Medical kits review: From the uniform LE perspective

The following review comes from the perspective of daily uniform wear for law enforcement. This is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all available offerings rather a review of those kits I have used over the years and their general performance and attributes. This is not meant to be a discussion of medical … Read more

Loss and Learning

Law Enforcement is a family. We think of one another as brothers and sisters; Much like actual siblings we don’t always get along but when adversity strikes we stick together and stand as one. This concept is never more clear than in the aftermath of a downed officer. If you are active on social media … Read more

Back to the basics: A business primer

After several phone calls to a number of different industry folks in the last couple weeks I am struck by something a business professor told me years ago, “Profit margin only matters if you actually sell something.” I spent some time in the business world and learned some lessons the hard way. I ran the … Read more

LMS Defense Night Vision Fundamentals Course with Daniel Bales: AAR

After Action Report Course: LMS Defense Night Vision Fundamentals Course Instructor: Daniel Bales Host facility: LMS Defense Combat Development Center Location: Fernley, Nevada Course length: 1 day *In the interest of complete transparency: I am a part time employee of LMS Defense and have worked for them as an RSO on several occasions. In addition … Read more

The burden of adult based learning in an Alpha world: A tale of willing ignorance.

In modern law enforcement we are forced to train to the lowest common denominator. Blame it on budget, admin’s general disregard for line staff, or rainbow farting unicorns, the reality is the same. The dirty little secret in law enforcement is that agencies train their people to statutory and case-law based minimum standards; hell most … Read more

SHOT Show 2017 Part One


SHOT show 2017 kicked off like every other show I’ve attended…  chaos thinly disguised as enthusiasm in multicam.

Notable products part one:

BE Meyers MAWL:

Got hands on with the MAWL for the first time. It’s all it’s been made out to be and more. The IR designator/illuminator market just got turned on its head and the future is very clearly a departure from the traditional rail mounted box.

BFG MARCO (aka tactical pez dispenser):

The crew at BFG, thanks to help from our very own Roland and Raven concealment, have made a dispenser for chemlites that no one knew they needed until they saw it.  The concept is simply a box that holds 30+ 2″ chemlites with a footprint smaller than an M4 30 rounder.  The design incorporates mounting holes that will allow attachment to just about any system you’re currently using.  The beauty of the MARCO is that in the space of 4 standard chemlites you can now carry enough to handle clearing an industrial complex.

Nightops tactical DTNVG:

Nightops tactical is providing a dual tube solution that incorporates the ability to lift an individual tube out of your line of sight without folding the entire unit up.  This also means that the unit sits almost completely flat against the helmet when not in use, no more tactical antlers.  Expect more info on these soon.

Outdoor Research Infiltrator:

Outdoor research debuted the then unnamed Infiltrator jacket last year at SHOT.  Think of this as the 21st century version of the hard shell jacket.  It incorporates goretex stretch panels in key articulation areas of the jacket including the underarms, rear shoulder yoke and base of the hood.  The jacket promises to be 100% rain proof and still provide the mobility you demand from soft shell solutions.  Prices are not set in stone but expect to see these hit the market for $400 good guy pricing.

Foursevens sentinel WC1:

Foursevens debuted their 600 lumen XC1 killer.  The unit is both smaller and lighter than XC1 and the output appears to be on par with their claims. The switchology is similar to what we have seen from the inforce offerings and would take some adaptation before becoming intuitive, but hey Surefire didn’t exactly do any favors by changing the status quo with the XC1.

Trijicon 1-8x accupower:

Trijicon seems to have gotten the message about the importance of daytime brightness, the green reticle I looked at has 11 power settings the brightest of which is noticeable brighter than previous accupower models.  Didn’t get any specs on weight but this thing doesn’t feel or look any bigger than the VCOG 1-6 or other industry standard 1-6 offerings.

The prevailing Ego in the world of training

https://www.facebook.com/The-Skunkworks-1133726269987670 The prevailing Ego in the world of training Soldier Systems posted another great Gunfighter moment with Ken Hackathorn last week and something stood out to me: “… Recently, one of the other Alias instructors detailed his method of always engaging the safety (of an AR or AR control style) firearm for all things when not … Read more