Fred Rowlands

Fred Rowlands Fred “Garfield” Rowlands is a 21+ year Navy veteran who spent his career in strange and diverse places like Diego Garcia, Wintering Over in Antarctica, the Southern Border, and Burbank CA. Has spent over 30 years working in Military Physical Security, Law Enforcement, and Private Security, and has “more luck than a cat has lives” supposedly. He now resides in NW Florida with his wife and a Great Dane named Layla.

Being First Isn’t Always a Fun Time

Imagine, you’re part of the crew of the newest, biggest, and strongest US Navy Aircraft Carrier and you’ve almost completed all the acceptance trials. But wait, there’s more! Specifically a 3.9-magnitude earthquake of a shock trial, courtesy of thousands of pounds of explosives. And you get to enjoy the ride. The last time that happened […]

Pic of The Day, NAS Whiting Field Fly In

Many things go into being awarded “best small base in the Navy”, one of those things being the opportunities you provide your students. Fly-In’s, which happen regularly on the flight line at NAS Whiting Field, are one of many reasons leaders from across the U.S. Navy Installations Command chose Naval Air Station Whiting Field as […]

When the Tough Get Going, Their Feet Lead the Way

Boots get all the attention when it comes to protecting and pampering your feet but they shouldn’t. It’s a team effort when it comes to keeping you going in the field, you have to have a good supply line, good comms, leadership, teammates, and in order to keep yourself moving it’s good boots AND good […]

Surviving on Your Feet is Easy With Garmont T8 Falcon’s

You ever hear the line, “it ain’t easy being green”? Well it ain’t I’m 6’7″, flipper sized feet, piano fingers and a big hat size all crammed into one body walking around trying to make my way in the world, and some days I get the feeling the world just isn’t made for people my […]

A New Take On the Updated Salomon Xa Forces Mid Boot

Proud to present an article from Leland Keane, our gear review guru from the Nova Scotia. I read Steve Balestrieri’s review in Loadout Room from 2019 on the Salomon XA Forces Mid-Boot, with interest when planning to write this review. The boot in his review is similar but not waterproof. -(https://loadoutroom.com/117606/a-green-berets-take-on-the-salomon-xa-forces-mid-boot/) I purchased the XA […]

Technology for your Health From SHOT SHOW

I’ve said it before, there was more technology than you could shake a gun at on display at SHOT SHOW 2024. Even when it wasn’t the most glamorous or “in your face electronics”, technology is making the shooting sports world better in a number of ways. Always a “thing” with shooting is your hearing protection […]

Pic of the Day, It’s Graduation Time

It’s not everyday that someone in the family graduates, and then it’s an even more rare occasion that someone graduates the Army Sniper Course held at Ft Moore, Columbus GA. Recently I was privileged to attend a graduation held there and came away with some impressions about the course and the people conducting it. The […]

Technology and Secure Storage Systems, the Future is Now at Vaultek

Technology was EVERYWHERE at SHOT SHOW, you literally couldn’t walk an aisle without seeing at least two examples of it being leveraged to make something better in some way. Vaultek is one example of this in the way it uses technology to create safer and more useable storage solutions that give the buyer more and […]

SHOT SHOW 2024, Its Not ALL About Guns

SHOT SHOW 2024 is in the books now and there are many lessons, ideas and industry trends that are coming so we take a look at a few of them. TRAINING Specifically training using technology which has been making a bigger impact every year. This year is no exception and see’s technology being used to […]

SHOT SHOW 2024, Day One in the Rearview Mirror

The SOFREP team was on the ground and meeting people at Industry Day AKA Range Day here at SHOT SHOW 2024. Day one is an outdoor event held at the Boulder Rifle and Pistol Club in Boulder City NV just outside of Las Vegas and what a day it was with plenty of guns and […]