Combat Studies Group

The news is awash right now with stories of hackers, identity theft and state sponsored electronic snooping. Thought this might be a good time to address some of these issues. First off, I am not an IT professional.....I am a hobbyist; that being said, I would like to offer the following suggestions for those that value their privacy. Also, these are intended as a workable solution and not a purist solution. What I mean by that is, the purist solution requires a high degree of lifestyle change and discipline that most people are going to end up procrastinating on, thus rendering them less than useful. 1) Switch to a hardened browser such as Comodo's Dragon, as most exploits are browser based. Also make sure your firewall settings are elevated. 2) Stop using Google/Yahoo/Bing for searches. Instead use an encrypted, non-logging search engine like Startpage or DuckDuckGo. 3) Use a VPN service. Make sure it utilizes Openvpn encryption standards and has no logg...

Trijicon SRS Reflex battle sight Would like to get my hands on one of these for some testing. I love the concept.....AA battery (easy availability), runs off of built in solar panel while exposed to light - switches to battery when in darkness and huge field of view. Has a 1.75 MOA dot instead of that 4 MOA monster that Aimpoint employs. I still prefer the "dot in a donut" reticle that EOTech, Vortex and Bushnell employ, but a small dot is better than a big one in my book.  I would expect it has the same build quality that Trijicon has demonstrated with the ACOG over the years. Could be a good thing to have when electricity starts to become an issue. Specs are listed  HERE

I have spoken on here before regarding the importance of parity amongst team members, usually in regard to weapons handling and other hard skill sets. I want to address another aspect of this today, namely - fitness levels. A couple other blogs have pointed out an article from a Denver CBS affiliate regarding the fitness standards, or lack thereof, within the Denver swat team. I think it is important to note that the fitness standards listed are not that difficult in the least.....especially when you consider that this is the department's "elite" tactical team. This brings me to the point - if you are part of any kind of tactical team, standards must be established and adhered to. Your slow, out of shape team mate will get the both of you killed. Get your people up to standard, or get them out of the field. 

"When it all crashes down they'll scatter like rodents fleeing a dockside fire, enraged and demanding as only the formerly entitled can be. Life long leeches deprived of a patsy to supply their wants and nurse their delusions will be desperation itself, worse, to their mind an unsatiated want is an injustice, and injustice warrants revenge. You'll do. As looters go, this is the crowd to stay furthest from. Their onboard options are not extensive. They're opportunists, not planners. They self-sort-of-organize, act and disperse, then often as not attack each other." Must read article from Remus  HERE

Put on your armor/plate carrier and 6-8 full mags. 1) Perform 20 pushups 2) 60 seconds heavy bag 3) 10 dips 4) barbel curl, press & squat x10 (80% max weight) 5) 10 or max pullups 6) dumbbell farmers walk 60 seconds 7) Fast rope climb Repeat 4 times Vary as necessary, but you get the gist. You can make a poor man's climbing rope by braiding three sections of half inch utility rope. 30 feet is a good height, but work with what you got. Can also improvise a heavy bag out of an old military duffel bag. This is not an all or nothing exercise.....max effort is what counts. Now....try performing this on your next range day. Add a shooting station after every third exercise. Unfortunately, gunfights happen when you are tired, stressed, hurting and shaking. This will make you strong, boost your stamina and improve your stress shooting techniques. Oh, and keep a log... I will be fielding a shooting course shortly built on this premise........ Sweat now - or...

Sorry for the light posting......I am overseas currently and as you can see from the news, things are "busy" right now. Sink your teeth into this startlingly honest interview with none other than uber globalist, Henry Kissinger... HERE ....the incredible hubris of these people! Might want to get your house in order... (By the way...that is Kissinger with Pinochet in the pic above) Edit: A reader pointed out that this story links to a satire site, something I should have checked on before linking, so enjoy it for what it is.........I really should just stick to guns, tactics and shiny things...

If you have not seen the film " Max Manus: Man of War ", it would be worth your time to check it out. Inspiring true story of the Norwegian resistance during WW2.....

"The price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle anywhere, any time and with utter recklessness." -- Robert Heinlein Lt. Heinlein seemed to have a firm grasp of the special relationship that liberty and firearms share.....

Author and former Navy SEAL Matt Bracken has a very interesting bit of reading -  HERE ....paints a rather dire, but wholly probable scenario.

" The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgement of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist." -- Winston Churchill

This question was posed to me the other day and I thought I would address it here as it is a very relevant question. "If you could only have three small items in your Go-Bag/ Survival kit what would they be?" Easy..... 1) Poncho liner (or poncho depending on area) 2) Metal water bottle 3) Knife Why..... Apply the Rule Of Three's. You can survive 3 minutes without air - 3 hours without shelter - 3 days without water - 3 weeks without food. Of course there are variables....some guys in the dive community can go longer than 3 minutes without air....if you are in a nice 70 something degree climate 3 hours without shelter obviously will not kill you.....in a desert, you may not make it 3 days without water.....and so on.    A poncho liner compresses small, is durable, cheap and fairly effective at preserving warmth. I prefer a steel water bottle as I can boil water right in it for sterilization or cook up some chow. A quality medium size fixed-blade k...