Welcome to the We Like Shooting show, Episode 156 – tonight we’ll talk about Evolution Bipods, Matador Arms, SOF Tourniquets, shipping guns, news of the day and more!
Click here for the full show notes!
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Athena Knife Company – The Green Chopper
Like choosing a tool for a specific job, you must choose a knife designed for the job at hand. To often we try to pick a knife with a multitude of features verses a knife that can get the job done easily and quickly. This is where choosing the correct type of knife for the job and selecting the right manufacture come into play. For today’s review, we are looking at my EDC Blade, The Green Chopper from Athena Knife Company.
Josh Curry founder of The Athena Knife Company has a love for creating works of art out of steel and the end results are some very unique custom knives. Mr. Curry pours his blood, sweat and tears into each knife he works on. If the knife does not meet his high standards, the process starts all over.
Trampas Swanson and I met Josh at Survival Creek Tactical while we were getting some kydex sheathes and holsters designed. I mentioned I wish someone would make a rugged bush craft knife, but in an EDC style. A bushcraft knife that was a little smaller than your standard 9 to 10 inch versions. That took us down the road of creating The Green Chopper.
The Green Chopper has an overall length of 7 7/8”, the blade is 3.75” and the spine is 3/16” thick. The grind appears to be a modified scandi and came to me sharp enough to shave with if that’s the kind of thing you do, I am bearded, real men don’t shave. The micarta scales are an OD green and have a rustic pattern cut in them. The knife is a full tang 1080 steel design. The blade has a ferric chloride finish which gives it a look of elephant skin. The handle has a hole for a lanyard, which on this knife due to its length gives you a little more grip when chopping. I have to say this knife turns heads, the style has fit my lifestyle well, rough, rugged non-flashy.
This knife was designed to be a in the style of a bushcraft knife, but something I could EDC daily. I tested it and was pleased with the performance. I take a knife to do what I need a knife to do. If I find myself in the wilderness surviving and only had one tool it would be a large knife. When I go to the wilderness I take several tools to use the appropriate tool for the job at hand. In this case this knife has been perfect. I love the size combined with the kydex Dangler sheath that Survivor Creek custom made.
When getting in and out of the kayak or the truck I never once was stabbed in the ribs by the handle. I have been able to easily draw the knife no matter the predicament I may have found myself in. When wearing the knife and this sheath combination they both compliment each other and give a professional look while not appearing to be a Rambo walking into town.
The overall performance of the knife has been exceptional so far. The thickness of the blade has given it enough weight to do the small chopping tasks and being made from 3/16, it splits wood well. I normally use an axe for processing firewood but had to try with this blade because of its design.
I was able to make stakes and do other bushcraft task like feather sticks as well. The steel retained the blade sharpness well and was easy to hone back after each task. The spine scraped well and worked good on the ferrocerium rod.
The grip felt like it was made to fit my hand. Overall this blade is a wonderful creation from Athena Knife Co. I feel Mr. Curry did a great job building a one of a kind custom knife I can be proud to carry.
Not only does it look good, but it works just as well. Check out more of his work on Facebook and find out how to get your own one of a kind custom knife from Athena Knife Co.
Source: http://www.thegearlocker.net/2016/07/athena-knife-company-green-chopper/
The Mystery of Force: Understanding Use of Force, Reasonable Force, and Excessive Force
Readers,
July has been a bloody month with highly publicized violence in the news, reactions towards police involved shootings. Dallas and Baton Rouge showed the extreme and lethal response to perceptions that the police officers in various cell phone recorded incidents, unjustly used lethal force against African American males. A narrative of police brutality, militarization, and excessive force has grown into a festering wound of mistrust and tensions on edge.
I’ve read many heated, angry, sad, and impassioned responses on both sides to the discussion of violence, and I’ve spent the better part of the month wondering if I can contribute anything to the debate that hasn’t been said.
I’ve found it.
Our topic for discussion today is going to be The Mystery of Force.
The topics surrounding the lawful use of force against others isn’t often detailed or discussed. Without an understanding of reasonable vs. excessive force, honest discussion cannot take place, so here we go.
We’re going to
-Define Use of Force (UoF)
-Cover the Levels of Force on the Use of Force Continuum and what the Continuum is used for
-Identify the categorization of subjects in UoF situations
-Define the “Reasonable” standard for both civilians and LEO/Military personnel.
Since these topics are tremendously under-discussed, it breeds misinformation. Misinformation breeds bad judgment, unrealistic expectations, and terrible potential perceptions. Let’s establish some perspective so we can have a grounded discussion.
What is a use of force?
While no single overriding definition exists, “the amount of effort required to compel compliance by an unwilling subject” covers it well.
In Law Enforcement circles this usually amounts to the detainment, for however long may be necessary, of a subject. For civilians UoF is generally centered on self-defense and not subject detainment but the core concepts are the same when it comes looking at UoF situations. The military UoF is very mission dependent, varying from a civilian like variant to a law enforcement officer (LEO) like variant, and into categories only the military can properly exercise due to their unique position as the literal projection of force for the nation.
Now that we’ve defined UoF let’s take a look at the Use of Force Continuum. The Continuum is a five or six-tier system (depending on the variation tiers 4 and 5 may be combined into a single tier 4 for the five tier layout of the Continuum)
The Tiers are
- Presence
- Verbal Communications/Commands
- Soft Physical Control/Open Hand Contact
- Hard Control/Aggressive Less Lethal
- Less Lethal Weapons
- Lethal Force/Deadly Force
I’m going to address each of the tiers from a civilian self-defense perspective, a military operational perspective, and finally a Law Enforcement Officer perspective since the Continuum is most widely applicable to their interactions. This is also to give readers’ specific guidance on how LEOs view UoF from this widely taught and law enforcement developed framework reference.
We will get to Reasonable and Justifiable a little later, bear with me as we illustrate the tiers.
Presence
The lowest tier on the force continuum is presence, the mere act of being at a location and using that to project a level of authority or interference towards possible aggression.
For civilians this tier is primarily about body language and situational awareness. You don’t project the image of an easy target therefore you are less likely to be targeted. You aren’t projecting authority over anyone or any group in a commanding sense but you are conveying the individual image of a hard target in order to discourage aggression.
You should strive to carry yourself this way at all times. Being aware, knowing entrance and escape routes for your current location, reading the body language of those around you looking for the physical warning signs of aggression and having a plan to act accordingly. If necessary you’ll run up the tiers to an appropriate level of force, which again we’ll cover as we go.
For military operations the application isn’t all that different from the civilian tier of presence. An armed patrol of Marines walking through a village looking to speak to the village leadership is using their presence to project authority and keep themselves safe. The heads up mentality, taking of key positions for security, and placement of mobile automatic weapons make a patrol like that a dangerous prospect to engage but the patrols mission isn’t a direct confrontation with anyone. The ‘Presence Patrol’ was a key tool in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to gather intelligence and keep Areas of Operation safer.
For Law Enforcement presence is easily one of their most often used UoF techniques. It’s constantly in use to a varying degree as the officers patrol. A patrol car running traffic on the highway is presence, even if they make no stops. Officers on foot at the fair or outside a sporting event. Officers walking a beat and just speaking with people. An Officer changing a tire for a stranded motorist on the side of the road or mowing a disabled man’s lawn on a quiet afternoon shift. All of these are presence.
Presence, especially in the civilian and law enforcement applications, is not always directed at an individual or group but can be a passive state among the general population. It’s the general refusal to be a victim and hard target mentality in the case of the former, and the general community police atmosphere promoting and projecting a safe communal environment is the latter. There doesn’t need to be active action beyond simply being around for presence. In contrast, an Officer arriving somewhere is a more active use of presence. The Officer may not actively engage anyone but a notable arrival will have an effect on everyone to some degree and deter many who do not want police contact or involvement, where otherwise they may have acted out differently.
Verbal Communications/Commands
The second tier is the first one that involves actively interacting with someone. Conversation, as well as active non-verbal communication like hand and arm signals, are tools we use more often then we often realize. We might wave somebody through a stop sign ahead of us. Equally we might tell someone “that is close enough” or speak to them and ascertain intentions through a closed door. These are forms of control, forms of force.
The civilian population, project personal authority, dealing directly with themselves. “Get off my lawn!”, “Step back, don’t come closer!” when subjects comply the confrontation ends and resets to tier 1.
The Military exact control over their AO or Area of Operation. This control, over seas, is not subject to much in the way of constitutional provision or restraint and is more subject to rules of engagement and the nature of the host nation. Troops stationed in Denmark on a mission among the general population will have next to no authority not granted to them by the Danes. However, the same unit in Al Anbar during the height of combat operations will have the authority to keep themselves secure as they see fit. They may order people from the road and clear it. They may order people to only take certain routes. They may order stops and searches on vehicles and carried items. If subjects are compliant this stays as tier 2.
The Police use verbal and directional commands all the time. The lights and sirens are the most notable non verbal, communicating either clear the way or pull over. “Step out of your car.” “Show me your hands.” “License and registration.” “Have you been drinking tonight?” “Have a seat over here.” All of these are verbal controls between an officer and subject. This is Law Enforcement’s 2nd most common, and as far as they ever hope to escalate on the tier of force.
Soft Physical Control/Open Hand Contact
The third tier is the first hands-on level of contact. It involves forcibly guiding, restraining, or deterring a subject. Grabbing someones arm to stop them or pull them along. Joint locks and pressure point techniques are at this level, as are handcuffs or other restraints. It’s physical control with a low probability of causing a subject any bodily damage.
Civilians using this level could be guiding their friend from a bar who isn’t really in the mindset to leave, pushing someone away who has gotten to close, using open hand martial arts techniques like trips or joint locks, or sitting on someone to pin them. This tier is useful if physical controls can feasibly prevent the escalation of a fight between possibly or formerly mutual combatants from crossing into the upper tiers.
Military use tier 3 with detainees and POWs, also on crowds during appropriate missions or interactions. Things like flex cuffs are routinely used as controls. Military members moving detained persons will always use positive control techniques for their safety. The ability to rapidly disable, immobilize, or forcibly direct someone detained is paramount and trip techniques, throws, and pressure point direction is standard. The subject will go where directed, how uncomfortable that is is usually up to the subject.
Law Enforcement has the most visible tier 3 force control, handcuffs. Arrest and detainment is an image ingrained in the American consciousness, positively or negatively. Everyone knows what handcuffs coming out from a police officer means. LEOs use a well arrayed set of techniques to keep themselves safe when physical control of a subject is necessary. They move hands and arms in particular manners giving them leverage, they place their legs and core where they have balance and the subject does not. They may leverage their handcuffs to brace a subject with only one cuff secured, an especially risky time for an officer using the cuffs.
Here we’re at the split. Between tier 3 and tier 4 on the Continuum there is a critical difference. The majority of illustrations you may come across on the UoF Continuum line out or color code the two sides to denote this difference. At tier 3 and below the subject of the confrontation isn’t aggressive or combative, even if they’re uncooperative.
Tier 4 and higher you are in combat.
Hard Control/Aggressive Less Lethal
Tier 4 is relatively easy to define. Put simply, you’re in a fist fight. The force used is no longer about physical control or restraint its about causing damage. Broken bones, missing teeth, heavy bruising are all high probability. The potential for this to become lethal is very real. Tier 4 is marked by restraint though it isn’t used to do deliberately devastating damage. The line is thin here though, especially with an untrained user.
For Civilians the only time tier 4 is easily definable is mutual combat. You have agreed to a fight. It is incredibly easy for such a situation to escalate beyond that. Someone trained in unarmed defensive fighting or the martial arts can more likely keep themselves at tier 4 deliberately, limiting damage and trying to compel the subject flee or submit.
Military Personnel use nearly the same outline as civilians; but they are more trained, however. Mission-dependent force is a reality, but this isn’t a level of force used very often.
For the Police this tier is something they want to get out of as quickly as possible and back to tier 3. Tackling a subject, using a hip toss or throw, or having to swing and strike a subject and cause probable damage is used when officers can’t safely use tier 3 because of subject resistance.
Less Lethal Weapons
Used in the same principle as tier 4 but a less lethal force multiplier is used. A taser, baton, pepper spray, or water cannon, for example, are force multipliers/less lethal weapons.
Civilians usually have to prove nearly life-threatening risk to justify tier 5.
The Military use less lethal in specific rules of engagement to support mission requirements but you won’t see a taser taken into combat operations.
Police Officers will use tier 5 force when it’s physically to dangerous to use tier 4. If an officer can’t safely approach a subject a taser, pepper spray, or riot shield could make the difference and allow officers to gain control.
Both tier 4 and tier 5 have a high probability of injury, LEOs having to employ tier 4 or 5 force are most often going to attempt a single overwhelming push in order to get subjects into a position to be physically restrained and then arrested or transported for medical attention as the situation warrants.
It should be understood by all that in these upper tiers, officer and bystander safety is considered more paramount than that of the subject or subjects.
Lethal Force/Deadly Force
Tier 6 force, regardless of how delivered, has a high probability of dealing severe sometimes irreparable trauma to the subject. It is used to produce an immediate stop from the subject.
Civilians use lethal force legally in response to an immediate lethal threat. Ability, Opportunity, and Immediate Jeopardy must be provable under objective legal criteria.
Military Units use lethal force legally in response to an immediate lethal threat. Within the parameters of the Rules of Engagement, troops can defend themselves with small arms or prosecute offensive operations.
The Police use lethal force legally in response to an immediate lethal threat. Every lethal force police encounter is subject to internal and judicial review to determine or eliminate possible misconduct and acquire lessons learned for the future. The scrutiny of Law Enforcement use of force incidents is the most stringent of the three groups.
How the Use of Force Continuum is applied
We’re going to narrow our focus now to Law Enforcement. The Continuum is not a step ladder, it is not taught to officers and deputies as a progression but rather as a measure of response. If an officer arrives on scene and the subject or subjects are determined to be at tier 1 or tier 2 levels on the continuum the officer or officers are going to respond with tier 2 or tier 3 as the situation warrants for safety and control. If a subject is at tier 4 or 5 the officer isn’t going to start at tier 1 and work up to tier 5 or 6, they will start at 5 or 6 and using that equal or one greater level of force compel the subject back to a controlled state. The level of force used is determined by the working observation of the responding officer or the subject and projected to be just above the level of force the subject is at to control them as quickly as possible and keep the officers and bystanders as safe as possible. An officer is not going to talk down a subject who is shooting or stabbing, they’re going to shoot them.
How do officers grade the people they interact with?
– Passive Compliant: a calm rational person who is following directions
– Passive Resistor: a calm rational person who is not following verbal directions but will usually comply with being physically led or directed (IE: asking someone to sit down and they refuse verbally but will not resist when led to a chair or seated on a curb)
– Active Resistor: A person, usually more agitated, actively ignoring both verbal and physical directions but not acting to cause harm to the officer, themselves, or bystanders
– Aggressive Resistor: A person actively seeking to cause harm to the officer, bystanders, or themselves to avoid detainment
The “Reasonable Standard”
Codified in 1989 with Graham v. Connor 490 U.S. 386 the reasonableness standard used for officers is judged by whether or not a plurality other officers presented with a similar situation would have used comparable force in a comparable manner. This is an evolving process using survey, analysis of past cases, and active discussion among officers across the nation attempting to improve the process on a constant basis.
In Conclusion
The framework here is to provide the readers with as accurate an illustrative method of analysis for Use of Force situations as I can in a short piece. Use of Force is a complicated and multifaceted topic that has numerous points to look at even before we put it into the real world split second decisions necessary by people on the sharp end.
As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20
Keeping our objectivity and identifying actual changes, if any, we can make to applications of use of force can’t be made from a place of ignorance.
I’m hoping this shines some light on a murky subject.
Source Article from http://248shooter.com/index.php/mystery-force-understanding-use-force-reasonable-force-excessive-force/
Top 10 Most Dangerous Special-Forces Around the World
Here is a new top 10 list of most dangerous special forces around the world with a brief description of each. The list is derivated as a result of independent research based on the history, missions, training, equipment and the strength of the homeland.
10. Irish Army Ranger wing
The Irish Army Ranger Wing (ARW) is the special unit in the Irish Defence Forces. The Army Ranger Wing is Ireland’s hostage rescue unit and they are closely related to specialised Irish Emergency Response Unit (ERU). Sciathán Fiannóglach an Airm (Irish: Army Ranger Wing) and An Garda Síochána (Emergency Response Unit) are training together and in of any hostage situation, the Irish Ranger Wing could be requested to support the ERU.
9. MJK
Marine Jaeger is one of two special force units in Norway. The Marine Jaeger have their own under the Defence Command North (Forsvarskommando Nord). They can be compared to the British SBS (Special Boat Squadron) and the US Navy SEALs. Every second year they go to train with the Navy SEALs. Their primary missions are deep penetration reconnaissance and sabotage on enemy naval installations.
8. Alpha GRU
Alpha Group (Alfa), also known as Spetsgruppa “A”, is a special unit within the Center for Special Operations of the Russian FSB. Alpha’s are the most famous special force in Russia, founded in 1974. They are the guards of the Russian state and its security, the most powerful unit in the country and among the main forces that have ensured the Olympics in Sochi.
7. KSK
KSK Kommando Spezialkräfte (Special Forces Command, KSK) is elite special forces military unit composed of special operations soldiers handpicked from the ranks of Germany’s Bundeswehr and organized under the Rapid Forces Division. KSK has received many decorations and awards from NATO, the United States, and its affiliates and KSK operatives are frequently requested for joint anti-terror operations, notably in the Balkans and the Middle East.
6. DEVGRU
You knew these guys were going to have to show up sometime. DEVGRU is a tier 1 American Special Operations Group created After Operation Eagle Claw which has achieved near-mythical status. This in part is thanks to Operation Neptune Spear – the mission in which SEALs flew into Abbottabad, Pakistan in May 2011 and killed Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda. DEVGRU is elite and the physical and mental strength required to make it in this force are ridiculously high. Training behind as an average tier 2 SEAL which takes over two years and most applicants can’t even get past the physical qualification test which involves a lot of swimming, push-ups, sit-ups and running, all accomplished in a very strict time limit.
Get past that and you enter general training. Pass that and you move on to SEAL qualification training which then opens the door to specialized training. All of this ensures that SEAL members are physically and mentally as tough as nails and capable of undertaking the most difficult operations in the world, wherever that may be. After a few years in the teams, SEALs are selected by DEVGRU instructors that fit all criteria, they then begin a three-week physical fitness exam and a two weak mental wellness check. Less than 20% make it last this block alone , the ones who do move onto selection which according to Mark Owen’s book ‘no easy day’ takes up to six months.
Once completed , less than 5% are left standing of which instructors may only pick up to one or two to actually join the highly elite team although the entire graduating class could also be chosen , it all comes down to how the instructors think you did.
5. NZSAS
New Zealand Special Air Service are often seen as the toughest unit in the New Zealand Army. They were formed on July 7, 1955, and it is also abbreviated as theNZSAS. As their name suggests, they were closely modelled on the British Special Air Service (SAS). Their history traces its origins to the Second World War and the famousLong Range Desert Group that a number of New Zealanders served with.
For the New Zealand Government, the NZSAS is the “premier combat unit of the New Zealand Defence Force”.
4. JTF-2
A squad of elite warriors in the Canadian Forces (CF) is working under the name of Joint Task Force 2 or just JTF2. Their operations include counter-terrorism operations and armed assistance to other government departments in a military manner.
JTF2 is a successor of the Special Emergency Response Team of the RCMP, who was in service regarding these security questions from 1986 to 1993 when the federal government restructured Canadian military forces. Today, JTF2 serves with the other Canadian Special Operations Regiment, the 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron and the Joint Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence Company. They are acting as a part of the Canadian Special Operation Forces Command.
3. SASR
After the dramatic events of 11 September 2001. year, the Canberra government has decided to increase its military instrument to fight against terrorism by setting up two of the people for special tasks, which are joined to the existing Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), the only real component Special Forces (per NATO standards) Australian armed forces.
2. Delta Force
The full name of this group is the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta. In addition to counter-terrorism operations, Delta Force can also take part in hostage rescue, raids, reconnaissance and less covert direct action operations. The group was formed in 1977 as a result of an increasing number of high-profile terrorist operations. Since then it has been composed largely of soldiers who have served in US Special Forces like the Green Berets or 75th Rangers. To be considered for training, potential candidates must be male, at least 21 years old, score highly on an aptitude test and be between the rank of corporal and master sergeant.
A series of grueling physical and mental tests all copied and based on the SAS training and selection process, coupled with its own added mix of physical and mental tests aim to weed out the weak. Allegedly, the dropout rate of Delta has been reported at almost 96% (considered one of the toughest if not the toughest training cadres in the world) to the 6 month-long training course coupled with the original year and a half training procedures of the enlistees original MOS. Delta force won a unit citation in 2012 for the assault on an enemy compound that previously the SAS could not take due to a casualty they took on the way. Delta remains the Americans most heavily guarded and secretive Black Operations unit with missions from the United States to Europe into Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Asia. Delta Force missions remain a heavily guarded secret , most of which have never been released. Rest assured , wherever the US or its allies find themselves , we can assume they are right there too!
1. SAS
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. The SAS was founded in 1941 as a regiment and later reconstituted as a corps in 1950. The unit undertakes a number of roles including covert reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, direct action, hostage rescue and human intelligence gathering.
The corps presently comprises 22 Special Air Service Regiment, the regular component, under the operational command of United Kingdom Special Forces, and 21 (Artists) Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) and 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve), which are reserve units under the operational command of 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade.
Source Article from http://www.special-ops.org/19503/top-10-most-dangerous-special-forces-around-the-world.html
NEW Freeland Video Series, Arsenal Blog Entry: SCAR-H, and Barrels for S&W M&P 9
FREELAND 001 : WADE & TANNER
SilencerCo is proud to come from the land of the free and the home of the brave.
To celebrate our rights as citizens of the United States, we wanted to create a video series that highlights how Americans use silencers in their everyday lives.
Our first episode features Wade, an oral surgeon from Park City, and his son Tanner. Click the image to watch the episode and see what a SilencerCo Omega and P-51 Mustang have in common.
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ARSENAL BLOG SERIES : SCAR-H
We all have a list of firearms that, to us, are the end-all, be-all of cool. The guns that we grew up reading about in comics or watching on our favorite TV series. The guns that ignited our love for the 2nd Amendment and, to this day, serve as icons of ingenuity.
At SilencerCo, we have that same list of guns. We figured that if it’s something we wanted to nerd-out over, that you might, too.
With that thought, our Arsenal Blog Series was born. Throughout the series, we’ll dive deep into the history, engineering, and folklore behind some of our all-time favorite firearms.
What better way to start than with a misunderstood USSOCOM project that inadvertently gave us the lightest mass produced modern battle rifle in existence: the SCAR-H.
Click the image to follow us into the rabbit hole and pay respects to one of the most notorious .30 cal platforms ever created.
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Behind Delta Force, the most secretive unit in the world
Delta Force is the Army’s top covert combat unit, with a long history of hunting terrorists and rescuing hostages in war zones around the world. When Kurdish fighters in Iraq heard that ISIS was preparing to execute dozens of captives during the last year, America sent Delta Force commandos to help.
The raid was a success, resulting in the rescue of 70 hostages. But Delta Force also lost one of its own, 39-year old Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler, a married father of four.
Delta Force isn’t mentioned in the Pentagon’s depictions of the raid, or of Wheeler’s career. Officially, the U.S. military doesn’t even acknowledge Delta Force or the other covert counterterrorism units under its Joint Special Operations Command, which have conducted some of the most successful operations of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and have become President Obama’s favored on-the-ground weapon against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
But the missions are often chronicled in the media, and have been the subject of numerous books and movies, most notably the Navy’s SEAL Team Six’s killing of Osama bin Laden, chronicled in the film “Zero Dark Thirty.”
Delta Force, by comparison, keeps a lower public profile, often embedding themselves within other military units. Its commandos were involved in the rescue of State Department personnel during the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the American embassy in Benghazi, Libya. They captured Abu Ahmed Khattala, one of the terrorists suspected in carrying out that attack, in June 2014.
A month after that operation, Delta Force commandos led an attempt to rescue a number of U.S. hostages in Syria, including American aid worker Kayla Mueller and journalist James Foley. The mission failed, and Mueller and Foley later died.
Last May Delta Force commandos killed ISIS leader Abu Sayyaf during a raid in Syria, capturing his wife and freeing a young woman whom U.S. officials said had been enslaved in the militant’s compound.
For all its renown, Delta Force’s introduction to the American public was ignominious.
Created in 1977 by a veteran of the Army’s Special Forces in Vietnam, Delta Force’s first mission was Operation Eagle Claw, the failed 1980 attempt to rescue U.S. hostages in Iran. That debacle, in which eight Americans were killed, prompted the Pentagon to tighten up oversight of Delta Force and other elite counterterrorism units and place them under the command of JSOC.
The United States used Delta Force in the 1980s invasions of Granada and Panama, and the search for Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. In the 1990s, Delta Force deployed to Somalia to hunt warlord Mohammed Farah Aideed, a mission that led to a failed assault on a pair of Aideed lieutenants in which 18 American servicemen died, including five Delta Force operators. That mission was portrayed in the book and movie “Black Hawk Down.”
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Delta Force was used to hunt leaders of Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, and helped American ground troops track down Saddam Hussein in 2003.
With the targeting of terror networks came an increased cooperation with like-minded fighters in foreign countries, a strategy that had been a specialty of the Army Special Forces, or Green Berets, said Linda Robinson, an international policy analyst at RAND.
In the chaos of the twin wars came the rise of ISIS. Rather than recommit ground troops to this new fight, America has paired airstrikes with “train and assist” partnerships with local security forces. Much of that work is being performed JSOC units, including a Delta Force-led team in Iraqi Kurdistan that targets top ISIS leaders, according to an account in Foreign Policy.
Until now, those missions have focused on Syria. But the effort now seems to be expanding to Iraq.
“This is one thing some are arguing — the need to be out and do more,” Robinson said. “You risk more casualties, of course, but you can also gain more information and intelligence.”
Source Article from http://www.special-ops.org/19482/behind-delta-force-the-most-secretive-unit-in-the-world.html
We Like Shooting 157 – Red Scorpion
Welcome to the We Like Shooting show, Episode 157 – tonight we’ll talk about Lock boxes, slings, our training weekend, Black Rhino Concealment and more!
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ETYMOTIC High-Definition Electronic EB 15-LE BlastPLG Earplugs
No matter what environment you operate in, we as human being are extremely dependent on our senses. For most of us, we are not running from predators or submersed into the food chain as our ancestors may have been. There are some, however, who have jobs, hobbies or indulge in sports that require us to use every sense available.
Let’s take hunting as an example, if you have spent any length of time watching and studying the habits of your prey, you get a perfect understanding of survival in action. You would see an animal making use of every sense the Creator instilled in him. A deer for instance; every step of all fours are planned not to make noise. His ears independently search like two satellite dishes rotating and scanning for the slightest noise that does not fit into the norm. His eyes constantly watch for any unusual movement and while his nose smells and processes every particle in the air. When the deer hears something, everything freezes; no more chewing and a pause in breathing, while all attention is on ears and eyes. Both ears focus on the direction he heard something and work together to pinpoint the source. If he detects an unusual sound it is a threat and he begins the warning stomp with a front leg.
This brings me to the point of the article. I have started protecting my ears from noise that I previously never worried about before. Since retiring from the Fire Service, I now control the level of sound entering my ears. These days, I spend more time in nature, not in the modern noise polluted world.
The challenge with hearing protection lies in trying to retain total environmental awareness without the risk of either acute or chronic hearing loss. So how can we improve our hearing and the mind’s ability to process what we hear while protecting our ears? The answer comes from the folks at Etymotic.
I personally have been using the ETYMOTIC EB 15-LE Blast PLG Earplugs. These plugs were created for Law Enforcement, SWAT teams and anyone that may be in a combat environment. The EB 15 Blast Plugs are designed so you maintain your natural hearing while protecting your hearing from continuous and impulse noise above safe levels. When wearing the EB 15, you are still able to communicate without yelling, provided everyone in your party is wearing a pair. The sound is uncompromised even though you have the device in your ears. There are two modes on the EB 15. The first setting is an adaptive hearing protection while maintaining blast protection. The second setting offers 5 times the hearing enhancement while still maintaining blast protection.
So what can the EB 15 offer for you? As a tactical squad commander, you could communicate with your team while maintaining normal hearing. Also, you could enhance your hearing by 5x the normal level with the same benefits, while being protected from damage caused by flash bang deployment or gunfire. Another added benefit with the EB 15’s enhanced mode comes in equipping you with the ability to hear more efficiently than your adversary, in turn giving you the advantage in detecting him before he does you.
While in either mode, another positive benefit of the EB 15 is your ability to track the location of where an unknown shooter just fired. Etymotic has done extensive scientific testing with existing military hearing devices versus several of theirs. Etymotic’s openly published the impressive results along with the processes on their website. Needless to say, the results give a huge advantage to military and law enforcement to maintain communication, situational awareness and hearing protection with an added benefit of hearing enhancement.
The EB 15 seems to do all they claim to do and there is plenty of scientific data to support the claims. There is more to them than just protection and enhancement. The experience of using the EB 15 in the 5x-enhanced mode is like unlocking another world. Some have said, it’s like rediscovering the world all over again.
I tried the assortment of ear tips until found the one that fit me best. I found I preferred the Gray 3-flange 8-13mm for most applications. If I am going to be doing activity where I am sweating for long periods of time, then small foam tips worked better for me and stayed in my ear more comfortably. I installed the #10 batteries and inserted them in my ear as the instructions stated. I clapped my hands to see if the Etymotic plugs electronically block out the noise like my other hearing protection does but instead, I just heard myself clap. I flipped them to enhanced 5x and bam! The world came alive! I started walking and wondered what the noise was that I was hearing and I discovered it was grass and debris I was crushing as I walked. I use to pride myself in how quiet I could walk through the woods only realizing now, I was actually making a lot of racquet.
After this initial experience, I was very eager to test these on the range. I loaded up my gear and went to my swamp firing range to shoot some steel. While in normal mode, I began shooting and could still hear the handgun. I had to check my ears; yes, they were still in place so I continued shooting. Although I was able to hear everything at the level I could beforehand, my ears were not bothered. It was amazing to be able to hear the mechanics of the pistol operating and the lead from hitting the steel target was perceived so clearly. I could actually hear the lead landing all around me from the splatter. I flipped the switch to enhance and repeated the drill. These earplugs were awesome. I could not leave them in enhanced mode though because I kept thinking someone was walking up on me. When I would turn around to look, it was the palmetto blades brushing against each other or a bird digging around in the bushes.
I have a trip to the Okefenokee Swamp coming up I can’t wait to use them there as well. In wrapping up, the last point I would make is the EB 15 doesn’t have to be used just for tactical situations. You could use them just as effectively bird watching, hunting, the opera or concerts. The EB 15 from ETYMOTIC can change your entire world and how you perceive it. Take a moment to visit the ETYMOTIC website and check out all there products and discover a new world like I did. Oh by the way, next deer season, we shall see if I can hear that warning stomp!
Source: http://www.thegearlocker.net/2016/08/etymotic-high-definition-electronic-eb-15-le-blastplg-earplugs/
Police cameras capture shoot-out with Chicago carjacker
Chicago police have released video of a shootout with a carjacking suspect, in which one officer was injured. The swiftly released footage comes shortly after the controversial death of black teenager Paul O’Neal, also during a stolen car chase.
Dashboard camera footage, released Wednesday, shows the Tuesday evening pursuit of a stolen vehicle in the southern suburb of Roseland. At one point, the driver of the stolen SUV points a gun out of the window and fires at the police cruiser several times.
One of the pursuing officers was grazed by a bullet to the head, and can be heard yelling in the video.
“These police officers face this kind of thing every single day,” Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters at the police headquarters Wednesday. The suspect in the case is “the perfect example of what we’ve been saying. The same guys committing the same crimes over and over again,” Johnson said.”This guy doesn’t believe we’re serious. Law enforcement is being scrutinized all over the country for everything they do but they didn’t run away from this, they ran to it.”
The suspect, identified as Charles Lawson, 24, was out on parole after serving a sentence for a 2011 armed robbery, the police said. Lawson was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years, but was granted parole in April 2015, DNA Info reported, citing the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Chicago PD has reworked its policy on releasing police videos in the wake of months-long protests over the death of Laquan McDonald, an African-American teenager shot by a white police officer in October 2014. The video of McDonald’s death was released more than a year later, in November 2015, leading to murder charges for the officer involved, and the resignation of the police commissioner and the review authority chief.
The police handling of the car chase on Tuesday was also very different from the July 28 incident that ended in the death of Paul O’Neal. The 18-year-old African-American was shot and killed after crashing a stolen Jaguar into a police cruiser during a pursuit, and attempting to flee the scene.
Police video shows Lawson throwing the gun out the window before slowly exiting the car with his hands clearly visible. Half a dozen officers converge on the suspect and take him away in handcuffs.
Lawson was charged with four counts of attempted murder, possession of a stolen vehicle, hijacking, fleeing and eluding, and battery – all aggravated by use of a firearm, according to the Chicago PD.
Source Article from http://www.special-ops.org/19732/police-cameras-capture-shoot-out-with-chicago-carjacker/
We Like Shooting 158 – Jersey Boys
Welcome to the We Like Shooting show, Episode 158 – tonight we’ll talk about Troy PDW, HOMAK Safe, H&K, High Threat Concealment, Hi-Points, The 2nd is for everyone and more!
Our Guest is Tony Simon from The 2nd is For Everyone : Diversity Shoot
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XTECH Tactical Introduces 5rd Magazine Extender and Complete 20rd Magazine for HK VP9
XTECH Tactical, manufacturer of the Advanced Tactical Grip is today introducing two new products for the HK VP9 pistol. First up is the new 5rd Magazine Extender for VP9 magazines. The XTECH Tactical mag extender adds an additional 5 round capacity to the VP9 magazine for a 20 round total. The mag extender is super simple to install with absolutely no tools needed.
Jeremy Deadman, Director of Sales and Marketing for XTECH Tactical explains how they have eliminated reliability concerns that plague many other mag extenders.
“The biggest thing for function is that we have a 100% consistent ID within the extender portion AND the ID within the extender is less than the ID of the magazine. The benefit here is that it is impossible for the extender to cause a Fail to Feed which is a known issue in extenders.”
The XTECH Tactical VP9 5rd Mag Extender is now shipping with an MSRP of $29.95 with FREE SHIPPING through the end of August. Not available for sale in NY, CA or MA.
Additionally, XTECH Tactical will be offering complete XTECH Tactical VP9 magazines with and without the Mag Extender. The XTECH Tactical VP9 magazine will feature a 310 Stainless Steel body vs H&K’s Spring Steel body. It will also feature an extra round indicator hole to show the 20th round as shown in the photo below.
The XTECH Tactical 20 and 15 Round VP9 magazines will start shipping early this fall. The 20 Round magazine MSRP is $59.95 and the 15 Round magazine is $34.95. Not available for sale in NY, CA or MA.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Jeremy Deadman at jeremy@xtechtactical.com.
About XTECH Tactical: American Ingenuity. American Made. XTech Tactical.
In 2013, XTech Tactical was formed to develop revolutionary firearms accessories for the AR style rifles and other small arms.
The XTech Tactical founding members bring over 50 years of combined design-for-manufacturing and quality control experience. Collectively they are listed on over 35 US and International Patents, and have been part of taking hundreds of products from concept through production.
Years of experience allows XTech Tactical to continuously introduce high quality, durable, and innovative products to the market. Its first release, the ATG™ grip, is an adjustable angle AR grip which easily adjusts to the three ideal angles of an AR style pistol grip. Each angle functions without any compromise on weight, durability or comfort, making it the ideal grip for all shooting stances or styles.
We Like Shooting 159 – Savage’s Dial-up
Welcome to the We Like Shooting show, Episode 159 – tonight we’ll talk about .375 Socom, Multi-Mag, FXH 45, bulldog thigh holsters, the Canik TP9SFx, Grayboe Stocks and more!
Navy Seal, co-founder of McMillan Firearms Manufacturing and now President and co-founder of GrayBoe
You can find more about Ryan McMillan here
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9-11-01 – 9-11-16 What Do We Do Now?
9/11/01 changed so many lives. Like many who grew up in NY, I lost people I knew that day. I was blessed enough that the people in my closest circles were not on site at the time of the attack. My story is nothing special but as a writer, I am putting it out there in an effort to share some of who I am and help me process some of what I am feeling today.
Watching the towers fall that morning via Good Day NY will stick with me the rest of my life. Heading to the point by American Yacht Club and seeing the smoke where the easiest to spot skyline landmarks once stood was awe-inspiring and terrifying.
In the following weeks, my company folded due to a complete upheaval in the local economy and a melancholy that developed inside me that affected every aspect of my life including my performance. My anger was palpable and for the first time in my life, I considered joining the armed services. To this day I regret not following in the steps of my good friends James Waldvogel and Anthony Vinci doing right by my country.
I quickly changed from a Democrat to a Republican, changing my ideology as a self-identified Deadhead to a person who was angry that war had been brought to his home. I went from fearing the police to respecting them. I went from being a self-centered prick focused on money and self-gratification to realizing that I must give back to the people around me.
That one day lead to the largest transformations in my life. It was the catalyst for my move to Michigan, change in career, eventually my divorce and subsequent remarriage to the love of my life, a focus on self-reliance and self-defense instead of trusting the gov’t to care for me. All things that I am grateful for. For every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end.
Seldom does one event change almost every aspect of a person’s life. For me, 9/11/01 is a touchstone for everything that has happened since. I see those great individuals that I grew up with who became police like Anthony Manto and Nick Vinci making the world a better place, the firemen like Joe Sutton who give tirelessly to save others, the countless medics who risk their lives to save others and all the new individuals I have met since I began my training like Joe Weyer, Steve Fisher, Phil Cheney, Will Petty, JW Wineland, John Chapman and so many more I can’t even mention you all. You all are the Americans I am proud to surround myself with!
Every highway had flags across bridges. Americans who had drifted from any sense of national pride began saluting the flag and singing the national anthem. Sporting arenas will filled with people who cheered and cried as the national anthem changed from a song to an emotional moment shared by those in attendance.
Here we are 15 years later. The unity created that day has faded. People are protesting the national anthem and refusing to respect the flag. Veterans who signed up on 9/12/01 to protect us have come home after seeing and doing unimaginable things are being turned on by the VA and the people they supported. We are losing 22 veterans a day to suicide. Protesting of various causes has once again splintered us into groups instead of Americans.
My small blog is read by many who are like-minded with me. Most love and respect our country and while we may differ on how we get there I believe that most of us are only trying to do what is best for the country. As such I doubt this will change anyone’s opinion but I will ask something of each of you.
Today remember the innocent who died going to work that day. Honor those who ran into to danger and not away. Honor those who risked their lives to save fellow Americans they didn’t know, be it Police, Fire, EMS, National Guard, or volunteers who braved the toxic smoke of that disaster out of a sense of duty. Honor those who went to war and never came home. Honor those who went to war and came back but who were never the same.
Take pride in our flag and anthem for the sake of the many who have risked or lost everything they are, in defense and support of this country and their neighbors.
Remember that sense of community you felt that day and try to figure out why it has dissipated. Find it if you can. Live it if you dare. Most of all Never Forget.
Source Article from http://248shooter.com/index.php/9-11-01-9-11-16-now/