I like the show River Monsters. I wish I could tag along sometime, or at least throw some of the annoying neighbor kids out into the water with a goonch or one of the other critters. In the meantime I stumbled across something for those of you who like to go fishing without dynamite or field expedient explosive bait. It’s a video series, Hooked on Fishing the Golden Gate. There’s something like four volumes, and number four was named “Best Fishing Video in America” by the Outdoor Writers of America.
I’d still rather go fishing with EOD guys, but this will work in the meantime. More about it here.
Billy’s Custom Gun Works makes a lot of different things our audience might like (such as their rifle slings). Here’s something pretty simple thrown together for a blowout kit carried by one of the Battle Systems LLC guys. They’re zipper pulls made from red and black paracord with glow in the dark tracers and glow in the dark beads. Now, obviously there are tactical considerations. We’re not saying you want one of these on your gear as you go hauling out the back of a Shithook to go kill assholes in the Hindu Kush. We’re just saying they might come in handy for a search and rescue kit, camping rig, TEOTWAWKI gear, etc.
Coverking is a company that specializes in car seat covers, among other car-related products, and they’ve recently expanded into a line of Tactical Seat Covers. The covers are made from Cordura nylon and feature PALS webbing down the length of the rear. Each cover comes with 6 MOLLE compatible pouches of various sizes for storage purposes with the pouches also available for individual purchase. The covers come in five colors: black, cashmere, charcoal, grey, and tan and are custom made specific to a vehicle’s make and model. Coverking products are made in the USA.
Etsy shop VikingProps has this highly detailed Proton Backpack Prop for sale, based on those seen in the Ghostbusters movies. It’s constructed from unspecified metal, wood, and plastic with weathered paint and decals and is true to scale. What really caught my eye, however, is that it’s built using an A.L.I.C.E. pack frame. As the video below shows, the Proton Pack can also be upgraded with full lights and sounds, making it quite possibly the ultimate Ghostbusters Cosplay accessory.
The OBEY Commuter Pack is made from 100% nylon and rolls up for easy storage. It features an interior notebook sleeve and an exterior pocket that can hold a pair of sneakers or up to three cans of spray paint, not that TFB condones tagging. Seen above is the Woodland variant, but it’s also available in black, blue/grey, and tan/yellow.
Mad Catz has created another excellent third-party controller in the ‘Ghost Recon: Future Soldier’ PrecisionAIM Pro Gamepad. Decked out in ‘Future Soldier’ imagery with backlit analogue stick modules and “non slip pistol grips”, the Pro Gamepad is as great looking as it is functional. The quick fire triggers are very responsive, as is the d-pad and face buttons, while the sticks offer a degree of accuracy not found in the standard 360 pad. This can be further assisted by activating the PrecisionAIM feature, which slows down on-screen movement for more precise shots.
XL combat buttons on the rear of the pad can be programmed via selector switches (found above the buttons) to function as either face buttons (right combat button) or directions on the d-pad (left combat button). This feature was developed in conjunction with the Ghost Recon development team to best work for use with Future Soldier, although it’s more than useful enough for a wide variety of games. Finally, it features a 3ft braided cable, so no batteries required.
Pricing is in the $40-50 range, so it’s around the same cost as a wireless 1st party controller. Despite this, the controller is a worthy edition to any gamer’s collection of peripherals, if only because it boast a number of noticeable improvements over the vanilla 360 pad. Plus, it just looks pretty damn cool.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier drops May 22, 2012 (June 12, 2012 for PC)
Is this John Hudson? Image: A blogger who likes guns and planes — our kind of guy.
Another Internet Terrorologist(*) in the Thpenther Ackerman mode is vewwy vewwy upset that he doesn’t have better visibility into the Abbotabad raid that whacked Bin Laden. No word on whether he’s packing his backpack and running away to join the thircus. On the other hand, we can take it to the bank that he’s not running away to join the Army (or Marines or SEALs). Or even the Air Force, that noble alternative to military service. But I digress.
Let me explain it in terms even the uterus detectives at the Atlantic can understand: those who know aren’t talking, and those who are talking don’t know.
That’s the way we roll in the special ops world. Even a retired SEAL DEVGRU officer can’t find out what happened (Chuck Pfarrer is exactly that, and his book is part laughably speculative and part reasonably speculative, but absolutely all speculative). A journalist’s odds of getting this information? Hah.
It would be unfair to say that operators think of journalists as something like terrorists. The terrorists at least get some grudging respect for their commitment to their twisted ideals, and their imaginative asymmetric exploitation of the few strengths they have in this lopsided battle. The journalists — well, we know where they stand. (Thank you, Mike Wallace, poster boy for moral cowardice in his own phrase). If they’re so cosmically good at figuring things out, they ought to know where we stand.
Hudson’s second mistake is assuming that other people are telling the truth — especially journalists. In the rush to get in print in May 2011, no one bothered with accuracy, or with multiple independent sources. They just started typing. “Shaping the narrative,” gathering (or making up) facts that fit, hammering facts that didn’t into shape, throwing facts they didn’t like away. That’s how they roll.
In the latest, Hudson is upset that information in a speech by a CIA lawyer — trust us, he wasn’t there either, and like any lawyer is closer to being part of the problem set than part of the solutions toolbox — contradicts previous statements by Administration wallahs who also weren’t there, some of whom were quoted anonymously by other journalists (try to give that word the tone it needs, somewhere between oxygen thieves and pedophiles).
If you’re concerned about the anonymous (and probably either uninformed or nonexistent) sources of CBS’s David Martin disagreeing with the anonymous (and probably nonexistent) sources of the New Yorker’s Nicholas Schmidle, go for it.
(One thing Hudson has done is brought out the crazies in his comments section. It’s entertaining in an I-shouldn’t-be-laughing-at-these-peoples’-mental-disabilities kind of way. You know the signs: irrational conspiracy theories, accusations of cover-up, blocks of text with no paragraphs).
(*) Terrorologist: a term used exclusively by self-promoting phonies. Hudson doesn’t use it, but he deserves it after this pathetic column).
Well, one of them. Nice outfit eh? The winds of Tatooine weren’t kind to her hair, but hey, that’s one of the dangers of the Mad Minute when you take the Emperor’s Coin.
Cincinatti, OH– For over 30 years, Wornick Foods has been producing the Meals-Ready-To-Eat (MRE) that are familiar to troops worldwide. As the years have passed, the meals have changed substantially — and many troops agree — they’ve gotten better.
“I remember my first MRE,” says Marine Staff Sergeant Nathan Puckett, “It was Country Captain Chicken. It looked like the assembly line worker puked inside the wrapper and then sealed it.”
Some new offerings of MRE’s that have been popular with the troops include Chili Macaroni, Beef Brisket, and Chicken Fajita. Despite the success of the latest line of meals, Randy Newbold, Director of Wornick’s Military Business Unit, says the company is trying to innovate further.
“We’ve seen what Hollywood does and what the automakers have done. They look to the past to innovate for the future,” says Newbold, “so we’re re-releasing some of the troops’ favorite old-time meals.
Newbold showed TDB some of the meals chosen as part of their “MRE Throwback Campaign.”
“We’ve received a lot of feedback from our soldiers, sailors, and Marines, and they agreed on quite a few,” says Newbold, “to include the Hot Dog meal, Bean Burrito, and Pasta with Alfredo Sauce.”
“The four fingers of death?” asks Specialist Alan Engel, “Are they fucking serious? I think I may have to kill wild animals or eat nothing but Ramen on my next deployment.”
Newbold also believes that these ‘long lost meal-time favorites of the troops’ as he puts it, will serve another purpose: Preventing swapping. “We believe the re-issue of these meals will significantly reduce the occurrence the troops call ‘rat-fucking the MRE box’. Now they’ll always be able to get their favorite.”
And he says there’s even an added benefit for Wornick Foods. Although its not the main reasoin, Newbold concedes that the campaign is also part of a broad cost-saving strategy.
“The fact is these meals have been sitting in our inventory for almost 10 years, and they’re are taking up shelf space. We actually got a big inventory return when we sent a ton of these meals over to Somalia for goodwill. I guess they are not a big fan of Jamaican Pork, but the troops love ‘em!”
Continuing the proud tradition on TFB of announcing any shoe we can find with a camouflage pattern, we present the Air Force 1 Low Max Air VT. It features a full-length vis air unit (insole) with “total orange color”, and a canvas Vac-Tech constructed upper in Woodland camouflage. It also features wax laces, embossed leather tongue and heel tabs, and distinct cushioning.
One thing this excellent article fails to mention is the beard…you have to grow a big beard, and you should grow your hair at least until it touches the top of your ears (see #3, which is good but could be expanded imho).
1. First, go to EMS and buy the biggest watch you can find. A foreign special services officer asked me once whether we recruited guys based on the size of their watches or whether we bought everyone a big watch as a reward after training.
2. Cut the sleeves off your shirt. It’s hot in the Middle East, and guys would cut the sleeves off their operational uniforms. It makes sense in certain situations, but I had to tell my team, “Look, I know it’s hot, but I need you to meet safety parameters. You’re gonna get scratched.”
3. Make it your boss’s job to tell you to get a haircut and a shave.
Tactical Fanboy: You have to cut off your sleeves, grow a beard and wear a huge watch if you REALLY want to look like a steely-eyed Special Forces snake-eater.
4. Wear sunglasses. Everywhere. I’ll tell my team, “Hey, we’re inside. We can take off our sunglasses.” But they don’t.
5. Keep quiet. The baddest guys I know are also the quietest. The guy who’s talking about doing badass stuff? He’s probably not the biggest badass in the room. It’s a little like that guy on the football team who wears his letterman jacket all the time.
6. Never say “no.” Your first reaction has to be, “Yes, I can do that,” and then you figure out how. If the president asked me to go to the moon tomorrow, I’d say yes. Then I’d say, “I’ll need some training. And someone who can fly a rocket.” — As told to Brendan Greeley
Anonymous led teams in the Middle East and South Asia as a special forces officer.
I was invited to attend a recent press event for ‘Ghost Recon: Future Soldier’ which included, among info on other exciting features, a first-hand look at the multiplayer. In case you’re wondering, it’s even better than the video makes it out to be.
Multiplayer Overview
Multiplayer pits two teams of 6 against each other in one of four game types: Conflict, Decoy, Saboteur, and Siege. There’s also the obligatory ‘Horde’ mode (with a twist) called Guerrilla. Ten maps will be available shipped with the game. Gametypes are largely team and objective based, so don’t expect anything akin to vanilla deathmatch. The gametypes are as follows:
Conflict
In Conflict, multiple objectives pop up on the map one after the other as the two teams fight to capture, defend, or destroy them. A typical match might start with both teams trying to, say, secure a data probe, followed by the victor trying to activate an EMP bomb while the loser tries to prevent that action, ect. This continues until the time limit expires. Most objectives captured at the end of the round wins. In the event of a tie, kills serve as the tie breaker. This gametype lasts for one round.
Decoy
In Decoy, one team tries to defend three objective sites from the attacking team. In an interesting twist, only one of the objectives is the actual true objective, with the other two acting as decoys, hence the gametype name. Also, neither team knows which objective is the true one. If the true objective is discovered by the attacking team, a final objective opens up for them to complete. A round ends if either the defending team runs the clock down or the attacking team completes the final objective. This gametype lasts for best two out of three rounds.
Saboteur
Both teams try to capture a bomb case that spawns in the center of the map and deliver it to the enemy’s base. If a player picks up the bomb, they lose mobility and are restricted to their side arm, but gain unique bombcase melee takedowns. It’s highly advised that the other players escort the bomb carrier to their objective. If time runs out, the round ends in a tie. This gametype lasts for best two out of three rounds.
Siege
Siege is essentially Search and Destroy. One team attacks while the defending team tries to protect two bomb sites. There are no respawns, and a team wins if they kill the entire enemy team, manage to set off one of the bombs (attackers), or run the clock down before a bomb can be set off (defenders). This gametype lasts for the best two out of three rounds.
Guerrilla
Guerrilla pits a squad of 4 against increasingly difficult waves of enemies and vehicles. Subsequently successful rounds lead to the players being awarded with support actions, from UAV coverage to airstrikes. The twist mentioned earlier is that every ten rounds or so a new position is highlighted on the map. The players have to capture and hold that position against enemies. If any enemy units occupy the space for a short period of time, the round is lost despite how many players are still alive. This mode lasts to 50 rounds.
Class Overview
Character selection is class-based, and each character can be customized with unlockable head gear. Each class has access to unique weapons and special abilities that suit all manner of playstyles. The two factions, the Ghosts and the Bodarks, have faction specific weaponry: the Ghosts favor NATO firearms (higher accuracy, lower damage) while the Bodarks stick to Russian, Eastern European, and Chinese weaponry (lower accuracy, higher damage). It’s also worth mentioning that unlike many other recent games, characters can only take a few bullets before dying (and while there is the presence of regenerating health, it’s extremely slow), so proper use of cover and teamwork is essential in winning most matches. The classes available are:
Rifleman
Unique ability: Chest Armor – allows you to take a bit more punishment from torso shots.
True to his name, the Rifleman class can wield assault rifles. Additionally, they can also wield LMGs, which can suppress the enemy. While suppressed, a player’s screen narrows and darkens, and they lose the ability to attack at all unless they move out of the line of fire, making them extremely vulnerable to flanking maneuvers. Standard thrown equipment is grenades. They can also unlock a medic kit that allows them to revive incapacitated allies.
Scout
Unique ability: Active Camo – allows the user to become partially invisible while practicing low mobility.
The Scout wields sniper rifles and, for those who are more CQB inclined, PDWs and SMGs. The active camo automatically kicks in when the player stays still or is slowly moving. It is especially helpful for concealing your position from a distance or in thick vegetation (camping). An equipment upgrade unlocked later on can further improve the camouflage to a level of near complete invisibility. Standard thrown equipment is flashbangs.
Engineer
Unique ability: Scope Detector – this lets the player know if an enemy is sighting in on them with a scoped rifle via a sound indication.
The Engineer wields personal defense rifles, carbines, and shotguns. Can choose to equip several types of drones, including a man-portable UAV and sentry gun. Standard thrown equipment is motion detectors.
Multiplayer Progression
New equipment and weaponry is unlocked through level progression. In an interesting twist, at unlock milestones, the player often has to choose between one of two rewards. For example, at level 20, an engineer may have the option to unlock either a drone or a movement sensor, and can only have one through the rest of their class progression. At every level up, the player also earns a Gunsmith token for each faction that they can use to modify any weapon of their choosing. Any spent Gunsmith tokens spent are exclusive to that part and weapon only. As an example, if the player chooses to purchase an AFG for their ACR, then the AFG is unlocked for the ACR only, and can’t be used on the other Ghost weapons.
There is a way to reset which choices the player selected, however. In lieu of a “prestige” option, where the player resets all their unlocks and starts again from level 1, they earn a token at level 50 that allows them to respec their character. Additionally, an additional class slot is unlocked and the player can choose one Bodark weapon for a Ghost to use and vice versa.
Multiplayer features tons of unlockables and the gameplay is of a well-paced variety that caters better to teamwork than rushers, so it might not hurt to get a party together instead of playing with randoms. Despite this, it’s definitely one of the better designed multiplayer games I’ve played in recent memory. I’m eagerly awaiting the game’s release so I can give it another go [and maybe beat another player’s head in with a bomb case after flashbulbing them like the first time I played Saboteur; good times].
‘Ghost Recon: Future Soldier’ drops May 22, 2012 (June 12, 2012 for PC).
http://www.ubi.com/US/
“In the late 21st century, a star map is discovered within the imagery of Aztec, Mesopotamian and Magdalenian cultures. The crew of the spaceship Prometheus is sent on a scientific expedition to follow the map as part of a mission to find the origins of mankind. Exploring the advanced civilization of an extraterrestrial race, they soon face a threat to humanity’s very existence.”
More importantly, someone is stepping up to not only save the Alien movies, but to redeem science fiction as a whole.
Anyway, some folks really like the Prometheus trailer…so they stretched it out.
Nowadays everyone knows about Photorhabdus luminescens, stupid. Duh. You know, the glowing bacteria produced by nematodes? The one that kills other nematodes? Anyway, apparently it was all over the place after the Battle of Shiloh (20,000 casualties, most of them KIA) where the soldiers were reported to have “quickly healing, eerily glowing wounds”.
“It took two days and nights for the medics to reach all of the wounded soldiers in Shiloh, and some of the soldiers noticed that their wounds glowed in the darkness. Because the glowing wounds healed more quickly and cleanly, the mysterious force was termed “Angel’s Glow.”
Battle Systems LLC is selling an interesting series of morale patches: USMC MOS “patches”, specifically the 03 series (no 0311s yet, sorry grunts, but give ’em time). The owner of Battle Systems LLC was with 2/8 CAAT from ’02-’05 and did the OIF invasion in 2003, OEF ’03-’04 and OIF again in ’05. His partner in crime in the business was a west coaster who did time with 5TH Marines and 7TH Marines.
Check ’em out. Like ’em on Facebook and tell ’em TFB Knuckledragger at Tactical Fanboy sent ya.
This is a great scene by scene look at the Prometheus trailer, dissecting what you see and speculating about the visuals with respect to what we know from the first classic and later sequels.
Courtesy of the Duffel Blog
