August 2016 Notes

August FTX will commence at 1000 on the 20th at OP1, Training Area North.  We have some new maps to work with for Land-Nav and also will be continuing the FBI Pistol Qualification Drill that we started last month.  The FTX date has been moved up to accommodate those wanting to go Prepper Camp in Saluda on 16-18 SEPT, and NC Patcon 28 SEPT – 3 OCT, and feel it’s just too many weekends with meetings around Labor Day weekend.

Depending on how this years Presidential Election goes, it might be wise to enjoy one last holiday that celebrates the “workingman’s holiday”, as an American.  That still has to mean something.

 

 

The funeral for Mike Vanderboegh was held on Saturday, 13 August, down in Leeds, AL.  Mike finally succumbed to cancer on the 10th.  He was a good friend and a Patriot.  The family requests in lieu of flowers donations be made to the American Cancer Society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a short article on a configurable water filter,  via KitUp, from Recoil Mag.  A little more complicated than your regular Survival Straw, the MUV Adaptable Water Filter from Renovo  would be useful when working in certain conditions.  Like Rio.

 

 

 

 

 

And to carry your Survival Straw, and some other gear, discretely,  there is a very nice looking and functional bag from Grey Ghost Gear.  The Wanderer Bag.  From those  little guys at BreachBangClear.

 

 

 

 

 

That Wanderer Bag would make a good component in your Emergency Plans  for dealing with threats you might face in public places.  Lots of crazy things going on in the bigger cities these days, especially in those with lots of crazy rules “intended to reduce gun violence”.    A few good recommendations from ITS Tactical on the subject.  Think of it as  your most important  Personal Protection Detail.

 

 

Part of any PPD is most likely your favorite AR style rifle, which is really handy if you’ve trained with it a lot and know how to zero it for optimum use.  This story, also from ITS Tactical, tells you how to figure that out.  All without mentioning “maximum point blank range” is  almost 280 yards for XM855.  And in practice, anything over about 250 yards goes to OverWatch anyway.  Just to make sure.  Good stuff starts 7:00 minutes in to that video.

 

 

 

 

 

Been re-reading “Brave New War” by John Robb here lately.  That book was written in 2006 and looks back on the  second Iraq War  in the Persian Gulf and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.  Goes into a lot of depth describing the evolution of wars leading up to the current  proxy wars with insurgents and the basics of 4th Generation Warfare.  A more specific study comes from The Intercept, where a new batch of SIDToday were published.  This batch is from late 2003 and detail the struggle of the NSA and the military to understand and cope with Iraqi insurgent communications and deployment of IEDs.  The high-tech equipment and strategy of the West was initially a hindrance  and took quite a while to shift gears to deal with low tech.  A lot of those techniques developed by the NSA back then are still in use today and in use everywhere.  Can you say, “Utah Data Center”?

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, from NCScout,  a story with local flavour —Brocken Specter, II.  Quite likely a conversation we all will be having soon enough.

 

 

 

 

 

brushbeater brocken spectre, II