Matt F, a longtime friend of SSD, sent us these snaps from Eurostatory in Paris of the Cristanini CBRN Decontamination Systems Booth.
Yep, That’s a Camouflaged Maserati
Monday, June 13th, 2016Australian Patrol Vehicles
Monday, June 13th, 2016
Definitely want! Based on the Toyota 79 series platform, they’ve beefed up the shocks and coils of this 6WD vehicle and installed a 4.5 liter turbo diesel V8. It’s boasts a 3500 kg towing capacity, 100 liter onboard and 200 liter container water capacity as well as a 180 liter onboard and 200 liter container fuel capacity resulting in a 2500 km range.
www.australianpatrolvehicles.com
Thanks Platatac!
Snow Peak – Insect Shield Parka & Pants
Monday, June 13th, 2016Offered in sizes Small – XLarge, this mesh parka and pant are treated with Insect Shield repellant. Also available in Navy Blue.
www.backcountry.com/snow-peak-insect-shield-parka-mens
www.backcountry.com/snow-peak-insect-shield-pant-mens
America Suffers A Terrible Terrorist Attack But We Will Prevail
Sunday, June 12th, 2016In the early morning hours, an Islamic terrorist with possible ties to ISIS attacked a packed night club in Orlando, Florida. He killed 50 and wounded another 53 before he could be stopped by law enforcement who took his life in a gun battle.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.
Over the last several years our homeland has been attacked multiple times by militant Islamists. As a nation, we must become vigilant and we must be prepared to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
To no more victims of terrorism!
Back By Popular Demand – Starbrite Car Bomb CLO2 Odor Control System
Sunday, June 12th, 2016You asked for it, so we shared it again. Last time it was so popular the ATF tried to get us to sell them car bombs after we posted it.
Finally, a Car Bomb that you’ll be happy to see. We’re passing this along after hearing from a reader who gave us one of the best lines we’ve ever heard.
My Honda no longer smells like CIF and Dog Puke.
-BS
Army NCO, Dad, Dog Owner and longtime SSD reader
He went on to say, “This thing removed the sweaty ass scent of professional soldiering and parenthood that infests almost any dude’s car/truck/minivan.” After reading that, we decided to share the info on this wonder product with our readers.
The CLO2 Chlorine Dioxide generator pouch treats an area up to 1,000 cubic feet to eliminate the odors caused by mold, mildew, pets, food, smoke and more. Even better, it doesn’t try to mask odors, leaving you with a perfume smell. In fact, the manufacturer recommends its use to rid yourself of those odors.
While you shouldn’t use it while people or pets are in the car, it is people and pet safe and frequently used in public water systems, hospitals and food processing facilities to disinfect and sanitize. Sorry guys, not available in Canada or Europe.
www.starbrite.com/item/car-bomb-clo2-chlorine-dioxide-odor-eliminator
Team Wendy Issues Statement Regarding Secretary Clinton’s Visit
Sunday, June 12th, 2016This morning I awoke to an Internet circus. Team Wendy, one of our advertisers, had shared a local news story that Democratic front runner for President, Hillary Rodham Clinton was holding an event at their facility this coming Monday. Now, I shouldn’t have to point this out, but I will; Mrs Clinton is not well liked by the rank and file or veteran service member or Law Enforcement Officer (this guy included). As you can imagine, the Internet mob was out in full force, vilifying Team Wendy for their actions. I received several emails about the issue from concerned readers as well, so I looked into it. I have spoken with Team Wendy CEO Jose Rizo-Patron about the situation and he offered the statement below. But before I get to it, I’d like to say something about this situation, Team Wendy and its owner, Daniel T Moore, from my perspective.
I’ve known Mr Moore for well over 10 years now, since well before there was an SSD, and I’ve met with him on several occasions. Until today I never even considered his politics. We always spoke about American manufacturing and his efforts in dealing with Brain Injuries. Once, on a visit, we also discussed his hometown of Cleveland, and I can tell you, that man is proud of his town. But we never discussed politics because it wasn’t germane to our common goals of protecting service members and employing Americans. Even now, I know that those are core values of Team Wendy as well as the man that owns it, and those are the very reasons that they are an advertiser on my website.
As I understand it, Secretary Clinton had planned to visit the 700,000 sq ft facility which houses Team Wendy along with several other small manufacturers called the Cleveland Industrial Innovation Center. At some point it was determined that this repurposed plant contained a defense contractor. Hard to say who made the call. The area is solidly Democrat so it could just as well have been a local party organizer as an HRC campaigner. Regardless, it transformed somewhere along the way from a facility visit to a campaign event. The news was notified and it blew up. I have a feeling that the opportunity to bring TBI to the national stage became the main focus, and the possible fallout from a visit by a Presidential candidate wasn’t at the forefront. There was some excitement and the news story was shared by Team Wendy in their Facebook page. Näive? To be sure. But I don’t see any effort in their end to endorse a candidate for political office as so many have claimed. I also think Team Wendy had as many actual customers as were claimed during the Facebook tirade against them. They employee Americans, continue to innovate and make a great product that is used in every issue helmet. Their ZAP pads have saved many a noggin over the years from the effects of shock and blast. Also, their next generation of helmets and liners are pushing the envelope of protection technology.
Do I think it was a mistake? Absolutely. But on this one, Team Wendy gets a mulligan from me. To be sure, it’s been a costly learning experience for them. They are now stuck between a rock and a hard place. They could go back on their word to participate in the visit and make their critics happy. However, this could result in ramifications both locally and perhaps, long term at the federal level. On the other hand, Team Wendy could go along with the event and alienate their customer base. Regardless of which course Team Wendy takes, this is a cautionary tale for anyone in the defense industry to abstain from endorsing political candidates from any party. The reality of business is that they must work with both parties.
My support for Team Wendy hinges on their long-term actions. Will they stay true to their commitment to excellence in the head protection arena? Will they continue to insist on American manufacturing? And, will they stay out of politics? America needs a vibrant defense industry. I am in this for the long haul and I want to see them there as well.
– Eric Graves, SSD Editor
Team Wendy Friends and Customers,
Let me start by stating unequivocally that Team Wendy has not endorsed nor will be endorsing any candidate for President of the United States.
Our business and focus is centered around three principal goals: Protecting Americans and our allies against serious and potentially life-threatening impact related injuries, creating American jobs and promoting American manufacturing.
To the extent that politicians are interested in working with us to address these core goals, Team Wendy has always been, and will continue to be, willing to meet and listen. We do not get to dictate who serves as President of the United States, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State or Chairman of the HASC. We simply engage with and are openly willing to work with anyone who shares our core mission of saving lives, or anyone who is in a position to positively advance our mission.
To those who are not aware, Team Wendy is a company within a portfolio of sister companies that focus mainly on industrial innovation. Team Wendy is very different than its sister companies. Team Wendy was founded in 1997 by Cleveland-based entrepreneur Dan T. Moore as a memorial to his daughter Wendy, who passed away from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) following a snow-skiing accident. Next year will mark the 20 year anniversary since Wendy’s passing as a result of that tragic accident. Her legacy and memory lives on daily here at Team Wendy through the work being done toward developing leading edge protective gear and other innovative products.
Wendy’s legacy also lives on through the work that Team Wendy does by engaging government, academia and the private sector to learn more about TBI and how we can better prevent this from happening to the American troops who do so much to protect our country.
Although we are a profit-making company, we will continue to be driven by Wendy’s legacy and will continue to work our tails off to provide our guys and gals on the front lines the best protective equipment possible, in the most timely fashion possible, and with the best customer service we can deliver. Nothing is more important to us.
We intend to actively and aggressively promote our core mission with Secretary Clinton during her time here on Monday and will continue to work as a company to do all that we can to be advocates for our core customers, our troops and first responders.
Sincerely,
Jose Rizo-Patron
CEO, Team Wendy
Gunfighter Moment – Daryl Holland 
Saturday, June 11th, 2016
When you have been playing G.I. Joe without the fancy grip as long as I have, it becomes your lifestyle. So, when given the opportunity to train/calibrate with my peers and mentors, I jump on it, especially when it’s a mentor like Ken Hackathorn, who I met back in the mid-90s while assigned to 1st SFOD-Delta. It’s common knowledge that the unit would receive great instruction in everything from Close Quarter Battle (CQB) to driving the wheels off of anything with wheels, which was one of several contributing factors that separated the operator from the lesser funded special ops guy. Marksmanship training was the bulk of our training and when it comes to small arms Instructors, Ken has been at the top of the list for over 30 years.
While hanging with Ken at the Colt booth during the last NRA show he invited me to his home, which of course has a range on the property. Only a fool turns down such an offer, so last week I made it out to Ken’s place for some home cooking and blasting. I’d like to say that I burned down all of Ken’s drills, but I can’t. At 70, the legendary shooter can still perform. Even at the end when I thought I had him on maneuvering to several positions during his “Scrambler”, the old man humbled me. I still walked away with several new drills to add to my library.
Thank you Ken and Paula for sharing your awesome home.
Respectfully, Daryl Holland
Daryl Holland is a retired U.S. Army Sergeant Major with over 20 years of active duty experience, 17 of those years in Special Operations. Five years with the 1st Special Forces Group (SFG) and 12 years in the 1st SFOD-Delta serving as an Assaulter, Sniper, Team Leader, and OTC Instructor.
He has conducted several hundred combat missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Philippines, and the Mexican Border. He has conducted combat missions in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush Mountains as a Sniper and experienced Mountaineer to the streets of Baghdad as an Assault Team Leader.
He has a strong instructor background started as an OTC instructor and since retiring training law abiding civilians, Law Enforcement, U.S. Military, and foreign U.S. allied Special Operations personnel from around the world.
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 some words of wisdom.
Sneak Peek: Helikon-Tex Hybrid Tactical Pant
Friday, June 10th, 2016Coming soon from Helikon Tex are the HTP® or HYBRID TACTICAL PANTS®.
FABRICS: MAIN FABRIC: 60% COTTON, 37% POLYESTER, 3% SPANDEX / STRETCH PANELS: 89 % NYLON, 11 % SPANDEX
FEATURES
• Hybrid softshell/ripstop material construction – Durable 4-way stretch on knees and seat, light and breathable ripstop on the legs and pockets
• Elastic waist with Velcro fastener for additional adjustment
• Gusseted crotch
• 6 Waist line pocket layout (2 front/2 side/2 back)
• 2 Medium capacity zippered cargo pockets with internal organizers
• Holster compatible belt loops
