe to Africa – that remains the most worthwhile aspect of this film.
About the Author: Scott Waters escaped the North of England as a child and has lived in the occasionally frozen/occasionally fecund land of Canada since then. An epigrammatically jocose former Canadian Infantry soldier who got himself some “higher education”, he became an artist and writer. These days he does some work with aid groups, dips his toes in the Army while continuing to dip his toes in art and writing. As you can see, there is a general “toe-dipping” theme. @militaryart_swaters
SOFWERX, in collaboration with USSOCOM’s Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T) and Naval Special Warfare (NSW), will host the Autonomous Interoperability Standards Development Event, 07-09 December, 2021. In the Human Machine Teaming Aspects of Mission command, the objective is to bring together Special Operations Forces (SOF) representatives and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to assist USSOCOM in discerning the future of Autonomous Interoperability for Unmanned Air, Ground, Surface, and Underwater Systems (UxS). Focus areas will include but are not limited to sensors, communications, and platforms.
NSW has developed a vision for the future whose key elements include next generation UxS and autonomy solutions, and interoperable maritime and air assets. To do this effectively, NSW needs interoperability standards for the heterogeneous UxS platforms that they will use now and in the future. USSOCOM thus needs to develop and implement a set of interoperability standards that are not cumbersome, that are flexible, and that will support new technologies. They will also need to provide enough freedom for companies to use their creative approaches but with well-defined interfaces, messaging, communications, navigation, and control systems. Further, the backing of NSW and USSOCOM should provide an incentive for commercial players to rally around the new standards. This effort will support agility, wider government and commercial participation and ensure cost-effective development.
The US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center’s Optimizing the Human Weapon System (OHWS) recently participated in a sensor-based study relating physiological status to health stressors with 560 Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division.
Leveraging the CCDC SC’s Measuring and Advancing Soldier Tactical Readiness and Effectiveness Program they took physiological data from commercially available sensors to monitor Soldier health and develop algorithms for detection of presymptomatic or asymptomatic signatures of infection and illness.
Sensors included the Oura ring for sleep and recovery data, Polar Grit X watch to quantify physical exertion and Smartabase athletic management software.
The Multi-Domain Warfare Officer Initial Skills Training class 21B visited the U.S. Space Command’s Combined Force Space Component Command at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, to observe real-time operations, Sept. 20-21.
Vandenberg SFB was the first of a four-leg trip for the Multi-Domain Warfare Officer, or 13O, students traveling to geographic and functional operations centers. The 13Os also traveled to the Shadow Operations Center – Nellis, or ShOC-N, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, 612th Air Operations Center, Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, and the 616th Operations Center at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.
The 19 students of class 21B were able to tour and observe real-time operations at the Combined Space Operations Center. The CSpOC’s mission is to execute operational command and control of space forces to achieve theater and global objectives.
The 13O students were also given the opportunity to talk to several senior U.S. Space Force leadership, including CFSCC Commander Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt. Discussions focused on inter-service interactions and daily planning challenges facing CSpOC Guardians such as command relationships, authorities, and the development of C2 strategies as USSPACECOM components are reorganized, and new components become operational.
Maj. Gen. Burt stressed the significant role local 13Os have and continue to play in overcoming these challenges, bringing all these efforts together into one integrated plan.
“Observing real-time CSpOC operations allowed our students to witness first-hand many of the space capabilities, threats, limitations, and planning considerations previously covered in our classroom academics,” said Lt. Col. Ernie “Bert” Chen, 705th Training Squadron deputy director of operational warfare training, Hurlburt Field, Florida.
The Multi-Domain Warfare Officer course is taught by the 705th Training Squadron whose mission is to provide advanced operational level multi-domain C2 training and education for joint and coalition senior leaders and equip air operations center warfighters through tactics development.
Mel Terkla has been working on a pocket system that doesn’t use PALS webbing off and on for a couple years now. The result is PocketUp’s SleeveWrap Pocket System which allows you to add pockets to a slick pack.
Other pockets out there that mount on packs without PALS use an array of buckles and/or webbing.
They use a sleeve on the pack that is sewn at the top and bottom with 2” Velcro strips sewn onto the sides of the sleeve underneath. The pockets have “wings” on the sides with Velcro that wrap under the sleeve and Velcro into place, thus the term SleeveWrap.
They will be offering this system initially on their Park Pack and Zone Pack, along with a variety of SleeveWrap Pockets.
They’re planning on releasing the SleeveWrap Pocket System around the first of the year.
Under the agreement, MAG Aerospace will provide Operators, FSRs, Training and local support for the HERO systems exclusively for UVision USA.
October 18, 2021 – UVision USA – continues to strengthen its operations in the US with the signing of a cooperation agreement with MAG Aerospace at the AUSA (Association of the United States Army) Annual Meeting.
Through this cooperation, UVision USA and MAG Aerospace will offer operational and training solutions for the Hero family of loitering munitions. MAG Aerospace will provide in-country resources, perform demonstrations, operational training, and support for UVision’s customers OCONUS (outside Continental US) and CONUS (Continental US).
“This agreement has come about in response to the growing need in the United States for HERO systems,” says Jim Truxel, CEO of UVision USA. “As part of the cooperation with MAG Aerospace, we will be able to provide local support for the company’s customers locally and around the globe. UVision USA operations will continue to expand.”
“MAG Aerospace brings a terrific reputation and demonstrated experience in providing similar services all over the world,” says Chief Growth Officer, Matt Bartlett, of MAG Aerospace. “Together with UVision’s advanced technological knowledge and its operationally-proven systems, we will be able to provide an operational advantage to American forces operating on and off the continent.”
The agreement was signed by Jim Truxel and Joe Fluet, CEO of MAG Aerospace, during the AUSA Annual Meeting on October 12.
Posted in Admin | Comments Off on UVision Strengthens its Presence in the United States : UVision USA has Signed a Cooperation Agreement with MAG Aerospace, to Support US Forces in the Operation of HERO Loitering Munitions.
Las Vegas, Nevada – MSR Distribution, the leading distributor of firearms and accessories, will be exhibiting at the 2022 Shot Show taking place from January 18th to 21st, 2022 in Las Vegas, NV. Federal Firearms Licensed Dealers, Sporting Goods Resellers, Military, Law Enforcement, and other interested parties are invited to visit MSR Distribution in booth #11460 for the latest updates on new products, special offers or to just say hello to old friends!
MSR Distribution offers thousands of product SKUs from countless well-known manufacturers such as MarColMar, Arsenal, Otis, IWI, Century Arms, Steyr, Blue Force Gear, Hi-Point, Kel-Tec, Zastava, CMMG, Troy and many others.
