​I am not going to pretend that ALICE is perfect just the way it is/was. Just like anything designed to be used by man, it struggled to appease everyone. For the civilians out there, like myself, ALICE is a design that can be very beneficial to our needs even if the military gave it up over a decade ago. Whether it is for airsoft, LARPing, or prepping as a militia force, ALICE can still help kick some serious ass. Realistically, ALICE is the O.G. battle belt system, so with a few low budget upgrades, I am sure you will appreciate what it can do for you.

​I have been playing around with this idea of whether the M&P Shield 2.0 would be enough to carry me through the long years all by itself. This will likely agitate many people who like to have several guns to select from for self-defense, but this is just a topic that has crept up on my mind in the recent political climate. If I had to get rid of all but one of my guns, would the M&P Shield 2.0 suffice?

​I am not one for clinging to drills that are actually meant to be used as a test. I feel that it is much more reasonable and practical to conduct drills on skills that need to be rehearsed over and over again until they are second nature. Kneeling and presenting your rifle from the patrolling low ready is an important skill to develop. It is not as simple as taking a knee and aiming, but rather involves a few key steps that must be practiced often in combination. When done right, no matter the direction of the target, this technique will enable you to precisely engage in as little as 1 second. This requires speed, coordination, and good weapon handling skills. I personally use a 12lb rifle for this and every drill, so you don’t have an excuse.

​The Legions of the Roman Empire still hold vast renown for their military might. I believe the core of this was the Roman Legionnaire training. Much of the Roman Legion characteristics are still used today, to include how they conduct training. Certain parts of their training has not been crossed over into the modern era, unfortunately. My goal with this article is to encourage a merging of some of the old Roman training methods. The desired outcome is you becoming more disciplined and truly fit to fight. The Romans had a particular way of training and maintaining the fighting capability of their army, and I believe we can incorporate some of these forgotten traits for our own benefit.

​The Tavor 7 may be pretty new to the American market, but the idea of getting a .308 rifle on/near the level of functionality as a 5.56 rifle has been around for decades. Many people who have used the 5.56 in combat, myself included, are not too impressed with some of its weaknesses. This leads to people looking for a rifle that gives them a good balance of controllability, reliability, capacity, ease of use, and the ability to accessorize. The Tavor 7 hit that fine balance for me, but it does need some help through aftermarket accessories in order to truly get it to the level of a 5.56 rifle. I have already covered/will cover these modifications and additions individually in separate articles, so I am not going to delve into nauseating detail here. Rather, I am going to focus on why and how these components optimize the performance of the Tavor 7.

A couple of days ago I had to relieve my Service Dog Ruth of her pain. She lost the ability to walk on her own and often was quite confused about it. She was also developing other similar joint and back issues that were normal for her age, size, and breed. This did not make the decision easier or harder, but just verified that it was the right thing to do. She was my first and longest love. It was unconditional, undying and never changed. This is a little story about our time together over ten years. It is short for a ten year recollection and highly abbreviated, but I can't possibly recall every graphic detail in this article. My hope is that this article illustrates just how much this dog changed my life, healed me, and continued to help me. She was the first in my life that I felt loved me unconditionally and I could love back, and that made her incredibly special. This is our little story.

​Yesterday, I had to lay my Service Dog and best friend of ten years to rest. Her name was Ruth and she was as much a part of me as my skin. She had been the most consistent and loyal thing I had ever known and I rewarded her for it. Now I am not sure how to go on without that consistency and presence that I can have 100% trust in. It has caused a grief that I did not know I had the ability to feel. I literally have felt physical pain by not having her around. Unfortunately, it was time to let her go due to medical conditions. Laying her to rest was the last gift I could give to her, aside for some McDonalds before she left.

Recently, there was a video posted to YouTube by the channel Invicta that has raised supporting rationale and historical evidence that show that the belief that Sparta was nothing but a band of war-faring fighters is nothing but an example of the most successful propaganda campaign in history. Let us go over some of the claims that historically don’t match up to scrutiny.

​For those who do not know, I wake up at 5:30 in the morning, every day. After retiring from the Marines, I went on for years without structure and leaders telling me what to do. I developed my own structure over a year ago, and I have been improving on it through constant trial and error. Though there is a lot that goes into structure development, one of the most crucial parts is having a standard and consistent wakeup time.

After about a year of hoping and waiting, I finally stumbled upon the 2.0 version of the M&P40C in a local gun shop and snagged it up. If you read my articles about the first generation M&P40C, you will know that I had quite an affection for that model. Unfortunately, the slide would go home automatically when I would conduct a speed reload, causing a stoppage in the process. The grip was also quite slick and made handling iffy, even in the early 9mm model I had years ago. Luckily the 2.0 version of this pistol has resolved the issues this pistol had, making it once again a contender for my heart. Just so you know, I have not spent all that much time with this pistol but it has fit into my carry and practice rotation like a glove and required no real retraining and adaptation. That is why it is already worthy of an overview.