Big Changes In The New Year (On A Personal Level).

Of course on the national level with the Trump taking office.

But, also, on a personal level. As many of you know, I was medically separated from active duty service back in October. We have been offered an opportunity to move to Arizona and live rent free for up to two years. No job offer yet, however, that area of Arizona seems to have a great deal more job opportunities than where we are currently here in Texas.

But the changes continue from there, our oldest son has decided to stay here while we move. We have already worked out his living situation and he has successfully completed primary job training with

Merry Christmas!

From my family to you and yours.

The Archduke Ferdinand Moment Of Our Time? Updated at 1:34pm local.

What a Monday!

First This: Bad Omen: Blood of St. Januarius Fails to Liquify. When this has occurred in the past, it was before such things as wars, natural disasters, and epidemics. which leads to this...

Various Things To Ponder Midweek.

Most of these links are courtesy WRSA.

Hamilton Electors: The Left’s misplaced confidence and its potentially deadly consequences from the Virginia Freeman's Society. I commented on another website and wrote yesterday, the Left is tickling the tail of the dragon. 

A Reposting From Last Year In Light Of What Is Going On In Our Country Today: Snowflakes, Sneerology, Etc.

https://wearethenewbarbarians.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-vendee-revolt-and-resulting.html

Research the Vendee Revolt of 1793 and its consequences. The French government did not finally admit to what had happened for nearly two centuries.

We are beginning to see the same spirit of the French Revolution here in our country today.

Especially in light of this from left wing writer Krugman and this blogger from Mother Jones.

Then go to this article about Eastern Washington wanting to secede from the western part of the state and go down and read the comments. That is where it is telling. The liberals and coasties keep tickling the tail of the dragon.

The Siege of Jadotville and The Wild Geese.

Netflix recently added a new original film called "The Siege of Jadotville" which chronicles the experience of an Irish company attacked during the Congo Crisis of 1961. Most Americans would shrug their shoulders if asked about the Congo Crisis, but at the time, the Congo was a supplier of copper and uranium, and an important part of the Cold War chessboard.

Preparing Your Family, Especially Your Children, For "The Incident"

I have always tried to incorporate my children and their safety in any contingency planning where firearms may be used. The intensity, the noise, the expectation of immediate obedience to my commands have long concerned me. Then I found the article "Six Self-Defense Commands and Strategies for Families…" located at the God, Gals, Guns, Grub blog. While it has been a year since there has been any activity there, I nonetheless found the article to very informative and validating.

As the article states, the KISS method must be used when dealing with children. I have taught my children from the time that they understand the concept to always be aware of their surroundings. They have even caught me a few times when my guard was down. We play games of observation when we walk into a business. We look for the exits, bathrooms, "funny" looking people, etc.

It is important not to instill a sense of fear, but a sense of awareness in our children. Let them be children, but, they can often sense things that we do not see. With today's concerns of terrorism, and what we have seen done in just the last year alone, we cannot afford to be complacent with our daily lives.

Something to think about and work on this weekend.

Battle Belt 3.0

Gadsden Dynamics earlier in the year teased that they had a new battle belt/war belt coming down the pipeline. As you can read here and here, I have been constantly tinkering with my own battle belt design for some time. Nothing seemed to be working like I wanted it too, except for the HSGI Rifle Taco Pouches.

The Review Is Up. The Cohort 4 Chest Rig From Gadsden Dynamics.

The review is here.

It really is a great piece of gear. Check out Gadsden Dynamics product page on it here.

Akademia Szermierzy - Fior di Battaglia (medieval longsword techniques)

Liberi would be like Japan's Musashi.

Back to the source - Historical European Martial Arts documentary.

Something different for the weekend.

Remembering Our Veterans.

Adorea longsword fight duel

I have long been a fan of the Western Martial Arts. This sword fight is one of the best I have seen using techniques straight from some of the old sword manuals.

Reciprocity. Edited.

Most folks think of such things as "concealed carry reciprocity." This means, in a nutshell, if I have a CCW in state X, states A-G, H-T will recognize it. State F and U don't for whatever reason.

However, I am speaking about something else. Decades ago (really?) Tom Clancy in his work "Clear

What An Amazing Night! It Is Morning In America.

The sun rose beautifully this morning. The cool air greeted me when I stepped out to get the paper. Some disappointments on local issues, but what a night. I understand that Hillary will be speaking in about an hour. Let's see if she has any class left.

A Teaser Post: This Is Coming In The Mail This Week.

One of the things that I have done since signing out on transitional leave from active duty service is design a chest rig. I have never worked on a custom design before. I should say that I have never had something custom built. However, for the first time, I was able to do so. I want to share some of the development pictures with you.

Being A Barbarian. More Wisdom From John Mosby.

John Mosby (MountainGuerrilla Blog) has been one of the main influences on this blog since its inception. He is former military, he is colorful, he is honest, and he is direct.

Remember.

This year takes on new meaning to the phrase. Gunpowder kegs can come in many forms.

2,347. Some Quick Thoughts.

Wow. 2,347 views for the month of October. I am grateful and humbled. In the grand scheme of

Life Imitating Art? Or The Other Way Around? Some Quick Book Recommendations.

In light of current events, I wanted to suggest the following reading material. Yes, I have recommended many of these books in the past, but I will beat the drum about them yet again.

The Road to Damascus. No this is not about the Apostle Paul. It is a thinly veiled, military sci-fi treatise on the evils of communism cloaked in liberalism.

The Last Centurion: Another John Ringo classic. This one hits very close to home.

A State of Disobedience: I first read this back in 2004 while deployed to Iraq. It was spooky then. It is downright frightening now.

Caliphate: Another Tom Kratman novel. If you want to understand what the endgame of the "refugee" invasion of Europe means, you need to read this novel. A word of caution: it deals with very troubling subject material. Again, this is the process by which you can begin to steel your hearts and minds. Note I did not say harden. There is a difference. This one can be found for free on Amazon for the kindle app.

In Light Of The Impending Election, A Repost From March.

The Macro in the Micro.

The GOP establishment is running scared. The talk of a brokered convention is everywhere. The threats of "new" potential nominees being trotted out in case of Trump winning the nomination fill the news feeds. Other threats of a 3rd party run also are being screamed by the shrill talking heads. They do not understand why Trump is winning everywhere, and why their establishment favorites are doing so poorly in the voting booth. Here is the problem: The establishment is only running for itself, not its base. It is sort of like the typical complaints about Hollywood movies, they are making movies the Hollywood types want to see, not what everyone else wants to see. Politics is power, power is money, and if you control the power, you control the money. The elites in power do not, or maybe they do, understand the anger and passion that is driving so many people away from the traditional parties.

Here is my ideas why.

Christmas Gear Recommendations, Part 2.

I needed to add a couple more vendors:

Spartan Armor Systems: Their stuff is in stock, ships free and fast, and is really good. If you have been waiting to get AR500 style steel body armor, check them out.

A Grid Down Pharmacy List. And Early Christmases And Birthdays For Years To Come.

H/T WRSA.

Grid Down Hospital Part V: The Pharmacy

Quick takeaways. Both OTC and old timey remedies. Time is flying away. Get your stuff squared away. Even if Trump wins, the unpleasantness is still going to continue and grow worse.

*****

Boxes are arriving. Got some building, testing, and reviewing to do. Look for those soon.

Family First.

I appreciate your patience. A lot has been going on here with the family since the last post. We are all fine. Just very busy.

Meanwhile, keep visiting the links in the blog roll. There is a lot of things happening out there.

Beans, Bullets, Bandaids.

22 days.

This One Is Zinging Around The Blogosphere Like Mad

Defeating Doomsday Derp from ZeroGov.

There is definitely a growing distaste for the state of affairs within the "Threeper" movement. As in the past, a few bad actors sour it for many others. This creates a situation where the balkanization within the "patriot" movement becomes more solidified. Apparent power attracts the corrupted and

More Grid-Down Hospital Links

Again, H/T to WRSA:

Grid Down Hospital: Part 4 - Medical Books for your Hospital Library.

Random Thoughts For Columbus Day: The Cultural Importance of Columbus; Grid Down Hospital Links; Ungovernable?; Amerigeddon review

Sultan Knish has a GREAT article about Columbus Day and its importance to American culture. Money quote follows:

A nation's mythology, its paragons and heroes, its founding legends and great deeds, are its soul. To replace them with another culture's perspective on its history is to kill that soul.

That is the ultimate goal of political correctness, to kill America's soul. To stick George Washington, Patrick Henry, Jefferson, James Bowie, Paul Revere, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and all the rest on a shelf in a back room somewhere, and replace them with timelier liberal heroes. Move over Washington, Caesar Chavez needs this space. No more American heroes need apply.

Christmas Gear Recommendations

Christmas (Yule to some of you) is just around the corner. I have a feeling this Christmas season will be a memorable one for many reasons: not all of them good and peaceful. I have some Christmas Physical Gear/Mental Gear Recommendations for those so inclined in your life. You may need to shop early this year. I predict it will be a busy season.

All the gear is made in the USA.

Check Your Checklist!

In light of what is going on both here and abroad, a little dark humor is in order.

Gray Man Idea: Another Working Man With His Tools.

A little over five years ago, Matt Bracken wrote an article about finding a sawzall tool case in the trash. He relayed how he took it home and converted it into a carbine case, in which all but an inch of the barrel were hidden inside the tool case.

Article Five Convention, Why The Left Always Wins, And Other Rambling Thoughts

This last weekend there was a simulated walk through of an Article Five Convention at Williamsburg, Virginia. I have always had concerns about such a real event getting overtaken by the LRPs (leftist radical progressives) and flushing everything down the toilet. They do not follow rules and the means justify the ends for them. However, if Queen Jezebel is elected in a little over a month from now, how do you think the states will respond?

Gentlemen And Ladies: Prepare To Defend Yourselves.

A Quick Note: Sipsey Street Irregulars has gone dark. He issued a brief statement without details on both the blog and social media. I wish Matt V. the best. Hopefully we will see his return sooner than later.

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In light of the recent terror attacks this last weekend I think it is important for us to reevaluate our personal responses and plans to such events. It is being reported that the knife attacker in Minnesota had to be shot several times due to the fact that he kept trying to attack. Gabe Suarez has one solution for this kind of problem: Shoot Them In The Face and Continue To Shoot Them In The Face. If you can not shoot them in the face, then try this. This is not a new solution. However, this solution requires practice, practice, and more practice.

A Quick Post...More To Follow In Depth Later

By now you have heard about the two bombings that occurred yesterday in NYC and NJ. Then there was the knife attack in the mall in Minnesota. Folks, we are in a time of war. Act accordingly. I have not seen the video from the mall yet (I am posting from my phone just prior to a previous engagement), yet I was informed that the off duty cop that engaged the knife wielding attacker had to shoot him multiple times. Quit only thinking Center Mass. Shoot them in the face! Continue to shoot them until they stop moving.

I will post more when I can get to my computer...

Dear Reader, Thank You So Much!

20,000 total views broke today!

I cannot thank you enough. When I started this little blog almost 3 years ago, I really just planned on it being a place for me to put some of my thoughts on (digital) paper. I get it. There are similar blogs that discuss some of the same things that get over 20,000 views a day. Awesome. Get the truth/facts/observations/etc out to the public.

Random Thoughts For The Almost Ides Of September.

I neglected to mention that Sunday was also the 333rd anniversary of the defeat of the Ottoman forces at the gates of Vienna. The Polish Winged Hussars hold a mystique to this day. The threat was just as real then as it is today. There is a gold of history to be explored in the way that Poland dealt

I Wonder What Is Going On? A Thought on the 15th Anniversary of 9-11-01 and the 4th Anniversary of Benghazi.

So over the last week I have noticed that my blogroll is not in order of new posts posted by the different blogs that I follow. Google doing some censoring in the lead up to the election?

What Is Whispering In The Wind?

There is a storm coming.

First Germany, then the Czech Republic, and now Finland is advising its citizens to start stockpiling food and water. I am familiar with the ISIS intel of sending more terrorists to there, but I am beginning to think there is something more going on.

Some Vietnam War History Documentary Recommendations Available On Amazon Prime

Over the past week I have been on a Vietnam War history kick on Amazon Prime and wanted to share some of the documentaries that I have found and enjoyed.

My Father's Vietnam: This is a story of discovery as the filmmaker explores his own father's Vietnam story and the friendships that he had with two other soldiers who did not come home.

Escape From Firebase Kate: This happened in 1969, when the 21 year old Special Forces Captain, William Albracht, lead his outnumbered and surrounded force from their hilltop firebase in a daring escape. He was the youngest company commander at the time in Vietnam. Very well done documentary.

The Man Left Behind: This is the story of COL (R) Paul Longrear, who fought at the Battle of Lang Vei in the opening hours of the Tet Offensive in 1968. His unit held the firebase of Lang Vei just barely two kilometers from the Laotian Border, not far from Khe Sanh. The film tell his story both during the battle and then forty years later during his visit back to Vietnam and Lang Vei. One of the interesting facts of this documentary is the narration is done by Terrence Knox, probably best known for his portrayal as Sergeant Zeke Anderson in the TV series Tour of Duty.

Amazon and Netflix are a treasure hunt about what they have to watch. You can be genuinely surprised at what you may find.

Now For Something Completely Different. The Full Length Movie "White Dwarf."

This movie was a favorite of my wife and I. We watched it when it was first broadcast, then it just disappeared. While not great, it is interesting both visually and with some of the ideas that are put forth. I have always enjoyed science fiction, both good and bad. There are a lot of great character actors in this.



Enjoy and let me know what you think of it.

A Plug For The Other Project. Cohort One Five: The Enemy Of Good Is Perfect. The 80% Solution.

Wanted to take the time and drop a plug for the other project that I am a part of. Cohort One Five was started as an idea when a few friends were sitting around a few boxes of MRE's and cots. We are able to crank out content every couple of months or so for that blog. We wanted a place where we could share different ideas with each other. As with any project, it is the foundation that is the important thing. All else will follow. Below is the text and link of the latest article there: The Enemy of Good is Perfect. The 80% solution.

A Canticle For The Roman Catholic West?

Emmet Scott has a very interesting article entitled "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Catholic West." In it he chronicles the seeming decline of the Catholic Church in the West. He lays the blame pretty much at the feet of the Second Vatican Council, which he argues changed the act of worship central to the Catholic experience. Quotes are below:

A Short Contemplation On Patton and Heinlein Concerning Language And Culture.

I have been following another Catholic blog for some time now. He is a fellow Texan with an interesting background. He addressed an interesting issue that is very common across our entire culture and it effects everyone: Should Catholics Use Profanity and Vulgarity?  Now, I generally fall in the category of no. I have longed thought that the overuse of profanity or vulgarity, otherwise known as "harsh language", showed a lack of thought and decency. 

However, in my current line of work (active duty military), I have to admit there is a time and place for it. Patton famously once said, "When I want my men to remember something important, to really make it stick, I give it to them double dirty. It may not sound nice to some bunch of little old ladies at an afternoon tea party, but it helps my soldiers to remember. You can't run an army without profanity; and it has to be eloquent profanity. An army without profanity couldn't fight its way out of a piss-soaked paper bag."

A Reminder. You Have To Keep Focused.

A reminder from Semper Liber. With everything that is going on in today's world, did you remember the main fight that we have had for the past nearly 100 years?

Current communist goals. (1961)

1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament by the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term goals to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of communist denomination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N..

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the Germany question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the U.S. has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that be set up as a one-world government with its own independent Armed Forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw communist party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. patent office. 

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

Resquiat in Pacem

We lost a great patriot today. He will be missed.

The Benedict Option. What Is It?

Over the last several years I have pondered the idea of separating myself, my family, and a willing group of "fremily" (friends like family) from the culture at large. A colony if you will. Yes, I know, hippie communes, Jonestown, Waco, etc., are probably the first things that you think of. Others immediately think of the Old Order Amish and Mennonite or German Baptist communities. Regardless, there is a growing interest in so called "intentional communities."

Things I Have Been Reading Recently. Added to 30 July 2016.

Life is busy. In a little over a month I will finally sign out to leave the Army behind. Much to do. No time to do it in. Regardless, I still find a little time here and there to read different things online. Here is what I have been reading recently:

Courage Vs. Boldness: How to Live With Spartan Bravery. This article analyzes the difference between the ideas of Courage and Boldness. While the British Special Air Services' motto, "Who Dares, Wins" is true in certain aspects of warfare and life, simple courage is what is more often needed in our everyday lives. The article delves deep into the book Tides of War by Stephen

A Reintroduction: Hello, My Nom De Guerre Is Arminius, And Why We Are The New Barbarians?

There have been some readers who have asked why Arminius and why New Barbarians. I believe a reintroduction is in order. A little background on Arminius from the Roman historian Tacitus: "Arminius, without doubt Germania's liberator, who challenged the Roman people not in its beginnings like other kings and leaders, but in the peak of its empire; in battles with changing success, undefeated in the war."

Arminius was the Germanic tribal leader who lead the force that defeated the Roman legions at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9. 

Angry, Sick, and Beyond Fed Up. Reposted from One Peter Five.

The article below is fully reposted from the One Peter Five website. I really want to know what you think of it. It is not mine. But I share the writer's thoughts. It is important to also read it at his website to explore the in text links to understand the context of what he is writing about.

"One of the rules of effective communication is not to say things when you’re angry.

But I can’t stop being angry.

The Summer Of Rage.

You can never have enough on hand. Food. Water. Band-aids. Bullets. Guns. People.

WE THE PEOPLE have allowed ourselves to become Balkanized. WE THE PEOPLE have no one to blame but ourselves. Too many people rush to judgement and then rush to talk in front of cameras to spread their opinions around the world with little to no factual basis. We are beginning to see results of the investigations of the two police involved shooting that occurred earlier this week that then resulted in not just the Dallas Police shooting, but also racially motivated shootings in three other states. It is going to get worse.

It Has Begun.

I fear that what we saw last night in Dallas is only the beginning...

I will post more later today or tomorrow. I need more analysis of what has happened.

We may have just had our Fort Sumter moment.

Attitude and Mindset Folks. It Needs To Change. Now.

Editor Note: I am posting the following article from the market-ticker.org website. Mr. Denninger has since posted more about the fallout from Orlando, to include a "constitutional scholar" who is writing that the 2nd Amendment needs to be repealed. Fundamental change folks. Do you remember that? Think about how fast everything is changing. I have thoughts after in bold italics.

A Failure Of Civility Update From A Reader. Link to Where You Can Purchase The Book Brand New.

For my original post and review of the book A Failure Of Civility.

I received word from a reader that Mike Garand was now selling the book on ebay.

Amerika. Reflections - Part 2

"Nobody wanted to risk anything for anybody else. Everybody was afraid they were going to lose what they had. They knew it was bad. They were just afraid it'd get worse. That's all they lived for – for things not to get worse."

The above quote is spoken by Devin Milford's character in the miniseries Amerika. The pathos of Milford is readily seen throughout the series. He is viewed as a natural born leader. He left home to fight in Vietnam, which was still sore subject in the 1980s. The overused trope of the father son conflict is shown as generational in the miniseries. The relationship between Devin and his father is strained at best, and we learn of just how bad it is between Devin and his youngest son, though, it can be argued that this broken relationship is not really due to Devin, but rather his ex-wife, who is an avowed communist. Devin's family is indicative of how, at least to Hollywood, middle America struggles to survive in a soviet run district. His sister is a teacher, who secretly sleeps with the Russian major who is in charge of the local security district. Devin's older brother is the sheriff who seeks to walk a fine line between his world and the soviet run government.

Everything comes to head when Devin comes home after being in a soviet gulag for many years. Considered to be rehabilitated, he travels from Fort Davis, Texas to Milford, Nebraska. He meets many people on his way who recognize him and want to know what happened to him. The soviets wanted to control him, yet, he planned on resisting them, even if it is in the smallest way possible.

"I'm not going to accept the breakup of America. I'll resist with my spirit; I'll resist with my life. I can resist because I've found the love of my children; the possibility that their lives are more important than my own. I'll live through my children - through whatever good and true things I might have taught them, or the legacy of fear I might have left them. Each of us will find our best selves, or our worst selves - and in finding that, immortality."

Kris Kristofferson plays Devin Milford with a ring of authenticity. You feel his pain, his joy, and his resistance to hard mailed authority, regardless of its source. He in many respects plays the everyman that many Americans consider themselves to be.

In part three I will discuss the Russian characters of Amerika.

Two New Blogs Added To The Blog Roll

The Last Refuge. Quite the blog. I am impressed by its depth and breadth of content.

Southwestern Grace. Just started by a friend of the Arminius family. She brings a breath of fresh air and hope for the newer generation.

Please stop by them and let them know that Arminius at We Are The New Barbarians recommended them.

Amerika. Reflections, Part 1

"When you lose and fail, it is understandable. When you win and fail, that brings madness."

After nearly two months of watching the miniseries Amerika in little bits and pieces I finally finished it this last week. As I had written before, I think I understand why it has never been rebroadcast.

What To Do Now?

I am reminded of the story of Esther, and the concept of “born for such a time as this.” I am also reminded of the story of Joseph and of him being betrayed twice, and of his time in prison. We have had the luxury of reading their stories and knowing the endings of those stories. Both Esther and Joseph did not know the ultimate end of their stories. For all they knew, they were going to die. Yet, they did what they knew was right.

Life Happens And The Things I Am Currently Pondering.

I have four to five articles in the works. Some are shorter than others, but life, both work and family obligations have kept me from being able to work more on them. Here are some of the things I am currently pondering.

Two Very Interesting Articles From A Blog That The Left ABSOLUTELY HATES.

The men's blog Return of Kings is probably best described as a Neo-Masculine blog. Yes, there are articles on how to "score with women." And very recently there was a feminist blowout on a series of posts that suggested that readers of the blog meet in various cities around the world to have a beer and get to have "masculine" discussions. That is a discussion for another time.

However, there are also very thought provoking articles on the current political situation, religious thought, and history as it applies to today. I am going to share two of those articles.

Amerika: Then and Now.

Finally, after nearly 30 years, I am watching the mini-series "Amerika" which aired on ABC in 1987. I am only about 2 1/2 hours into the 14 hour series. What has struck me so far is how the Progressives of today sounded like the Communists in the 1980s. This is one of the reasons why I think that it has only been broadcast once.

Growing up in the 1980s movies like "The Day After", "Testament", "Red Dawn" and "Threads" were standard fare for me, especially later on when they were available on such online formats as Youtube. But I had never seen "Amerika." I remember hearing about it and always thought of it as a logical extension to something like "Red Dawn."

I have found out very differently.

See if this sounds familiar:

"All those who oppose our vision will be crushed." Really? Where have we been hearing this lately?

Chilling is it not? Who would have thought in 1987, much less after the Iron Curtain fell in 1989 that we would be hearing similar thing coming out of the mouths of our fellow citizens in 2016?

Lenin stated that the goal of socialism is communism. Remember that when the Bernites start spouting their nonsense.

https://youtu.be/KU49MR19CcA

This is link that will take you to the entire series on youtube.

Another Addition To The Blog Roll - The XX Committee

Yugoslavia. We do not want what happened there to happen here. I have written before that our next civil war will follow more like the French Revolution, The Spanish Civil War, and Yugoslavia.

John Schindler believes much along the same lines. He seems the kind of guy that it would be interesting to have a beer with.

There is a lot of reading material on his blog. Prepare to get learned.

http://20committee.com/

http://20committee.com/2015/03/02/yugoslavias-warning-to-america/

I cannot believe that I have not come across his blog before.

TACTICAL OPERATOR'S PULLOVER JACKET from 0241 Tactical.

TACTICAL OPERATOR'S PULLOVER JACKET

I saw this product featured on a Alpha-Charlie Concepts video. This is a very interesting product that I think has a lot of merit and is worth investigating. I would be interested in one in a solid color and one in the All Terrain Tiger.

Weekend Reading.

The Need for a Fighting Philosophy

Quintus has laid out one of the best arguments I have read to date about why ISIS can only be ignored at our own peril. Back in 2008 I had the opportunity to visit with one of my college professors. He had known that I had deployed to Iraq from 2004-2005. He asked me a question that I remember to this day. "If you could tell the American public one thing about your deployment, and they would understand fully, what would it be?" My answer was this: The American people need to understand that there are people in this world that absolutely hate them with a very old hate. And those people will not stop until America is brought to her knees. Most Americans cannot understand the level of hatred against them.

How the US ends up in a real Civil War this Fall

John Robb once again looks into his crystal ball and dares to think outside of the box.

Enter the Nu Male

Citadel Foundations has an interesting and thought provoking article on the phenomenon of the Nu Male. The article breaks the Nu Male down into 6 categories. Gird your loins. It is not pretty.

Random Thoughts, March 2016 Edition

So after over 14 years of service, I am now staring down at the end of my army career. My body, according to the army, does not align with retention standards for military service. Too many injuries, all non combat related, yet probably not enough to qualify for a medical retirement. Yet, I know personally several gentlemen who are 100% service related disabled (one who will probably never be able to walk without a cane or a walker and be in constant pain from an errant cut during back surgery), and I feel terrible and guilty that I feel as good as I do.

So later this year, sooner than what I expected, I will be joining the time honored ranks of our forefathers who after serving their country, will start all over again. I am excited. I am also terrified.

Prayers for my family and I as we undergo this transition.


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The Law of Unintended Consequences. That is what the protesters of Trump's rally in Chicago and ultimately, the nation, will face. The act of shutting down the rally only served to legitimize the belief of many Trump supporters of why they do support Trump. It will only to serve to force those on the fence to make up their minds as well. Pray for the safety of ALL candidates. The forest is dry, the winds are hot, all it takes is one match. It is going to be a very interesting summer.

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Tactical Gear News:

In my quest for the ultimate universal rig, I ran across the following company, Snake Eater Tactical, based out of Oregon. I am really interested in their Burro Rifle Magazine pouches. Decent price and made here in the USA.

My own gear ever evolves and changes. I am working on redoing the Battle Belt this weekend.

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Additions to the blog roll:

Stop Shouting.

Fortress of the Mind

Citadel Foundations.

All three can be found in the blog roll. Check them out.

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The Macro in the Micro: One Man's Anger and Frustration.

The GOP establishment is running scared. The talk of a brokered convention is everywhere. The threats of "new" potential nominees being trotted out in case of Trump winning the nomination fill the news feeds. Other threats of a 3rd party run also are being screamed by the shrill talking heads. They do not understand why Trump is winning everywhere, and why their establishment favorites are doing so poorly in the voting booth. Here is the problem: The establishment is only running for itself, not its base. It is sort of like the typical complaints about Hollywood movies, they are making movies the Hollywood types want to see, not what everyone else wants to see. Politics is power, power is money, and if you control the power, you control the money. The elites in power do not, or maybe they do, understand the anger and passion that is driving so many people away from the traditional parties.

Here is my ideas why.

A Thought To Ponder: They Thought They Were Free.

At first I liked the way that Trump ruffled up the Republican establishment. It was refreshing to see to see him inside their OODA loop. However, lately, I am beginning to change my mind. I am still very much against the Republican establishment. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, "I didn't leave the Republican Party. The Republican Party left me." It was a worm of a thought that kept squirming around my mind, something that I knew I had seen and read about. I noticed it with both Trump and Sanders. Then it struck. It was the idea that we as Americans think we now need a "strong man" to help us make this country "great again." The conservative historian in me then hit high gear.

We have seen this before in history. A country suffers through a crisis or a series of catastrophes. A strong, magnetic leader rises with promises of restoring a former glory or power. The populace, desperate for a change, rises to make the promises true, trading freedom for the initial velvet chains of soft tyranny, then the velvet is burned away and the State's full power is plied across the land. All the time the citizenry thought they were free. Yet they were not.

It seems the same with today, especially in light of some of the things that are being witnessed during this year's political process. Yet, it seems most Americans are completely oblivious to the fact they are on the verge of rhyming history and are clueless to what they are getting ready to do.

This election, more so than in the past, even 2012, appears to be the most critical of this generation. There is so much riding on this year's election it is hard to contemplate the possibilities that may occur.

Note: They Thought They Were Free references the title of the work by Milton Mayer, which studies how ordinary people can get caught up into Fascism. Mayer published the book in 1955 after a series of interviews with ten ordinary Germans after World War 2.

A small excerpt:

 “What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if the people could not understand it, it could not be released because of national security. And their sense of identification with Hitler, their trust in him, made it easier to widen this gap and reassured those who would otherwise have worried about it.”--from Chapter 13, “But Then It Was Too Late”

The Past is Prologue.

The Traditionalist Rebel. Reposted from Sultan Knish.

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-traditionalist-rebel.html

(Quoted in total below. Linked above. Excellent thoughts. Bold text my emphasis.)

Leftist movements begin with rebellion and end with conformity. No Utopian movement can tolerate rebels for long because there is no room for dissent in paradise. An ideal society, the goal of leftist political movements, not only has no room for war, racism, greed and all the other evils the conformist paradises of the left hope to eliminate, it also has no room for disagreement.

The perfect society and its perfect ideology are also the perfect tyranny. Against this Utopian collectivism, which promises paradise and delivers a prison, is the traditionalist rebel who finds virtue in the acknowledgement of human flaws rather than in the unthinking pursuit of an unchanging perfection. 

The traditionalist rebel is not seeking perfection, but humanity. He is a skeptical idealist who is interested in character rather than movements. He is above all else an individualist with an instinctive distrust of any movement that requires him to abandon his rights for the greater good.

The traditionalist rebel is the snake in the liberal Eden because he does not have faith in the noble motives of the bureaucratic activists who claim to be the gods of this Eden. He knows enough of human nature to reject the fallacy that the right ideology makes men so righteous that they can be trusted with absolute power without absolute corruption following in their wake. He knows that socialists have not risen above the crimes of selfish self interest that they condemn mankind for.

Their Utopian Eden is a false paradise built on lies and maintained by abuses. It is not the paradise where mankind can return to a state of innocence, but a hell whose innocence is only a willful ignorance of the crimes being committed in its name, whose followers maintain their false virtue through a steady diet of moral outrage over the crimes of everyone but their own superiors and their own ideology.

The traditionalist rebel values innocence, but has learned the lessons of experience. He knows that virtue is an individual struggle and that it cannot be achieved through self deceit. He has learned long ago that we do not become better people by lying to ourselves. 

He has built his character by being honest with himself and he does not believe that any man is infallible enough to demand blind faith or that any movement which punishes even the mildest dissent is anything but the worst self of humankind wrapped in deceit and self deceit.

The traditionalist rebel does not believe that collectivist institutions can make us moral. He relies instead on individual institutions of character and honor, empathy and morality. He trusts people individually to do the right thing more than any government. And when he has to trust institutions, he prefers those that are built on honor and integrity, and on simple decency, than those tangled mazes of academic theory whose premises followed to their terrible conclusions assert that human beings are expendable for the sake of utopian ideologies. 

It is his individualism that makes the traditionalist rebel so ornery. He has natural anti authoritarian instincts, he demands reasons for restrictions and has a tendency to defy for the sake of defiance. And yet he is not a destroyer, but a builder, he does not want to smash things for the sake of smashing, instead he smashes that which prevents him from building his own values and his own relationships.

Unlike his leftist rebel enemies, he does not fight to impose his system on others, but to defy their attempts to impose their system on him. That is why he is an authentic rebel and they are aristo tyrants playing at being rebels because even bad guys hate seeming like bad guys.

The traditionalist rebel is slow to anger. Unlike the social justice warrior and the crybully, he does not derive his sense of self from manufactured conflicts only meant to reinforce a collective identity, but from his own values. His anger is patient, but also more decisive. It is not the fanatical hysteria of the neurotic leftist who, like the Mohammedan suicide bomber sees paradise in the destruction of perceived enemies, but is a cold, hard determination to be free of them.

It is not the leftist Utopian who wants freedom, but the traditionalist rebel who sees his right to speak, to worship, to marry and raise children, to protect his family and his home, and to go through his life without being accountable to anyone but G-d and his conscience every minute of the day, instead of the ears, eyes and tentacles of government, under attack who truly fights for freedom.

The traditionalist rebel values structure that derives from his own values. He does not believe that mankind can be saved by an external police state, but by the awakening of the authentic voice of the internal conscience. Like America's Founders, he believes that we should build institutions with faith in the Creator and skepticism toward man.

He knows that we cannot make paradise happen by being dishonest about human nature and pretending that the snake of our worst impulses is our god. And so he is naturally skeptical of any grandiose effort at global and national improvement over the improvement of the self that pretend that a better world can be built out of the same materials as the old through sheer collective organization. 

The traditionalist rebel is not interested in a better world, but a better self which can be used cooperatively in the building of a better family, a better community and perhaps, a better future, not through top down regulation, but through daily interaction. 

Systems are by definition inhuman. Utopian ideologies scale them higher and bigger, nationally and globally, making them ever more inhuman. The traditionalist rebel instinctively rebels against inhuman systems in favor of human connections, he rejects centralized authority for local authority, unelected officials for elected ones, national regulations for human values and mandates for conscience.

At every turn, the traditionalist rebel seeks to scale down issues to character while the leftist authoritarian seeks to scale them up to institutions. This is the conflict that will decide our future.

Will we be a human nation or a massive system? Will we continue to be a nation of individualist rebels or a collectivist nightmare of frightened, angry drones who are convinced that utopia is one more purge away.

The Clearing

The soldier crept through the woods in a clumsy fashion. He did not know exactly where he was. The trees reminded him of the forests of his home. There he was safe. Here he was not.

In his mind he still heard the cries of pain from his fellow troops he had left behind in the confusion of the battle. It was not his intent to desert them in their time of need. He had been overwhelmed by the sense of fight or flight, and he had chosen flight.

The soldier was young. Only nineteen. He had been lured by the promise of excitement, adventure, and money. Plus, if he served his time, he had promised a house and land near the town he was currently stationed. 

He stopped and knelt down. He reached for his canteen only to discover it was gone. Fear had parched his throat. He considered trying to lick the dew off the grass, but decided it was not worth the effort. Nervous sweat stung his eyes. He wiped his face with his free hand. His other hand gripped his

Questions.

What if my life is not successful? What is success? By whose definition? Wealth, power, position, land, house, cars?

What if my life is just to raise my children to be God fearing decent people who perform corporal acts of mercy quietly, without fanfare or acclaim? And that they raise their own children in turn to be and do the same? What kind of dreams and aspirations did my ancestors have? Did they ever wonder about the future generations they were laying the foundation for? What kind of future will my descendants have? Who will they marry? What kind of children will they have? What example will they be for the people they know and the world in general?

Is it really worth it all?

I would like to think so.

Misty Woods

They move with the mists that cling to the forest floor. They seem stuck in time. Always looking for their enemy. Always battling them in the mists. The forests hold their secrets. They are never really gone. A Vahalla with no feasting. Only combat. Endless, eternal combat. 

The Roman, the Hun, the Visigoth, the Viking, the Foot Soldier, the Knight, the Catholic, the Protestant, the German, the French, the English, and the American. The continuing conflict of two millenia. Never ceasing. Always the same ground. The same blood. The same tears.

They move with the mists. If you listen, you can hear them. If you can hear them, heed them.

Out Of The Box, But Not Yet Home

Finally got out of the training box for this round of intense army "training." Remember, many of the battalion commanders today were actually the officers who survived the downsizing of the Army after the 1st Persian Gulf War. Many of the very best leaders actually took the opportunity to leave then. Don't get me wrong, there are good leaders in the military today, but they are few. 

When I am out in the field and away from my phone or computer I tend to write in one of those everpresent "green books". Any vet will know what I am talking about. I write stories, essays, or just jot down ideas and concepts. 

I will post some of these in the future. I will start with a couple of short pieces.

New Year and the Dearth of Posts

It is another new year. The last year has been remarkable. There are changes coming both personally and in the world for the new year. There are new challenges, old fears, and old hates. You are your own first responder.

I have experienced writer's block for the last several weeks. I see things in the world that I want to comment on, but the words do not present themselves. It has been a bit frustrating. There will be continued little to no posting for the next month. My unit is again training, and I will not be near a computer. I might be able to post via my phone, but that is still an unknown.

We will trudge into our third year of the blog when I return. I thank you for your continued support and readership.

Until then.