Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadMost people who build a survival kit follow a familiar and typical checklist: knife, water filter, first aid kit, flashlight, shelter. And they should. But once those bases are covered, the average kit starts to fall short. Not because it’s missing gear, but because it’s missing situationally useful gear—stuff that actually makes your life easier when things don’t go as planned. This episode isn’t about the obvious gear. It’s about the tools most people overlook. The tools that make the difference between just getting by and actually being able to function when everything goes…

With the government shutdown in its third week, White House’s top economic advisor Kevin Hassett said on Monday that the government shutdown is “likely to end sometime this week,” and that if it does not, the Trump administration may impose “stronger measures” to try and force Democrats to cooperate. Hassett told CNBC that he’s heard from the Senate that Democrats thought it would be “bad optics” to vote to reopen the government before this weekend’s nationwide “No Kings” protest. “Now there’s a shot that this week, things will come together, and very quickly,” he said. “The moderate Democrats will move forward and get us an open government, at…

Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

Vortex has long been one of my go-to makers for quality optics. When I moved to carrying pistols with red dots, I naturally gravitated to Vortex. The new Defender ST is a different animal from the Defender CCW: it’s larger, has a taller/wider window, and uses a footprint better suited to full-size pistols, which is welcome when you most often carry a Glock 17, 19, or 19X. Below, I’ll cover what matters: fit and finish, controls and battery, night-vision compatibility, mounting and zeroing, how it shot on the range, and my verdict. What it is — quick summary The Defender…

The post-war narrative of the German U-boat efforts follows several stages: the first “Happy Time,” followed by the second “Happy Time,” and then utter destruction by the Allies.In reality, the history is unsurprisingly more complicated than that — as are the humans who waged the war. In his latest book, “Wolfpack: Inside Hitler’s U-Boat War‚” eminent scholar Roger Moorhouse peers deeper into the historiography to deliver a full, first-hand account of the German U-boat war and the men who waged it. The book officially released in the U.S. on Tuesday.Moorhouse recently spoke to Military Times to dispel myths, discuss the…

Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

Imagine going to federal prison because your rifle barrel measures 15.9 inches instead of 16 inches. Sound absurd? Welcome to the world of short-barreled rifle (SBR) and short-barreled shotgun (SBS) regulations, where a fraction of an inch determines whether you’re a law-abiding citizen or a potential felon facing up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The National Firearms Act of 1934 established these regulations, creating arbitrary barrel length restrictions that continue to baffle gun owners nearly a century later. A rifle must have a barrel length of at least 16 inches, and a shotgun must measure at…

Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

The Big Announcement GLOCK has officially listed an extensive range of commercial pistol models as discontinued, marking one of the largest portfolio shifts in the company’s history. The move affects models across Generations 3 & 4 (and some Gen 5 SKUs), including the G17, G19, G22, G30, and many more. According to Glock’s statement: “In order to focus on the products that will drive future innovation and growth, we are making a strategic decision to reduce our current commercial portfolio. This streamlined approach allows us to concentrate on continuing to deliver the highest-quality and most relevant solutions for the market.”…

Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

Watch full video on YouTube

But this runs into the perennial question of generalists versus specialists. Should counter-drone, or C-UAS, be a skill taught across the U.S. Army, with every soldier a potential asset for air defense? Or should C-UAS be assigned to highly trained specialists? The service needs to create a specialized C-UAS Military Occupational Specialty, or MOS, argues one Army officer.“Dedicated CUAS MOSs will focus on defensive operations by defending maneuver formations from enemy kinetic UAS [unmanned aerial systems] and ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] assets,” wrote Capt. Peter Clifton in a September essay for the Army’s Air Defense Artillery Journal. “This will…

The U.S. Marine Corps has identified a Marine who was killed last week in a helicopter crash in Southern California.Maj. Tyler R. Braconi, 35, an AH-1Z Viper helicopter pilot assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, was killed when an AH-1Z Viper experienced an “aviation mishap” while conducting routine flight operations in support of the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing officials said in a release Monday.The helicopter, carrying a crew of two pilots, was near an unpopulated area of Imperial Gables, California, at the time of the…

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister said Monday that a small contingent of U.S. military advisers will remain in the country for now to coordinate with U.S. forces in neighboring Syria combating the Islamic State group.Washington and Baghdad agreed last year to wind down a U.S.-led coalition fighting IS in Iraq by this September, with U.S. forces departing some bases where they have been stationed.Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told journalists in Baghdad that U.S. military advisers and support personnel are now stationed at the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq, a base adjacent to the Baghdad airport, and…