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Opinion: Lack of support at the top makes first responders’ jobs even harder

After I finished college, I spent a few years as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) working for a busy 9-1-1 ambulance service in the Florida Panhandle. I learned a lot about myself (like my irrational fear of umbilical cords), and a lot about our society as a whole. It’s an experience I am incredibly grateful […]

Gear in the Wild: US Marines make an impact in Jordan

U.S. Marines assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion-26, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, take cover from demolitions during sustainment training at Camp Titin, Jordan, on July 8, 2018. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Santino D. Martinez) Watch Marines train in Jordan below:

Gear in the Wild: US Soldiers detonate mine-clearing charges in Germany

U.S. soldiers with the 91st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, detonate a mine-clearing line charge fired from their M1 assault breacher vehicle at the Camp Aachen training area, Grafenwoehr, Germany on January 23, 2019. The Ironhorse Brigade conducted Combined Resolve XI Phase II in support of Atlantic Resolve, an enduring […]

Gear in the Wild: Live fire Arctic warfare training

An Army paratrooper assigned to Blackfoot Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska, fires the M249 light machine gun at night during live fire training at Grezelka Range, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, on March 4, 2019. Utilizing the M249 light machine gun and […]

Gear in the Wild: Learning to rappel out of a perfectly good helicopter

Students at Fort Hood Air Assault School conduct rappel operations. The soldiers who participated in the training learned the basics of air assault operations from the instructors of the Phantom Warrior Academy. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Gregory Hunter, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment) Learn more about how the U.S. Army trains for air […]

Gear in the Wild: Marines training for crisis response operations

On March 13, 2019 at Morón Air Base, Spain, U.S. Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa 19.1, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, conduct a helicopter support team training event utilizing an MV-22 Osprey. SPMAGTF-CR-AF is deployed to conduct crisis response and theater security operations in Africa and promote regional stability by conducting […]

Opinion: Let’s talk about what ‘real men’ do.

Masculinity is a tough topic to discuss in an open forum nowadays. Invariably, within the first few sentences (which makes up the preview seen on most social media platforms), everyone that takes the time to scan the headline above will place me into one of two categories: the man’s man (or purveyor of toxic masculinity) […]

Gear in the Wild: Putting rounds on target

A soldier returns fire with his M4 Carbine at opposing forces while on a patrolling mission during a training exercise at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., June 18, 2018. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Matt Hecht Watch soldiers put the M4 through its paces in the video below:

Former Green Beret breaks down the basic survival skills everyone should know

We live in a techno-centric age. Everything is at our fingertips. We have cell phones that can navigate our roads from point A-to-point B. Our phones also have GPS grid coordinates at the quick typing of an app, that can pinpoint your exact location. But what happens in the event of an emergency and you […]

Gear in the Wild: On the move in glorious 29 Palms, California

Marines sprint through smoke during Integrated Training Exercise 2-17 on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Jan. 30, 2017. The Marines are assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. The combined-arms exercise gives all elements of the Marine Air Ground Task Force an opportunity to use capabilities during large-scale missions […]