jedburgh

How Special Forces operators commemorate their lineage

What a better way to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day then by jumping into Normandy?

Green Berets assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) conducted static line and free-fall parachute drops on a drop zone in Normandy, France, last week. The Air Force’s 352nd Special Operations Wing and 86th Airlift Wing provided three MC-130J Commando II aircraft for the drop. In total, close 135 American paratroopers jumped, some with the exact same gear their forefathers used on D-Day.

“Overall it was a great jump. It was smooth and went as planned,” said a Green Beret from the 10th SFG in a statement to DVIDS. “It’s an outstanding experience to be able to honor the paratroopers who jumped into France during World War II.”

The local mayor, David Nicholas, said: “We invited them because it’s a very good opportunity to have them jump at Avranches to start the World War II commemorations and celebrations leading up to the anniversary of the liberation of Avranches. It’s also good because today we are opening a new exhibition about World War II in Normandy at the history museum.”

The 10th SFG was the first Special Forces Group to be activated in 1952. Its area of operations includes Europe and North Africa. It has a battalion forward-deployed to Germany.

Representing the French military, Sgt. Maj. Pierre-Andre Integlia, who is the senior non-commissioned officer of the French airborne section of the French Military Academy, said: “We’re here to facilitate the exercise, and work in accordance with the civilian authorities as part of the French and American partnership for D-Day celebrations. It’s a privilege to help commemorate the Allied veterans and their part in the liberation of France.”

Another 10th SFG operator said the jump was a way to trace back their unit’s lineage, and specifically Jedburgh teams of the Office of Strategic Services, which is considered the predecessor of both the CIA and the U.S. Special Operations Command.

“We’re celebrating their combined effort to liberate Western Europe with local forces,” added the operator, who had to remain anonymous for operational security reasons. “The airborne operation celebrates the long relationship between America and France and 10th SFG’s commitment to continuing the tradition of training and working with our allies in Europe.”

In addition to these commemorative jumps, 600 movie theaters across the U.S. will be screening the critically acclaimed movie, “Saving Private Ryan.”

This article was written by Stavros Atlamazoglou at NEWSREP

Feature image: A Special Forces soldier from the U.S. Army’s 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) prepares to land on the drop zone near Mont Saint Michel, Avranches, France on May 18, 2019. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Alexis K. Washburn).

The Jedburgh Cover Shirt – RE Factor Tactical

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen the name Jedburgh associated with tactical gear, but it’s one of my favorite references. The Jedburgh teams were Special Ops before Special Ops really existed. These guys worked with the OSS and Resistance forces around WW2 to kill Nazis at the cyclic rate. They operated behind enemy lines, with a very covert nature. This makes the Jedburgh Cover Shirt very appropriately named.

The Jedburgh Cover Shirt

RE Factor Tactical has shown their heads around here before and they make some outstanding gear. The Jedburgh cover shirt is their first entry into the world of concealed carry shirts. The Jedburgh cover shirt is low profile garment designed for shooters. The shirt is perfect for plain clothes duty of EDC. It’s an athletic cut shirt and I suggest ordering a size up, it does fit a little tight. However, it is exceptionally comfortable.

The front of the shirt is a stiffer, reinforced material that doesn’t lump or sag. This cuts down on printing, especially if you carry appendix. The sides and rear of the shirt are a flexible spandex-like material that moves and grooves as you move and groove. This allows excellent range of movement and extreme comfort. The material wicks sweat away from the body and in June in Florida, I’ve been appreciative.

The reinforced front of the Jedburgh cover shirt makes it easy to grab and move to draw a concealed firearm. The snap-style buttons give way easy enough and allow you to quickly defeat the garment and get to your gun.

The Inside is what Counts

The Jedburgh Cover shirt sports 4 pockets but you can only see one of them. Another hides inside the shirt over the breast and two additional pockets are in the appendix area of the front of the shirt. Here you can stash badges, ideas, and cash separate from your wallet. They are also large enough to fit a pack of combat gauze, a RATs tourniquet, and other small items.

These three pockets are secured via a zipper and are all easy to access, but also invisible.

On the Range

Practicing my draw from concealment showed me how versatile this shirt is. The thicker front portion is easy to grab and the snap buttons release perfectly to allow you to clear leather. The flex nature of the shirt makes it easy to move and grab the gun as necessary. The same could be said for firing in more awkward positions.

The shirt allows you to move, climb and crawl when necessary. Overall its a very well made and comfortable shirt. It’s also good-looking, and very non-tactical in appearance. I love the way it feels, the way it wears, and the way it performs. It’s an excellent concealed carry summer shirt.

Photos by author

Blue Force Gear Jedburgh Pack: Comfort and Performance

Blue Force Gear has made a respectable name for themselves in the realm of tactical gear. Their Dapper system which employs velcro is quite popular and they began producing accessories for it, but took their time making the packs designed to use it. That seems to be time well spent as I look at the Blue Force Gear Jedburgh backpack. The pack itself is a traditional daypack, lightweight, not bigger than average backpack. What sets it apart is its overall construction, and it’s Dapper integrated system.

Looking over the traditional trouble areas of the pack reveals a very well built pack. For example, the bottom of a backpack is often it’s the weakest point. This is where anything in the packs that can sag will sag. The bottom of a pack is also in contact with the ground more often. These combined factors make a blowout at the bottom of a bag quite possible. Blue Force Gear has heavily reinforced the bottom of the pack. This isn’t apparent at first glance, but you feel the difference in your hands. The bottom of the pack feels like it has a rubberized or elastic material of some kind built into it. A strict solid material is more likely to break than one can give and bend just slightly to accommodate the weight.

The straps are the most important part of the pack from a comfort perspective. The Blue Force Gear’s straps are approximately two inches wide and a quarter inch thick. The straps are heavily reinforced with a dense padding to make them comfortable. The straps are adjustable enough the pack could be worn while using a plate carrier. The back of the pack is rigid and reinforced to prevent anything inside the pack from impacting your back if you are running, climbing, or moving dynamically in any way.

One thing you notice throughout the entire pack is the stitching. It is everywhere. Everything is reinforced with more and more stitching. The pack is definitely made with hard work in mind, and yet it remains light and comfortable.

The Dapper system is internal system derived from an extremely high-quality velcro. The inside of the main pack features two full Dapper panels for easy mounting and organization of gear. The small pouch in the front has one Dapper pad as well. Personally, something like this would’ve been a Godsend for our Corpsman’s medical gear in country, or for my squad’s boom bag. The boom bag as we called it was filled with 40mm grenades smoke bombs, flares, belts of machine gun ammo, and a variety of goodies we were able to take before Gunny noticed they were gone. The only problem was when you needed something critical you were forced to dig through the pack until you could find it.

This system would allow you to organize the pack through various different pouches. The zippers travel near the full length of the bag, allowing to fully open and be laid out for easy access to just about anything. The outside of the pack features small sections of PALS/MOLLE webbing to expand the pack, and a large section of velcro to place an identity badge or small pouch.

On the civilian side, you are looking at a strong get home bag contender. With the Dapper pouches, you can install a holster, magazine pouches, shotgun shell holders, and a knife sheath. There is plenty of room for an organized IFAK, some water, snacks, and a good flashlight. It would also be an excellent daypack for everyday carry or some lightweight backpacking. I plan to take this pack out in a wide variety of roles, including an urban day bag, out for a hike or two, and I want to organize it into an effective get home bag for use in my vehicle. I’m also going to place it under a heavy weight stress test and see if I can get it to cry, uncle.

TDI and RE Factor Concealed Carry Jedburg Cover Shirt | Initial Impression

During World War II, a clandestine operation group was created, combining personnel of the British Special Operations Executive, the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, the Free French Bureau Central de Renseignements et d’Action (“Intelligence and operations central bureau”) and the Dutch and Belgian Armies called Jedburg. The “Jeds” were dropped by parachute into occupied France, the Netherlands and Belgium with military objectives to conduct sabotage and guerrilla warfare and lead the local resistance forces in actions against the Germans. One of the first teams in; codenamed “Hugh”, parachuted into central France near Châteauroux the night before the Allied landings in Normandy; codenamed Operation Overlord. Additionally, As the Jedburgh teams’ mission was to inspire overt rather than clandestine resistance activity. They wore military uniforms and were equipped with a variety of personal equipment such as medical supplies, food such as “K” and “C” Ration packs, sleeping bags, field glasses and detailed maps of their operational areas, which were printed on silk like their radio ciphers. However, Agents who had previously been dropped to resistance groups had carried only covert articles (e.g., a gun, a shovel (to bury their parachute) and false papers).

In keeping with the clandestine nature of this special group, RE Factor and Tactical Distributors Inc., launched The Jedburg Cover shirt and is the first shirt design for those who carry, by those who carry. The goal of Tactical Distributors and Re-Factor Tactical is to make the perfect cover shirt with the design help of our customers and professionals. The Jedburg’s appearance is designed to allow you to blend into everyday life. The shirt offers an athletic cut which allows for enough room for your pistol but still gives a nice appearance for everyday wear. The pearl button snaps give you quick access to your pistol and the reinforced inner walls of the shirt help you clear the pistol for your draw. In addition, there are tactically placed pockets at the bottom of the shirt that aids in swinging the shirt when conducting a concealed firearm draw. Finally, the shirt includes a stretch fabric throughout to allow you to easily present your pistol or maneuver if needed.

If you have read my previous concealed carry shirt posts on the Vertx Speed Concealed Carry shirt and the Arcteryx Skyline shirt, this new one has got to be my new favorite. They have taken many of the key items found in other shirts and have made it even better. One of the key additions and a real tactical (meaning operating function that supports the training and deployment) capability is the strategically placed pockets at the bottom of the shirt that allows the operator to quickly deploy their concealed firearm. Having some weight at the bottom of the shirt facilitates the sweep and clear approach to interacting with your tool of choice (i.e., Firearm, knife, taser, etc.). The next feature that I truly like is the light-weight and stretchable material, unlike other shirts that have made good shirts, many of them do not have the freedom of movement that Jedburgh has. For those of you with large shoulders, muscular backs, and small waist, it is hard to find an athletic shirt that does not pinch when in your proper shooting stance, this shirt alleviates those problems.

Continuing with the shirt’s functionality, as mentioned at the bottom of the shirt there are pockets to put weight into or store other EDC equipment, and is covered with a liner that keeps printing minimal if you are wearing your firearm in AIWP (appendix inside the waistband) carry mode. While the design concept of the reinforced liner is theoretically valuable, the material choice is inconsistent with a covert shirt. The choice of material is similar to that you would find in a dog chew toy and the best way to describe it when moving is “crinkly.” It makes so much noise that after mass retail purchases everyone would know you are wearing this shirt due to the sound. While I received this shirt a few hours ago, I have not washed it and hope that after a few the material will lose its noise, perhaps in the next version a couple of layers of silk would improve the noise quality while keeping the non-printable theory alive.

*Feature photo courtesy of Tactical Distributors YouTube Page