​I have heard a load of people talk about the importance of NVGs and thermal sights. They certainly do help a lot, but think of white light, NVGs, and thermals in the same way as the rock, paper, scissors game. Each has it’s uses and each can help but also be hurt by the other. In this article, I am going to talk a bit about white lights and why they should not be omitted from your loadout just because you have night vision or thermal capability.

​Today, people are worried and seem to be gearing up to defend themselves in a SHTF scenario. The worst thing I see is people developing shooting skills with no gear on, but having their SHTF combat loadout all assembled ‘Just in case’ and not practicing with it. Trust me when I say that whatever skill you think you have will be useless when the time comes if you don’t practice with/in your combat loadout. Everything changes when you start stacking on the gear, from using your firearm(s) to mobility. Besides, practicing your skills in your combat loadout is a great way to stay in shape, so why not?

​In my experience of learning and developing skills, I have noticed that there seem to be three phases. The three phases I have observed are pretty universal, but there may be added phases depending on the skill you are trying to develop. For example, if you are trying to get better at delivering follow up shots and multiple target engagement, you may find it handy to have a physical training phase that is specifically catered towards building muscles needed to help maintain weapon stability for a longer period. With that said, I am basing these writings off my own limited experience and knowledge of how people develop skills and most of this is based on theory that has had some success with individuals that have had the drive to further their development. This is my effort to shed light on what it takes, in layman’s terms, to develop a new skill.