Loadout Room Guest Authors

Spartan Selection Began At Birth and Lasted a Lifetime

Thanks to the film “300”, the Spartan lifestyle and their iconic Hoplite helmet has become a popular one among military age males and is frequently used ad campaigns or on t-shirt designs. But what was life like, as a Spartan male who would eventually become part of their military? We’ll take a quick look at […]

Black Talon: The round that is still in use today by __________.

Black Talon ammunition was created by Winchester in 1991. It’s a handgun round that took on a mythology of its own. Winchester stopped producing the Black Talon round in 2000, and that kind of fed into its mythology and mystique. You may have heard that it was produced with a Teflon coating but in all […]

5.11 Tactical Rapid L2 Handheld Flashlight

As a law enforcement officer, there are several pieces of gear that I carry. Some get used very rarely, if ever like OC spray and my taser. Some get used virtually daily, such as my handcuffs and radio. One item, in particular, gets used in a variety of ways in a variety of scenarios. The […]

Constructing urban breaching charges

Marine Assaultmen and Engineers conduct urban breaching in Integrated Training Exercise 3-18 on Range 220 MOUT in 29 Palms California. The Marines used detonation cord (det cord) to construct a variety of urban breaching charges that are standard for urban shot and experimented with some newer charges including the “Copenhagen charge” developed to defeat deadbolted […]

Remember Rucking is a Marathon and Not a Sprint

As we frequently do here at SpecialOperations.com, we post pieces on what many times are based on our messages or messages on Twitter. And this week I’ve gotten a few messages and questions concerning rucking. And when it comes to rucking, we get about 50/50 with our messages and/or questions regarding that or Land Navigation. And […]

5.11 Tactical Response CR1 | Primary Contender

5.11 Tactical Response CR1 | A Primary Contender

I am a collector of many things, as a police officer flashlights are one of those “things”. There is no worse circumstance than to be clearing an objective, or your home with a suspected intruder and your light go out. I have seen it happen and the resulting “Oh shit” moment that strikes the user. […]

The World’s Most Advanced Body Armor for Police Officers

For the men and women on our front lines of law enforcement, the right body armor is the essential life-saving technology in active threat scenarios. Whether you are police, fire, security detail or tactical, but it’s been more than thirty years since any disruptive technologies in ballistics protection have been brought to market. Until now. […]

MOS Tactical S4: The most minimal sling on the planet

When I first got my hands on the MOS Tactical S4 sling I was a little baffled by the design. It seemed like nothing more than a tubular nylon runner you would use for climbing and a sling snap hook. The runner is stitched together with what looks like the same way that rated climbing runners are. I’m […]

Knot Tying and Lashing, A Needed Valuable Skill in SFAS

When you attend Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS), if, and a big if you make it to the final phase which is called Team Week, there are certain skills that you will need to have to make it thru. And any team without them will certainly have a rough go of it if not […]

Crate Club | Gear and the Difference between Life and Death

It was a cold afternoon in January 2013. My friend, Joe, and I were standing on a snowy, ice-covered lake. Unfortunately, an unexpected rain the day before had created some slush on the surface that made us cautious as we fished near the dock. We were waiting for another friend to join us on the […]