It started off as a typical Monday; some PT (Physical Training), a little admin nonsense and a short brief on the day’s planned shenanigans (I didn’t know what shenanigans were in store for that day). My coworker Nick is something of an avid fisherman. Normally, it is more of a casual dalliance but with the majority […]
RLTW
CRYE Precision Jumpable Plate Carrier versus the CRYE Jumpable Plate Carrier 2.0
The CRYE Precision Jumpable Plate Carrier (JPC) is a minimalist, lightweight plate carrier. I used the first generation for about a year before it was destroyed by a combat medic and a pair of scissors during an operation. I wore it through a brutal training regimen and a combat deployment. It is the best kit […]
Rainy Range Day with Sightmark LoPro Mini & Ultra Shot Reflex Sight
LoPro Combo Flashlight (Visible and IR) and Green Laser This Columbus Day I celebrated in true American fashion, a Zulu Foxtrot T-Shirt, Kryptek Valhalla pants and several hundred rounds slung at the, ever terrifying, Paper Menace. For the day’s festivities, I was privileged to Test & Evaluate two optics from Sightmark. The first optic I […]
Mogadishu Mile – Learn Something That Matters
Between the end of the Vietnam War and 9/11, the US Military found itself in only one major battle. It occurred in Mogadishu, Somalia, on October 3-4, 1993 as part of Operation Gothic Serpent, and is widely known through its portrayal in Black Hawk Down. Commemorate the 25th anniversary of that battle that resulted in the […]
Operation Red Wings Remembered: An Army Rangers Reflection
I remember wrapping the $4 disposable Walgreens camera with OD green “hundred-mile-an-hour-tape.” I knew if I was caught with it on any mission I would likely be kicked out of Ranger Battalion. Before our platoon left Bagram Airfield, I knew this day would live in the beating heart of my war’s history. I took the risk. Photo […]
Ranger Loadout: Carl Gustav
After the articles Ranger Loadout: MK48 Machine Gunner, and Paratrooper Loadout: Airborne School published, I started receiving a number of emails about the Carl Gustav. Aside from Gun Teams there was also a Goose (Carl Gustav) team assigned to Maggots (I hear they are with the 11C guys now). Typically this was a two-man team, […]