Warfighter

Blue Force Gear Triple Mag Pouch | A combat proven mag pouch

In today’s market, there is a myriad of mag pouches to choose from. They range from low-profile to very secure. Its a rarity to have a piece of kit that can do both without compromising the other. In my opinion, the Blue Force Gear Triple Mag Pouch is the way forward. They provide a solid grip on the magazine like no other I’ve used and trust me when I say ‘you put your magazines in these and they’re going nowhere.’

They are highly versatile and work on different mags – 5.45, 7.62, 5.56, no problem. While in my last area of operations (AO), I used AK-74s and AK-47 magazines with zero issues. The 7.62 are a bit tight, but they still work very well. While working, I have mainly used the 74s with 30 round mags and one 45 round mag. Even with the weight of the 45 round mag in these pouches, there’s been zero movements with any force I’ve thrown their way.

One downside is you can forget about a tactical/combat reload of placing the empty mag back into the Blue Force Gear Triple Mag Pouch. During this situation, there is no way you will get a mag back in these pouches. I’ve tried and tried repeatedly, but maybe I’m just not as good as those tactical gods out there. Maybe there is an operator out there who can do this, but it’s not me. Spend the mag, dump it in a cargo pocket, reload, and crack on.

As stated previously, the main positive of the Blue Force Gear Triple Mag Pouch is I’ve never seen a mag pouch hold like this before. Crawl, run, climb, handstands, do whatever you want – your mags will still be there when counts and that’s the most important thing. You would think it must be difficult to put a mag in this pouch, but they side right in with a push. Combat reloads are the only time when it will slow you down. When in need of a magazine you can get another quick as your reflexes will allow.

As for durability, these are tuff as nails and been on the go now for some time. I’ve punished these in some very unforgiving environments and not a single hole has formed in the material. As you can see in the photos, there is some fraying of the material, but they are still fully functional. Also, the Velcro at the bottom of the straps is starting to fade, but this is of little concern to me as they still hold their functionality and have loads of life left.

As you can tell, the Blue Force Gear Triple Mag Pouch is one of my favorite products on the market right now and well worth purchasing if you need a super secure mag pouch. I will continue to use these mag pouches in the future and give any updates if they happen to fail.

Overall, this is a great product from a great provider. I score these 9/10. The only reason they don’t get a 10 is that I can’t manage to get a magazine back in the pouch during a tactical reload. This issue is not a personal concern to me, but I know guys out there that would like the option.

The Blue Force Gear Triple Mag Pouch MSRP is $49 and can be purchased here.

Magpul Breach Glove: Preserve comfort and dexterity when manipulating weapons

In early 2010 when I first joined the military the Oakley SI assault glove was the go-to glove for any hard use activities. Over time new players have come to the game offering their own take on a hard use glove. When Magpul Core announced their Breach glove I was immediately interested. It had many of the aesthetic qualities of the Oakley SI assault glove while at the same purporting to have excellent dexterity and protection. I couldn’t say no and bought a pair shortly after they were released so how do they stack up?

They feel like a better fit Oakley SI assault glove to me. This might be due to the fact that the engineers at Magpul Core used people with hands similar to mine when making the fit for the glove. In any case, they do have a break in period of around 3 days of hard use before they fully settle around your fingertips. These are definitely purpose made for weapons manipulation. The Breach glove sports a gun gusset between the thumb and forefinger which aids in comfort and durability while holding pistol gripped firearms. In practice, I’ve always found the area between the thumb and forefinger to be a problem spot, especially when shooting handguns. The gun gusset is a welcome design addition to shooting gloves.

The usage of a leather palm was a superb idea as I’ve found that leather, in general, tends to handle the rigors of a hard environment (when cared for) better than synthetic material or simulated leather. On the back of the hand, you find hard knuckle protection made of padding and leather. When worn it doesn’t get in the way, though it’s worth noting, that compared to a non-hard knuckle glove, it does restrict mobility. The Breach glove does sport does screen compatibility on the first three fingers which is a nice touch in the high tech world of today.

Jack Murphy’s new book, “Murphy’s Law” is on sale now – Here’s a look at his Special Forces loadout

Jack Murphy’s incredible career has spanned years and continents. From his time as an Army Ranger and Special Forces Weapons Sergeant, to his his post-military career as an investigative journalist, Jack has demonstrated his ability to perform at the highest levels in the most daunting of circumstances–and now, you can read about his experiences all over the world in his new memoir, “Murphy’s Law.”

Grab Jack’s book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or wherever books are sold, but until then, take a look at Jack’s loadout from his days as a Special Forces Weapons Sergeant below!

M4 w/EO Tech, LA-5, Pentagon Light, Magpul stock, SOPMOD foregrip
6x additional 5.56 magazines
M9 pistol
Safariland drop holster
Sordins
4x additional 9mm magazines
Mossburg 500 12-guage shotgun
Approx. 12 additional 12-guage rounds
MICH helmet
PVS-14’s
5x Flashbangs
1x Fragmentation grenade
MBITR radio
Flexcuffs
Merrill boots
Penflare gun and flares
spare batteries
Camelbak
Platecarrier w/ sideplates
pistol belt w/E&E kit (small knife, blood chit, compass, signal scarf, IR chemstick spinner, red light LED, survival tin)
translation cards, calculator, pen, paper in Admin pouch
Thermite grenade
ATS medical pouch (tourniquet, curlex, Israeli dressing, pill pack, needle and seal for tension pneumothorax procedure)
Surefire helmet light
Oakley M-Frames
Maxpedition dump pouch-Usually we wore Multi-Cam but transitioned to Iraqi MARPAT knockoffs to blend it with our FID force. I’d wear some of my own stuff just to mess with my Team Sergeant though!

“As the deployment wore on I dropped a lot of the crap and just started wearing concealable body armor and a HSGI warlord chestrig. Whatever you can get away with…” Jack explains.

Ronin Tactics Task Force Belt

Whether you are a Military, LEO, security or a competition shooter, your choice for a battle belt is a one to be made with no small consideration. A good belt needs to be versatile, rigid, easy to take on and off and shouldn’t add too much bulk to the other gear you use to get the job done. The Ronin Tactics Task Force belt has these traits and more.

Ronin was created by Tu Lam, a former Special Forces soldier who refers to himself as a Ronin, a masterless warrior. He did a little bit of everything during his career in the Army and brings that experience to his products. The first thing I noticed about the belt when I unpackaged it was how sturdy and rigid it felt. For those who haven’t used a battle belt before, rigidity is an often overlooked but extremely important aspect because of the possible weight of the equipment that you might need to attach to the belt. Equipment such as your sidearm, magazines, medical pouches, radios, pyro etc. require a sturdy platform for comfortable wear. There is a non-rigid portion of the belt where the male portion of the Cobra buckle is attached which allows the user to adjust the length of the belt based on waist size.

The Task Force belt comes with a rigid Velcro (pile side) inner belt, which is fed into the belt loops of the users pants and holds up the pants as a normal belt would. The outer belt has a Velcro lining (hook side) which then attaches to the inner belt. This system, combined with a sturdy cobra buckle makes putting on and removing the belt very simple and quick. The heavy-duty MOLLE attachments which ring the entire outer belt offer plenty of real estate for attaching any pouches, holsters and other gear you would want accessible and on your waist.

The belt also contains a load-bearing steel loop and can function fully as a rigger’s belt, making it ideal for helicopter and repel operations. Its heavy-duty construction is built with heavy use and longevity in mind. I’ve been using mine for nearly 3 years now without any noticeable performance decrease. My one complaint with the belt is that the Velcro on the outer belt does not cover the entire length of the belt. The non-rigid portion of the belt doesn’t have Velcro which means that if you’re at the top end for waist size for whichever length you ordered, there may be some loss of functionality on your right hip unless you sew some additional Velcro on as I have. It’s a slight oversight, probably because there was a concern with making this portion too thick or too rigid which might make it difficult or impossible to adjust the size of the belt.

Conclusion: As a security professional who trusts this belt on a daily basis, I recommend this belt without hesitation. It has all the basics and many of the accouterment that set it apart from other belts of its type in the industry.

Durability – 5/5
Design/Use of Space – 4/5
Utility – 5/5
Comfort – 5/5

Eddy South is a security consultant working in both the government and private sectors, where he works in full spectrum security operations in austere environments. Previously he served in the U.S. Army for 10 years as a Combat Engineer, Infantryman and finally Psychological Operations specialist for an SMU. He is an enthusiastic shooter, boater, snowboarder, gamer and traveler.

Gadsden Dynamics War Belt: Designed for the prepared civilian

A couple of months ago, Gadsden Dynamics sent out a War Belt for review. I put up my initial impressions here, but have now spent enough time at the range and over the hills to deliver a final review.

For a quick refresher, the War Belt weighs only 10 oz (with optional AustriAlpin Cobra buckle upgrade) and is 3 MOLLE rows tall. Optional suspender looplocs are around the top perimeter allowing for extra weight dispersion if needed. Lightweight yet tough, the War Belt made a good first impression. Lately, I’ve been using it at both the range and during hikes.

Rolled into a ball, the War Belt is smaller than my fist.

Half of what a shooters belt can do for you is in the pouches and how they’re laid out. As Gadsden Dynamics didn’t make these pouches, that’s outside the purview of this article. However, how the belt handles said weight is the crux of the issue. One of the big things this product has going for it is the soft inside liner. When you’re hanging an armful of pouches stuffed with ammo, first aid kits and the odd suppressor, a rigid inside surface on a belt can wear on you very quickly. The interior surface here has a little give to it but isn’t so soft as to worry me regarding its durability. The War Belt hasn’t shown any signs that it is lacking in durability. Whether doing shooting drills at the range or out for a hike with one of my boys, the belt shows no tendency toward spinning out of alignment or having the buckle loosen inadvertently.

The War Belt walks the fine line between too big and too small. Some belts give too little height, only allowing you to loosely dangle your pouches. Other give too much height, looking like a close cousin to a girdle. This belt performs a similar feat when it comes to thickness. Gadsden Dynamics offering seems remarkably thin given how strong it is.

If I were to have changed one thing, I would have ordered a size up. I’d say it is better to have a belt that’s cinched all the way tight and have the MOLLE rows close together than to have the gap in valuable real estate up front. This is especially true for you shooters who don’t have much of a “winter storage pouch” up front…

When all is said and done, Gadsden Dynamic’s War Belt outperforms its size, it’s price and it’s outperformed my expectations. With prices ranging from $44 to $76 depending on size and buckle composition, this is a killer deal. Check them out!

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Portuguese Army getting FN SCAR Assault Rifles

On the 20th February 2019, FN Herstal was awarded a major contract for thousands of assault rifles, by NATO’s Support & Procurement Agency (NSPA) on behalf of the Portuguese Army. The contract is for the 5.56x45mm caliber FN SCAR L assault rifles. Included in this contract, FN will also supply other guns, namely the FN40GL grenade launchers, MINIMI 5.56 and 7.62 Mk3 light and medium machine guns respectively, and the Designated Marksman Rifle SCAR-H in 7,62x51mm.

The NSPA, is the main logistics and procurement agency of NATO and is able to handle and support procurement for member nations. NSPA described the contract as a ‘major milestone’ for the agency. The contract was signed by FN’s sales director and NSPA General Manager.

NSPA made a short statement:

NSPA awarded today a contract to Belgium-based FN Herstal, one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of small caliber weapons. This is for the Agency a major contract to produce FN SCAR assault rifles and FN MINIMI® machine guns as new standard issue weapons for the Portuguese Army’s.

The contract includes the manufacture and supply of 5.56mm and 7.62mm NATO caliber FN SCAR assault rifles, FN40GL grenade launchers, MINIMI® 5.56 and 7.62 Mk3 Tactical light machine guns, and all related accessories. The Portuguese Army’s standard issue service rifle is currently a Portuguese license produced variant of the Heckler & Koch G3, while the MG3 and HK21 are used in the General Purpose and Light Machine Gun purpose. The exact size of this new contract and its worth have not yet been announced, but In 2017, when the program was released, the acquisition called for 11 000 assault rifles in 5.56x45mm. The value of this weapons package procurement would be €42.8 million ($50.3 million).

This is a major acquisition for the Portuguese Army as the old G3 Battle Rifles are outdated, even in its class, and are obvious, not adequate for the assault role. This purchase does not only manage to replace the G3 Battle rifle with one of the best current assault rifles, if not the best, but it will allow that the Portuguese Army to change the fire dynamics of its small units, increasing firepower and combat capabilities and being able to have more Hit probability on the enemy.

Bryan Ferreira DDS, EMT-P

Bryan is 41-year-old Doctor of Dental Surgery and a Paramedic (EMT-P) with extensive experience in remote medicine. He is an American citizen and has lived in Portugal for several years. In 2009 he founded the Portuguese Online Tactical Magazine, www.warriors.pt. Both of the foundations he works voluntarily or is embedded with the Portuguese Army Special Forces. He has been deployed to Kurdistan, Guatemala, Bosnia Herzegovina, Central African Republic, Mali, and some other less troubled spots. He regularly writes and supplies pictures for international media like JSOM-Journal of Special Operations Medicine, KISOM-Kommandos International Special Operations Magazine and for the Portuguese National TV and Army Journal.