In this video gear review, we’ll talk about NextLevel Training’s SIRT Training Pistol and some of the benefits of owning one for your dry fire practice. There’s even a detailed cost analysis of how much you can save with SIRT dry fire practice.
For more information on SIRT Training Pistols, visit NextLevel Training’s Website.
Each year on Veteran’s Day, we’ve been putting our list up on five simple ways you can thank a Veteran. This year, we’d like to hear from you.
A veteran is someone who at one point in their life, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America for an amount up to and including their life. Regardless of personal political views, that is an honor and there are too many people in this country who no longer remember that fact.
There are many Veterans on the ground right now that have deployed in support of Hurricane Sandy with Team Rubicon. Please keep them in your thoughts today, along with all those that deserve your recognition. Don’t forget who’s on watch for America on a daily basis and those that have served.
How are you saying thank you today? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
From each and every one of us here at ITS Tactical, thank you for your service…
We’re excited to announce the winners of our ongoing “What’s in Your Pockets” Forum Contest. This contest ran for three months so we chose three winners from the group of entries. Each winner is going to receive a $25 Gift Certificate to the ITS Tactical Store.
There were some excellent submissions and if you didn’t win this time, don’t fret, we are running another contest starting today. Read on to see the winners and to get instructions on how you can enter the November through December contest!
Just a few short days ago, the ITS Crew wrapped up its first community-building event, The Inaugural Muster.
When Mike and I sat down over a year ago to plan the Muster, we not only wanted to create further interaction with our community here at ITS, but to take our mission off the Internet and get hands-on with the skill-sets we advocate.
Truthfully, there’s only so much knowledge that can be passed over media outlets today. While we try to incorporate the best of what’s available, with well written articles, detailed photos and video, the hands-on learning is missing from what we can provide online.
Over the four days of the Inaugural Muster, we were able to organize and implement an event that truly brought members of our community together in a way we’d only dreamt possible.
Working in squads and following a rigid schedule was only part of the mixture that led to bonds being formed that will never be broken. Having to depend on a team and the camaraderie that’s generated by that dynamic, is an element that has to be experienced.
Not since the military, have I seen a group of individuals come together as a team, like the squads of the Inaugural Muster did. The accolades and merits can be attributed to the leadership of not only the hand-selected squad leaders, but of the leadership of each individual.
I was careful not to integrate too much of the Military side of the house into our daily activities during the Muster, but felt we had just the right mix to accomplish the goals and objectives we’d set for the attendees.
It was also exciting to have a female in the group and see her take the initiative to attend the Muster. Many gatherings in this industry tend to be male dominated, but as we try to convey in our articles, these skills are for everyone.
Speaking of the skills being for everyone, while “tactical” is in our name, this event didn’t quite live up to that namesake. What we put together was truly a skill-set development excursion fit for anyone interested in furthering their self reliance.
With topics like knot tying, navigation, fire building, rappelling, physical security, stove construction, shelter building, layering for the outdoors, medical and a fantastic FTX (field training exercise), this event was geared towards practical applications of these skill-sets. All of these have a place in your mental toolbox and could be used in a number of situations that you might find yourself in.
We all laughed constantly and had quite a few inside jokes during our time together. I think what really impressed me the most with our group is that every single person was good natured, genuinely excited to learn and had a good sense of humor. Humor goes a long way in a group and is more important than most realize.
I’m still floored by the overall unity of everyone that attended and equally contributed to the success of the Muster. It wouldn’t have been the same without each person there.
I’d like to thank first and foremost the attendees that took the time out of their lives and away from their families to further their skill-sets. It’s easy to kick back on the couch and make plans for personal development, it’s quite another to travel and attend a course like this. With our daily walks to and from the chow hall, each attendee logged over 15 miles, not counting the mileage during the FTX. I also have to hand it to everyone who didn’t expect a below freezing night in Texas. I’ve always said that if you don’t like the weather here, wait ten minutes.
We also couldn’t have made this event happen without our staff, not only did we have Mike, Matt, Eric, Peter, Kelly and myself there, but Rob and our newest employee Jake were participating as attendees. The reality of our workdays catches up with me too often and as much as I plan to take the time to transfer the knowledge I have to my employees, I try to use opportunities like this as much as I can. Employee training and personal development will always be a core principal here.
Matt Fiddler from SerePick joined us to head up the personal security block and it was great to have him here. Matt has a fantastic way of delivering knowledge without allowing the content to overcome those learning. Forcing the class to take breaks from picking locks was harder than you might realize! Matt and I started our businesses around the same time a few years back and I’ve appreciated his friendship as we’ve both grown.
Nate Morrison from Morrison Industries was with us to help with the Rappelling block and was able to share his extensive knowledge on many other subjects as well. Nate has been a good friend for years and I’d encourage everyone to follow the many projects he’s involved in.
Another of my good friends, Caleb Causey from Lone Star Medics, was there to head up the Medical instruction. If you haven’t read my write-up of LSM’s Medicine X course, I’d highly encourage you to do so and see if you can get out to one of Caleb’s classes. I can’t recommend good medical training enough!
Navigation was headed up by Peter Hogg, who’s been a tremendous asset to ITS over the years. His knowledge of Navigation truly shone through during his course and while covering the breadth of what he did in the time frame we had was a challenge, he pulled it off wonderfully. Peter is an avid outdoorsman and runs a blog that I’d encourage everyone to check out to follow his adventures. Eric was also able to provide some good information on Geocaching during this block as well and his passion for the subject matter was appreciated by everyone.
I think everyone in attendance will agree that Muster wouldn’t have been what it was without the cooking of Matt Gambrell, who selflessly slaved away in the kitchen each day so that everyone ate like kings! Each morning when I woke up to blast Reveille, Matt was already in the kitchen hard at work. When we said meals were provided, I don’t think anyone knew what kind of awesomeness awaited them! Matt is also the driving force behind the graphics you see on a daily basis at ITS and one of the most talented people I know!
As I mentioned earlier, Mike was integral to the planning and development of what came to be the Muster and I sincerely appreciate all his hard work in making it a reality. While Kelly came on board at ITS after the initial planning had started, without her I’d still be wondering how we were going to pull it all off. Being around me 24/7 is no easy task and I’m truly fortunate to have her in my life and working next to me at ITS.
Last but not least I’d like to thank the sponsors who helped to donate items for the Muster and even coming out to attend. Triple Aught Design has always been a company I’ve respected in this industry and one I was particularly excited about partnering with on a unique item given to all Muster attendees. The MicroSERE kit was assembled with a TAD designed pouch that throws a nod to the old tool rolls of yesterday and also included their brass Survival Spark. It was also augmented with a set of Bogota Entry Tools from SerePick and other ITS provided goodies, I’m really looking forward to the future possibilities of the MicroSERE kit. (you can read a sneak peek that Peter wrote up on it here.) It was great having Brett and Anthony out from TAD as well!
In no particular order these other awesome sponsors were integral to the success of our Inaugural Muster and we couldn’t have done it without them! A huge thank you to SKD Tactical, Kill Cliff, Liberty Bottle Works, Thunder Chicken Brewing Company, NavELite, LockNLoad Java, Tactical Medical Solutions, Metolius and GNC.
Those of you on the fence about attending will definitely not want to miss the next Muster, with the feedback and Inaugural run under our belts, next year is going to be even more epic! (there will only be one first ITS Muster though…)
While we aren’t here to tell you how to vote, we want to make sure you get out and do it. If you don’t exercise your right, you may find yourself without it one day.
Stand for what you believe in and cast your ballot tomorrow. Don’t think that your vote doesn’t count. Everyone needs to listen to their moral compass and vote how they see fit.
If you don’t know your polling place, check out the Politics & Elections page on Google.
Hurricane Sandy cut a mean path into the East Coast last week, but wasn’t able to affect the resolve of our country to pull together to help.
Team Rubicon is an organization I’m proud to personally be a member of and one that pairs the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams into crisis situations.
Before Hurricane Sandy even hit the U.S., Team Rubicon deployed 11 Veteran Emergency Response Teams up and down the East Coast in Operation Greased Lightning. Hours after the storm devastated local communities, 102 Team Rubicon volunteers from multiple Regions were providing emergency rescues, post disaster damage assessments, debris management and flood recovery operations.
This was a catastrophic event and an opportunity to help people that are in massive need. Within the coming days, Team Rubicon hopes to mobilize 1,000 veterans to NY and NJ. Street by street, home by home; it will be Fallujah, but with chainsaws and shovels instead of tanks and rifles.
With your help, Team Rubicon can send 1,000 veterans to join the hundreds already on the ground. To do this, they need to raise $50,000 by Veteran’s Day. 100% of every dollar you donate goes directly to the missions, NO salaries, NO overhead, NO exceptions!
Our friends at Triple Aught Design have joined in the pledge to support Operation Greased Lightning and you can too. Please click here to donate what you can, a $25 contribution will purchase a replacement chainsaw chain and a $100 pledge will cover the gas needed to get a team in place.
If you’re a Veteran or posses skills that Team Rubicon is looking for, please consider volunteering to help. It’s a great organization that I’m grateful to be a part of.
With the release of our newest ITS Challenge Coins today, I wanted to take the time to write an article addressing the history surrounding Challenge Coins and the rules, which still aren’t clear to many that have never had a “Coin Check” pulled on them.
Challenge Coins typically feature an organization’s insignia and are carried by their members. During a “Coin Check” they can prove membership, enhance morale or wind up costing you a round of drinks if you’ve forgotten yours at home. In keeping with the tradition of Challenge Coins heavily rooted in the military, we’ve produced our own here at ITS so that you can give them out for recognition or simply carry an awesome coin in your pocket in case you get challenged.
I recently presented an ITS Challenge Coin to everyone that attended our Inaugural Muster in the traditional way of palming it to them during a handshake. Below I’ve listed out the Challenge Coin Rules, which I’d never officially seen printed anywhere until Eric and I visited the Navy UDT-SEAL Museum a few months ago. These rules come from a laminated sheet they had displayed in their gift shop (photo below.)
Note: A “Coin Check” consists of a Challenge and a Response.
The challenge is initiated by drawing your coin, holding it in the air by whatever means possible and state, scream, shout or otherwise verbally acknowledge that you are initiating a coin check. Another, but less vocal method is to firmly place it on the bar, table, or floor (this should produce an audible noise which can be easily heard by those being challenged, but try not to leave a permanent imprint.) If you accidentally drop your coin and it makes an audible sound upon impact, then you have just “accidentally” initiated a coin check. (This is called paying the price for improper care of your coin.)The story I like the best out of all the ones floating around out there, (there are quite a few and none have been proven to be the accurate account of the start of Challenge Coins) dates back to WWII when the OSS (Office of Strategic Service) was deployed to Nazi held France. Their coins were simply a local coin that acted as a bona fides during meetings to verify identity and authenticity of an OSS agent.
Specifics on the coin were examined by each party that would identify friend from foe, which prevented infiltration by a spy who might have advance knowledge of the meeting time, place and even what coin was to be presented. This helped prevent infiltration into the meeting by a spy who might have to have advance knowledge of the meeting time, place and even what coin was to be presented.
The first military unit known to have a coin was the oldest Special Forces unit in the Army, the 10th Special Forces Group. Green Berets were the only known units to have coins prior to the creation of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in 1987. Since then, the Challenge Coin tradition has spread far and wide in both the military and the private sector.
There probably isn’t a US President, or government official, today without one. I think the coolest coins I have in my collection were given to me by a Rear Admiral for getting selected as Honor Recruit in Navy Boot Camp and one given to me by Texas Governor Rick Perry at SHOT Show a few years back.
Do you have a Challenge Coin story to share or what you’ve heard to be the origin of Challenge Coins? Share it below in the comments, as mentioned, there’s nothing that’s ever been proven to be the actual start of Challenge Coin use.
Be prepared and always carry (both a gun and your Challenge Coin!)
For this week’s Knot of the Week, we’ll be showing you how to create your own Pace Count Beads. This simple device will enable you to accurately keep track of your distance traveled by using a time-tested technique.
The premise behind Pace Count Beads is to pull down a bead from the bottom stack of nine beads each time you hit your “Pace Count.” Your Pace Count needs to be determined prior to setting off on your trek and we’ve got a great article here on ITS that explains how to determine your Pace Count.
The single bead pulled from the bottom represents 100 meters traveled. At each 100 meter increment another bead is pulled down. After the ninth bead is pulled down, the next 100 meters traveled (1000 meters total / 1 Kilometer total / 1 Klick total) resets the stack of nine beads and a single bead from the top stack of four is pulled down.
Once 5000 meters are traveled, the top and bottom stack of beads can be reset and the process can start all over again.
For this project you’ll need a 26″ length of Paracord and 13 beads. There’s quite a few options available as far as what kind of beads to use. What’s show here are simple plastic craft beads from the hobby store.
Through the video and photos below you should be able to follow along with the creation process for making your own Pace Count Beads. The use of one of the guts from your 26″ strand of Paracord will help tremendously when you go to thread them on.
Simply girth hitching the Pace Count Beads onto a backpack strap or belt loop will keep them readily accessible when you need to track your distance traveled.
*Update* All the supplies needed to create your own Pace Count Beads can be found in our new ITS Land Navigation Starter Pack!
We had some fantastic entries this year in our 3nd Annual ITS Tactical Pumpkin Carving Contest and sincerely appreciate everyone’s submissions. The artistic ability continues to amaze us year after year with these contests! Our only regret is that we had to narrow these down to three winners, but like last year, we couldn’t help giving out a few honorable mentions as well.
We’re definitely planning on continuing this tradition year after year, so be thinking about what you’ll be carving for next year, only 364 more days to go!
There were so many great entries and we’ve certainly got a lot of talented people who read ITS! While we wish we had prizes for everyone, we had to narrow our choices down to three! Jake, Charles and Delmer, an email has already been dispatched to you with instructions for claiming your prizes.
Since we liked so many other pumpkins, we decided to award prizes for Honorable Mentions. We’ll also be sending an email to each of you so we can send you something to show our appreciation!
Thanks again to everyone who participated and took the time to send in their pumpkins, we’ve got a gallery below that will be up shortly with more entries we received! Have fun tonight and stay safe this all hallows’ eve!
We’ve kept you up to date on the Muster last week via Facebook and Twitter, but we wanted to post a few awesome photos here on the site while we continue to sort through the hundreds we took.
If this is the first you’ve heard of our Inaugural Muster and Skill-Set Development Excursion, it was a way for us to interact with you all, our community, and get hands-on training in the skill-sets we continue to advocate here.
Enjoy this preview and stay tuned for more information and photos from the Muster!
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