DEF CON 18 is in full swing at the Riviera hotel at the end of the Las Vegas strip. If you haven’t heard of DEF CON before, it’s ok; the conference is focused at the über geeks among us.
Attendees at DEF CON include computer security professionals, journalists, lawyers, federal government employees, crackers, and hackers with a general interest in computer code and computer architecture.
From demonstrations of turning Pringles cans into directional antennas, through interactive discussion on hacking ATMs, physical penetration (e.g. lock picking), Internet routers, and building your own UAV to map WiFi and capture videos of your neighbors skinny dipping in their pool, DEF CON pretty much covers it all in gory technical detail. Continue reading →
If you haven’t heard about Real Combat Life yet, built to provide an outlet to share combat experiences, you definitely need to head over and check it out.
Not long ago they won a $25k grant through the Pepsi Refresh Project to help out their organization, and move them closer to becoming their own non-profit organization.
We think their idea is fantastic, as writing down experiences is often a good way to make a transition to civilian life easier to handle. Real Combat Life is a great way to support our troops and allow the public a glimpse of what life in combat is like.
Head on over and contribute if you have a story to share!
The graduate school of tactical training you say? really? I was a bit skeptical myself when I first saw the sign upon entering SCG International in Holly Springs, Mississippi, but that skepticism soon faded as I came to understand the level of detail in which the crew from SCG operated.
Rather than focusing on a single class from SCG, I’m going to give you the overall picture of what my experience has been like training with them for a total of 109 grueling hours. This includes, but is not limited to getting rolled up by Law Enforcement, collecting intelligence, operating on little to no sleep, and yes, even being required to get a woman’s phone number.
SCG International
Founded in 1996, SCG International provides government and private sectors with domestic and international security, logistics and training services. They specialize in protective security details, logistics, event/location security, corporate security, travel services, intelligence, film & television technical consulting, training, mobile training, risk & vulnerability assessment and K9.
SCG is led by former Central Intelligence Agency Officer Jamie Smith, who came on board as the CEO in 2002. Prior to taking the position, Smith served after as the first director of Blackwater Security Consulting. A company deeply rooted in tradecraft, SCG’s HUMINT (Human Intelligence) course, one of the two I attended, is actually modeled after the Central Intelligence Agency’s Field Tradecraft Course (FTC).
Headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA, they have offices worldwide and run their in-house classes at the SCG Training Center, located 30 miles south of Memphis in Holly Springs, Mississippi.
Sitting on 1,500 acres, the training center features a variety of ranges purpose-built for their unique course offerings, including indoor and outdoor simulators, reactive steel target ranges, moving steel ranges, 360 degree ranges and a 5,000 square-foot fully ballistic live-fire shoot house.
Training Courses
My training at SCG includes their Operator/PSD Selection Course which I went through back in October of last year, and their Tactical HUMINT Operations course which I attended in June of this year. There was a lot of carry over between the two classes which definitely helped reinforce the TTP’s (tactics, techniques and procedures), yet the two courses were very different and challenging in their own ways.
The largest difference between the two was that in the OSC we weren’t always given the lesson and academics to train up on prior to kicking us out for the practical exercises. This was done to determine our baseline of knowledge, pattern of thinking, and reasoning skills. Did we have a team focus and what would we do under the stress of a dynamically changing environment?
While we were taught the way SCG does things vs. other PMCs (Private Military Companies), for the most part your were being evaluated on what you were bringing to the table. In the HUMINT course we were truly being “taught” how to complete the objectives.
While the HUMINT course was based on gathering human intelligence and detecting & reporting hostile surveillance, the OSC was largely focused on PSD (Protective Security Detail) operations. The OSC is also a pre-requisite to gaining employment with SCG.
Even though I mention that the OSC was largely focused on PSD operations, all employees of SCG need to be able to have a firm understanding in HUMINT operations, as that’s one of their functions as a company. So there was plenty of carryover in regard to what was presented in the HUMINT course.
HUMINT is paramount in COIN (counter insurgency) operations. The struggle between the government and insurgents for loyalty and support of the populace has tremendous implications that HUMINT can manipulate. The greatest threat to insurgents is effective HUMINT.
Instruction
Both of the classes I attended were taught and evaluated by “D” and “Ski,” who are two of the sharpest, most knowledgeable instructors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with either in the Military or civilian training. All of SCG’s instructors are active operators in the company, which added a realism I haven’t found in other courses. Not to say I haven’t attended courses by those who have “been there and done that,” but the real-world examples that were given to us really drove home the instruction.
One of the fundamentals behind SCG courses is the continuous mention of these three questions:
Why are we doing it this way / will it work?
Is it necessary?
Can we duplicate it under stress?
I can’t stress how important it is to question anything you’re doing and constantly evaluate it. SCG isn’t just teaching the how, but the why.
All their training exercises and evolutions at SCG come straight from their real-world operations and what they’ve experienced. The good, bad and the ugly. Also, you can fail their courses and be sent home. We had that happen to a guy during the OSC I attended, so there’s no guarantee you’ll earn a certificate of completion in any of their courses.
Political Instability
Let’s get into the nitty gritty of my experience and the scenario that unraveled from the minute I entered the AO during both classes.
Something that truly rounded out the attention to detail SCG puts into all their instruction, were the periodic intelligence updates during the course. Just as real intel is disseminated to the field, our team received real-time updates that were pushed out via email and text message.
As we knew from our welcome packets, we were entering DROK, or the Democratic Republic of Krasnovikstan. A comprehensive break down of the current political climate, laws (including that Sharia Law was imposed) and travel advisories was also made available to us before entering. This was just like a mix between the travel advisories from the Department of State and information from the CIA World Factbook (you do read this stuff before you travel, right?)
It was clear that from the moment we received our packets that the role-playing and scenario was in full effect and we should assume we’d be under surveillance at all times in DROK. This kind of nervous anticipation does numbers on you both mentally and physically and only adds to the ghosts, or suspicious people, you think are around. Remember from The Moscow Rules, one sighting is an accident, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action.
Ski really hammered it home that you should always mentally note anything that looks out of the ordinary and write it down later. It may be nothing, but at least there’s a record of it that can be referred to if it happens again.
Objectives
The objectives of each of the courses at SCG were similar, but different in many ways. My team in the OSC was on the lookout for the same Al-Qaeda courier as we were in the HUMINT course, and we were gaining intel on captured americans in both courses as well.
With the OSC our objective was to actively use our IO (Intelligence Officer who was a role-player) to gain that intelligence, report it up the chain, and act as the boots on the ground to find the captured americans. In HUMINT, we were acting as IOs ourselves, much like we would in a small-unit HUMINT operation overseas.
Our objective here was to gain intelligence, report it up the chain, and detect and report hostile surveillance. Not necessarily act on the intel ourselves.
Each course had multiple role-players, which added to the realism of walking into meetings and weapons buys not knowing who you’ll encounter. That coupled with active participation from local Law Enforcement made for one stressed out week of training, make that two weeks.
Area of Operations and Cover
The Holly Springs area is a small town where everyone knows everyone. This is something you could definitely run into on an intelligence gathering assignment, and one where your cover is truly a priority.
As some of you may know already, there are two types of cover. Cover for status and cover for action. Basically this means that you need to have a reason for being in or working in a country (CFS), and an explanation for your movements and purpose in everything you’re doing (CFA).
For instance, I carried a carpenter’s measuring tape with me in the vehicle to play into my cover for status as a construction worker building resources for DROK. Medical related professions and public relations are also good cover for status overseas.
To effectively use your cover you must be prepared to answer questions that might arise from the attention you attract in a small town. Much like the questions you’d be asked by a Customs Agent when traveling, What is your business here? Where are you from? How long will you be here?
There’s definitely no place in the world of intelligence for the meek. You have to be sharp witted, able to think on the fly, and know your cover and stick to it.
When working with a team, it’s imperative that everyone is on the same page when it comes to your cover. I, along with my team, learned this the hard way when Law Enforcement rolled us up during a mobile meeting. When the officers that detained us started poking around and searching our vehicles they found body armor, issues of SWAT Magazine, and my concealed carry weapon (on me). Yes, I wasn’t using my head. I was more worried about protection than thinking about the role-playing scenario, which was a disconnect I was able to fix when going back for my second class at SCG.
As I’ve made evident in the above example, another important aspect when working under a cover is proper sterilization. Nobody realized how important it was and everyone took it for granted. With those simple mistakes our whole cover was blown. How could we explain those things under the cover we were under or the political climate we were in?
Let me also add to know your AO by conducting good area fams prior to hitting the ground and getting eyes on once you’re there.
Busy Work
While we were being fed our regular intel updates, collecting our own intelligence to move our objectives forward and developing our tradecraft (see below), there was never a shortage of busy work or taskers.
Our taskers kept us constantly moving and on our feet ready for anything, alternatively this also ensured we were in condition orange 24/7 (bordering on red). Unlike other courses you may have been to that stop for lunch and end the day with everyone sitting around bullshitting, this isn’t one of them. There’s always work after class to prepare for the next day’s brief, a late night call to meet with a source, or worrying whether tonight will be the night DROK Police come to search your room while you’re sleeping.
The taskers usually included developing our ability to case the establishments where we ate lunch and additionally develop our HUMINT gathering abilities. Casing? Yep, just like a Sniper draws detailed maps, so did we. We knew the ins and outs of a building, where the fortified structures were, where the entrances and exits were, colored structure references (see photo, right), even how many people were working.
I actually continue to practice this skill often when my wife and I are out to eat or at a bar. I’d always paid attention to exits before, but never could I sit down, make one trip to the bathroom, and be able to sketch the building layout, camera locations, and everything in-between on a bar napkin.
did I mention that everything we were assigned to do had to be briefed afterward or the next day? Our briefs always included presenting detailed maps and sketches of the area on the white board while verbally running through our every move on site. I’m usually good at public speaking, but the breadth of the information and detailed timetables I was presenting felt overwhelming at times.
One thing that I was guilty of in both classes was carrying around copious notes containing sensitive information. Obviously my example of sketching a building on a bar napkin doesn’t fly when you’re trying to be discreet, but neither does thinking your going to eat your notes if you’re in trouble.
Developing Tradecraft
So what exactly is tradecraft? Tradecraft is acquired methods and natural talents used to get the job done. Simple as that, essentially it’s skill-sets.
Our tradecraft differed a little bit in the OSC than HUMINT, but again there was a lot of carryover. Below is just a taste of the content presented at SCG:
Protective Security Detail
What we didn’t get into during the HUMINT course was PSD (Protective Security Detail) work. While we were expected to have a firm understanding of PSD work in the OSC, we went over fundamentals like attack-on-principal, formations, covering and evacuating the VIP, drop-offs and pickups, IADs (immediate action drills), and vehicle bailouts.
In all PSD work the objective is to protect your VIP from harm, harassment and embarrassment while providing concentric rings of security.
Surveillance Detection Routes
SDRs are pre-planned, timed, routes of travel and stops, executed to detect and, if necessary, manipulate surveillance in order to accomplish an operational objective. SDRs are the tradecraft ace in the hole.
Through the use of these routes you’ll be focused on detecting surveillance through the route you plan, not chicken-necking to get a glimpse of who’s potentially following you. SDRs are also a great way for your team to run counter surveillance on you to see if you’re being followed.
For instance, during our HUMINT class, our team spent countless hours calculating SDRs to and from clandestine meetings with sources. We were lucky to have a member of our team that had lived in the AO and was truly a valuable area expert.
Using our SDRs we were able to have a vehicle running counter surveillance along our SDR by simply parking along the pre-determined route and noting if we had surveillance on us. Communications are also invaluable in this situation.
Dead Drops
I think one of the coolest parts of the HUMINT course was learning about Dead Drops and getting a homework assignment to create our own one night before class the next day. I’ve always had an affinity for the history behind Dead Drops and was excited to create my own. We had to subsequently use one to pass money for some information from a source.
If you’re unfamiliar with Dead Drops, these are simply an impersonal communication method to pass a message covertly.
Combatives and PT
One area that I feel made the SCG truly shine was their instruction on combatives and focus on fitness. During the first hour of the OSC there was a fitness test with a timed run, push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups. They strive to ensure their operators are in top physical condition, to truly be able to handle any situation.
The SCG Combatives Program teaches you how to handle yourself in situations where your hands are your only weapons. It’s not realistic to think that you’re going to shoot your way out of every situation, and bringing a gun into certain environments could ruin your cover and potentially take an operation months or years in planning and ruin it, just like that.
Rather than continue to explain SCG Combatives, I’d like to segue into a video I was able to film with D explaining the program.
Remember… Buddies, Weapons and Options…
Weapons Training
While the OSC or the HUMINT course weren’t dedicated shooting courses, we did spend a lot of time on the range. This was not only to ensure everyone qualified during the OSC, but to drive home the correlation between armed and unarmed combat.
Combatives has a large carry-over into range techniques, where the same stances that are the baseline for combatives are also the baseline for drawing from a holster. Watching someone’s hands rather than their face is also an important consideration when dealing with a potentially hostile individual.
While your brain is the first line of defense, ensuring you have marksmanship fundamentals down certainly doesn’t hurt. The one-on-one instruction I received during some of the HUMINT concealed carry pistol work was especially beneficial. D was able to spot an inconsistency in my sight alignment that I’d never noticed before, and once corrected, dramatically improved my performance.
You’ll see him in the photos and video watching me like a hawk!
Shoot House
During the OSC we were able to get into using the SCG Shoot House, which is truly a remarkable live-fire facility. 5,000 square feet of ballistic AR500 steel complete with a simulated airplane fuselage, jail cells, and meth lab.
Here’s a video walk-through of the awesomness! You’ll have to excuse the sound in this particular video, it was raining during the walkthrough and it sounds like static.
Wrap Up
I’ve never quite connected with training courses like I did with these from SCG International. I attribute that to the level of dedication, professionalism and passion for teaching that both D and Ski brought to the courses.
SCG looks at training from the “whole operator” perspective, which is how I feel that we should all look at our lives and training programs. Mental and emotional discipline, physical ability, managing stress, integrity, thinking on your feet, and having the intelligence to make the right decisions at all times are what separates the sheepdog from the flock.
My personal take on SCG is nothing short of outstanding, they hold themselves to an ethical standard that I both admire and respect. I wouldn’t hesitate taking another class from them to further my experience and knowledge base.
A special thanks to not only D and Ski, but to all my classmates from both classes, who I look forward to training and working with again in the future.
The web has forever changed the way we socialize. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Blogs, and other less popular sites all represent you in the digital realm.
The bottom line is this: when the 1’s and 0’s start flowing across the ether, you are exposing yourself to all of the web’s vagrants. Paradoxically, if you decide not to participate in all these sites, you are exposing yourself.
Yes, not participating is perhaps more dangerous than participating at the minimum level. Odds are you have interacted with a fair share of folks online, perhaps here at ITS Tactical, that for whatever reason you’ve never met face to face. Maybe neither of you has seen each other’s picture, knows where the other lives, or has any other pertinent facts beyond some minor exchanges on the bulletin board. And therein lies the problem- the other party doesn’t know that the Facebook invitation that they just received isn’t actually from you, but someone pretending to be you.
Identity Theft
The lurid prospect of someone squatting your digital persona isn’t as far fetched as one might think. Last year, The New York Times reported in a story how 6 million personalized URLs were grabbed the first weekend after Facebook created the personalized option. Most of us fail to qualify for celebrity status, but that doesn’t stop the miscreants lurking around on the web from trying to become our digital doppelgangers.
Identity theft is a major problem, and unfortunately a determined criminal may only need to discover one chink in your digital armor. Javelin Strategy & Research released their yearly identity fraud report in February, and the disenchanting data showed another year led to another increase in both victims and cost: the highest rate yet since Javelin started producing the report in 2003. According to Javelin’s report, 11.1 million adults fell victim to identity fraud. If that number isn’t unsettling enough, consider that the average fraud victim spent 21 hours to resolve the incident. That’s a tremendous amount of time lost.
Worthless Information
As ludicrous as it sounds, one defensive option is to give a little bit of accurate, but worthless, information to these social sites. You can defend your digital persona by:
Opening up accounts on the popular social network sites with your name. Your name appears on your mail, in the telephone book, and probably on paper found in your trash. Giving away this much information doesn’t increase your exposure. Your risk profile dramatically increases once you start to share your full name, birth date, pet names, familial relationships, etc.
Create a novel and unique password for use at these sites- never use the same password from a social site at a site where you carry on financial transactions, especially banks. If the social site is cracked and the criminal is good at guessing your login name, suddenly your financial data is at risk because of a breach at a social network site.
Put a plain photo or headshot of yourself on the account. Unless your some sort of secret squirrel who has managed to never be photographed, you mug isn’t going to lead to an identify theft on the web. The truly concerned may wish to ensure that the photo uploaded isn’t geotagged, something many smart phones do automatically.
Resist the urge to “Complete your profile” by answering all of the personal questions these sites request from you. If the site requires these fields, you can always head over to http://www.lipsum.com and generate a couple of paragraphs of Lorem Ipsum!
Before you log out, lock your account down to a level you feel comfortable with.
Finally, some sites may require you to log in periodically to keep your account active. Consider setting a reminder to log into the sites every quarter or so just to ensure your account isn’t deactivated or deleted.
Active Participation
The allure of these sites lies in their ability to stay connected, or to re-connect, with friends. If you decide to more actively participate in one or more social network sites, be sure to always follow these rules:
Closely screen anyone that wants to link to your account. Unless you categorize yourself as an “open networker” or “professional networker” and are trying to reach a 7-figure friend list, don’t accept invitations from people that you don’t actually know.
Always vet requests, regardless if they are from purely online acquaintances or not, through a separate channel, like email or chat–don’t assume that the invite is legitimate. Spear Phishing is growing in popularity. Criminals have learned that people are more apt to blindly respond or click a hyperlink, answer some questions, etc. from a personal acquaintance than from a well-known company like Facebook, eBay, or PayPal. Multi-channel verification is one easy way to avoid a spear phishing attack.
Be cautious uploading photos from your phone while on you’re on vacation. You can share your experience with your friends, but only after you return home. No one is going to de-friend you because you didn’t post photos in real-time while at Disney World.
Finally, as Fox News reported earlier this year, you must actively take steps to protect yourself against the plethora of social networking scams that are circulating. Expecting the web site to protect you is no longer tenable.
Always be skeptical of mail (that stuff that shows up in your postal mailbox, not your inbox) that is purportedly from one of your social network sites. The Javelin study reaffirms the fact that criminals may use regular mail to notify you of a “data breach.” The end goal for them is the same, getting you to login to a page and provide personal information that you otherwise wouldn’t share.
Notes
It is possible to safely participate in the social revolution occurring in your browser and on your mobile phone. In fact, total abstinence may put your identity, digital and actual, in greater jeopardy than not participating at all.
Educate yourself. The US Department of Justice provides an informative page and an online Identity Theft Quiz, in addition to educational materials about mass-marketing fraud that is worth reviewing, even if the content doesn’t explicitly focus on the web or social networks. With a little effort and some common sense, you can protect your digital identity and reputation from the digital hoodlums cavorting around the net.
Editor’s Note: Please join us in welcoming Jason Robert as a contributor on ITS Tactical. Jason is a former U.S. Navy Cryptologist, digital guru and ITS Plank Owner.
The crew from A-TACS recently linked up with some folks at the Government Training Institute’s JOC (Joint Operations Center) in South Carolina for an LE scenario photo shoot.
While we know you’re foaming at the mouth to see how A-TACS did on our latest Camo Comparison, these are some great images of the pattern in an urban environment.
So my friend Jack from The Survival Podcast announced a little friendly competition the other day on his Podcast that his Facebook Fan Page could get more fans than the ITS Tactical Facebook Fan Page could.
I’m putting out this announcement to get your help because we all know that “It Pays to Be a Winner!” I’ve formally bet Jack Dinner and 100 Push-Ups that ITS will come out victorious with more fans by the 31st of August.
If we lose, I’ll make a video of my 100 Push-Ups for YouTube and scan my receipt from Dinner with drinks included (anywhere Jack and his wife Dorthy would like to go with My wife and I). Jack is no cheap date and can drink like a fish… Well, I guess that makes two of us!
If we win, there will be something awesome for our Fans! We haven’t figured it out yet, but it’s going to be good. Of course, I’ll expect Jack to make a YouTube video of his 100 Push-Ups too when he loses! What are you waiting for? If you’re not a fan yet, head on over to the ITS Tactical Facebook Fan Page and “Like” our page! If you’re already a fan, hit that “suggest to friends” link under the ITS logo photo and help us win this thing!
Just for the record the competition starts today, I thought I’d give Jack a little more time since he only has 2,979 Fans and we have 3,102 (just twisting the knife in a bit more).
There are a lot of packs on the market today, some good, some bad and some great. The pack that I’d like to review today is in the “great” category.
My review of the Eberlestock Skycrane II is based on actual use while in Afghanistan, where I currently still use this as my only pack and will for the next year plus that I am deployed.
Perhaps a little background on me to qualify my use case and ability to review of the Eberlestock Skycrane II: I am a Private Military Contractor attached to the U.S. Marine Corps where I have spent nearly the past year on the front lines in both the mountains and deserts of Afghanistan. Wherever the Marines are in Afghanistan, so am I at some point.
I spend 20+ days a month in the field with the Marines, live with them, eat with them and rest my weary head whenever the mission allows. With me as always for the past 4 months is my trusty Skycrane II. I consistently carry 90+ lbs in my pack plus my body armor which weighs in at 35+ lbs. No easy task, but a necessity in this environment.
Beginnings
You may wonder how someone comes across a brand like Eberlestock and why spend around $500 on a pack without the same notoriety as Mystery Ranch, TAD Gear, etc.? Well, simply put, word of mouth while in Afghanistan. I met an Army Civil Affairs Army Soldier while in the field and he told me how much he loved his Eberlestock pack, so I inquired more about it and decided to do some research. I found out that Eberlestock had its humble beginnings in 1985 based on the owner Glen Eberle’s experience as an Olympic level biatholon competitor and avid outdoorsman.
Glen used his experiences and rather than design packs as just something to carry things in, he designed them around the use and carry of a rifle. All of the Eberlestock packs have the ability to carry any of your rifle weapon systems large and small in basically what amounts to a scabbard on your back (think He-Man and that’s the idea).
Details
As anyone who has been deployed knows, your pack is your best friend in the field. Constant movements from one place to another with lots of gear require a pack which is versatile, durable and has a large carrying capacity. Where the Eberlestock Skycrane II excels is in ALL of the above requirement categories. To qualify my statements let’s look at each individually:
Versitiliy: The Skycrane II is a modular system with basically 3 (perhaps 4) packs in one. 1x G1 “Little Bother” pack, 1x J79 and 1x fanny pack. All of these components can be used individually or combined into 1 pack via clips, MOLLE, or zip-in. For me this was great, hump all my gear out with the fully combined pack, then during patrols or small movements, bust out the 3 day “Little Brother” pack.
Durability: Construction is 500d + 1000d + 420d Ripstop Nylon.
Large Carrying Capacity: This beast, fully combined has a whopping 7975 cubic inches of space!!! Enough said.
Weight: G1 – 6 lbs. 12 oz., J79 – 4 lbs., Fanny Pack – 1 lb., Total System Weight – 11 lbs. 12 oz.
Notes
Some of the things that I noticed while on missions with the Skycrane II, that I would like to see addressed, are the need for more MOLLE webbing on the front top portion of the G1 “Little Brother.” Also some way to eliminate the plastic on plastic creaking of the various buckles.
My impression after 4 months of rough use in Afghanistan is that this thing is outstanding! The Eberlestock Skycrane II has proven its weight in gold in the field. The lumbar support pad and shoulder support straps distribute the weight in a highly effective manner. Now obviously my body armor limits some of the key load bearing features like the waist band, but even without that, the Skycrane II does its job well. When in the rear, back from missions, I do use the waist band when practicing my ruck marches and it makes the movements that much more enjoyable and comfortable.
Editor-in-Chief’s Note: Please join us in welcoming Brent M. Piatti as a contributor on ITS Tactical. Brent is the President of Operation Outpost and former Army 82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper currently working as a Private Military Contractor attached to the USMC in Afghanistan and supporting OEF & the War on Terrorism. Operation Outpost is a site dedicated to improving the quality of life for those on the front lines by providing the means to buy, sell, trade and donate items to those serving in Military operations around the world.
Today we continue our KOTW Lashing series with the Diagonal Lashing.
The Diagonal Lashing is “diagonal” because it’s used to bind poles that cross each other at a 45 ° to 90 ° angle. Binding poles together in this way will prevent racking and add stability, thus preventing them from moving apart.
A Diagonal Lashing can replace a Square Lashing (which is stronger), but not vice-versa.
Have you ever needed the ability to retain your weapon when climbing, running, sitting in a vehicle, handling a prisoner, fast roping or even breaching?
The fact is that there’s always a reason to sling your primary weapon out of the way to not only free up your hands, but to prevent your weapon from moving back around and getting in the way.
Enter the 215 Gear Multi-Mission Weapon’s Retention. The MMWR provides a low-profile, simply designed retention that virtually disappears on your gear and is ready to use when you need it. Continue reading →
Just a quick update on what we’ve been up to for the last few days. I headed out to Big Bend National Park Sunday with my good friend Jack Spirko from The Survival Podcast to complete the second round of the ITS Camo Comparison.
As we continue to complete these comparisons I feel like we just keep getting better and better at refining testing procedures and location. The Big Bend area is truly beautiful country and hope that everyone will mark it down as someplace to visit eventually.
From the D/FW area it was a long 10-hour drive and I was glad to have Jack’s company to laugh and make fun of the ridiculousness that occurred along the way. I’m not sure if it’s just us, but Jack and I decided that changing lanes is about a 1/3 of a Truck Driver’s job, yet many of them had a hard time even doing that!
We’ve definitely found a great place to shoot future Camo Comparisons at Big Bend, the terrain matched Afghanistan even better than I’d hoped. Even though it’s the end of July, Big Bend had great weather. Virtually no humidity, and cool nights. The area also offers a wide range of terrain, with the exception of snow. This is Texas after all. Wait until you read the shenanigans we ran into
The web has forever changed the way we socialize. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Blogs, and other less popular sites all represent you in the digital realm.
