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James G

The recruiting poster for my first gig

Today I was putting on my Kit when one of my teammates said “You know you’ve been contracting too long if can put on all your kit with a cigarette hanging out of your mouth and not drop a single ash”

We had a good laugh about it and spent the rest of the day thinking up new ones. Spending all day long cracking on other Contractors and each other is a pretty common thing especially if you are on a team with a tight group of guys. The main thing I will miss from this work when I “retire” is the camaraderie amongst men who carry guns.

Out of all the different groups of people I have hung out with Contractors are one of the funniest subcultures out there [Expats are a close second]. They share their own lingo, vacation spots, fashion [or lack of fashion] and poor choices in women.

Anyway, the stuff we were coming up with was so funny I had to start taking notes. I have listed the funniest ones the current or former contractors here should totally get. And even if you have never worked as a Civilian Contractor you should still get a kick out of reading it.

Click Here to Read the – You Know You’ve Been Contracting For Too Long When – list >>>

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ELECTRONIC GEAR: Nokia – The AK-47 of Cell Phones

by James G · 39 comments

in Electronic Gear

Tools of the trade

So when 3rd world rebels, bearded High-Speed low drag types, spies and Mercenaries need to make a call what phone do they pick-up? When I get the call to hop on a plane to some 3rd world war zone for a ridiculous amount of money what type of phone do I throw in my bag?

Sony Ericsson? No way, it’ll break in a week. Motorola? It won’t last 3 days before it breaks into two pieces. iPhone? Fuck no [I would rather use two tin cans and a string than anything “I” in the 3rd world.

So what is my and just about every other operator’s choice for a cell phone if we will be working in some of the most hostile and hardest use environments in the world?

Nokia – any model

Yep, just about everyone I tell this too is surprised when I say “I would rather use a pay phone than use any cell phone but Nokia in a War Zone”. But walk around a base in Iraq or around a city in Africa and you will see what I am talking about. Nokia is one of the most prevalent phones in the third world, and for good reason.

Even the cheapest model is bullet proof, and oddly the cheaper the model you buy the tougher it is. One of the reasons why Nokia phones are so tough is Nokia’s main market is Asia, Southeast Asia in particular. Unlike in the US or Europe where people go from their homes to their car to their office – in Asia people jump onto the back of a kerosene and diesel fuming Tuck-Tuck, then to a bus or subway stuffed with 80 people then a 20 minute walk in a pothole covered street.

And Nokia knows if their phones can’t take that then simply people won’t buy their phones. In parts of Asia buying a cell phone is a big investment, so if word got around that Nokia made shit phones that fell apart then no one would buy one. So market pressures have forced them into making even the cheapest model tough as hell.

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KNIVES: Benchmade 111H2O Folding Dive Knife

by James G · 13 comments

in Knives

: it’s a big boy of a folder

I have been looking for a new dive knife after leaving my fixed blade Benchmade Dive Knife [model 100SH20] in a hotel in Pattaya, Thailand after a weekend of diving and drinking massive amounts of booze last year.

I was planning on just getting another fixed blade Benchmade just like the last one I had because it was a great dive knife and one of the only high quality ones that had a yellow handle. But when I was surfing some knife websites I saw that Benchmade now had a Folding Version of their Fixed Blade Dive Knife.

At first I was thinking “a folding dive knife, that is strange” but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. One of the other reasons why I liked Benchmade’s fixed dive knife was because it was not so big that I looked like a serial killer with it strapped to my leg.

I do 99% of my snorkeling and diving overseas in the 3rd world and I want to be somewhat discreet when I am walking around the beach and docks. So carrying a big-ass knife on my leg or waist either screams “tourist, rob my hotel room” or “crazy person walking on the beach with a bowie knife”. So having a dive knife that I can discreetly stick in my pocket [I like to wear shorts when I dive] is something that appeals to me.

Click Here to Keep Reading – KNIVES: Benchmade 111H2O Folding Dive Knife >>>

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H2H FIGHTING: The Lack of Intense H2H Training Options

by James G · 31 comments

in H2H Fighting

Fear no man

Over the years I have seen a lot of guys get their ass kicked regardless of experience in the ring, dojo, training and even real world street fighting… One of the most memorable ass kicking’s I ever witnessed was back in the day at a house party in the Middle East [house parties within the Expat community are pretty common in the Middle East].

Like all fights this one ended up starting when one guy from our group and a guy from another group ended up trading words over something stupid and a fight followed. The fight itself was not really that much of a surprise [Booze + Security Contractors in their 20’s + confined space = Fight sooner or later].

It was the fact that my boy was ex-military and a pretty experienced competition fighter and he didn’t last 3 seconds before we had to drag this little British dude off of his pummeled face.

So why did he lose?

I saw the reason about one second before the fight started.

Fear.

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DVM: Looking For Independent Gear Makers

by James G · 48 comments

in DVM

yep – like that

It seems like every time you open up a Tactical Related website all you see are the usual names – Blackhawk, Maxpedition, Surefire, Cold Steel, ect. Now, there is nothing wrong with those brands, I own tons of stuff from all of those companies.

But DVM has always been more like the red headed stepchild of the tactical world – you don’t see any pretty lightbox pictures of gear, nice edited videos or the standard 20,000 word articles about how great some belt buckle is like you see in the usual rags.

So in keeping with our independent spirit we are looking to review gear from the smaller less known gear makers out there. We feel that it would not only help get the names of some of the solid gear makers out in front of a larger audience but make DVM more interesting for you folks.

We are looking for folks who make everything from Nylon Gear, to Knives to Lights and Cool Gadgets. The guy who makes some cool gadget or kit and sells them on forums or runs a small specialized gear company from their home is who we are looking for.

But honestly I really don’t know the “who’s who” of the independent gear world so this is where we are going to ask for your help. I know there are lots of folks who make short runs of gear and sell them on forums [everything from lights to nylon gear to knives] and there are lots of smaller gear companies that are not really that known.

So if you know of [or you are] someone who makes interesting and solid kit then please send them our way or throw their name out in the comments and we will try out their stuff.

Click Here to Keep Reading – DVM: Looking For Independent USA Gear Makers >>>

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TACTICAL COMMENTARY: You Are Not a Navy SEAL Sneaking up on Someone, so When You Say “Velcro is Too Loud” You Sound Like an Idiot

by James G · 67 comments

in COMMENTARY

This is the type of guy who worries about stealthy mag pouches for sneaking up on Charlie – don’t be that guy

So I was showing this guy here in Iraq one of the Zulu M-4 Mag Pouches I have and the first thing he said was “the Velcro is too loud, people will hear you use it” or something to that effect.

I was like “dude, you are a medic on a Helicopter, seriously?” – but he would not consider buying that pouch because in his mind it would somehow tip-off his location to the Ninjas or whatever he would be sneaking up on [presumably after already blasting off 30 rounds and jumping off a helicopter].

Normally this would not have stuck in my mind but like 3 days before another guy said he didn’t like one of my knives because it had a stainless blade that “would be too visible in the dark”. He is a blond guy who runs down the roads in Iraq in a 30 truck convoy in huge pick-up trucks with his PMC’s name written down the side. I was like “sure dude, they will never see you coming if you got a blacked-out blade”

This is a common affliction affecting many people in the tactical community going back as long as I can remember. It is sort of the same thing as guys who carry 148 rounds of ammo and 3 pistols everyday “just in case they have to get it on in on some sort of epic gun-battle at Starbucks where they burn through 5 mags.

Don’t be a Tacticalous Douchebagnus – Click Here to Keep Reading >>>

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TACTICAL GEAR – FIELD TESTED: Zulu Nylon Gear M4 Double Magazine Pouch – An Innovative M-4 Mag Pouch in a Sea of Mundane

by James G · 15 comments

in Field Tested,Tactical Gear,VIDEO REVIEW

: Zulu Nylon Gear M4 Double Magazine Pouch – Flap open/flap closed

These days you don’t see much Innovation in the tactical nylon market outside of a few companies like HSGI, SO-Tech and OSOE. Most Tactical Nylon products are basically rehashes of the same old designs with the only difference being a manufacturers tag.

But one Tactical Nylon gear company over the past year has been pushing the envelope of new and innovative tactical nylon products. And that company is Zulu Nylon gear headed up by Joel Z. They first burst onto the market with what is [in our opinion] the best admin pouches out there.

Zulu then jumped into the Tactical man-Bag arena with the solidly built Emissary Messenger Bag. Both are unique tactical nylon products that have raised the bar in both categories.

Recently we here at DVM were fortunate enough to participate in the field testing of Zulu’s latest offering, the Zulu Nylon Gear M4 Double Magazine Pouch.

When Joel first mentioned them to me honestly my first thought was “Really, an M-4 Mag Pouch? The Tactical Gear market needs another M-4 Mag Pouch like it Needs More Chinese Sweat-Shops”. But considering how fresh Zulu’s other gear is I kept an open mind that Zulu’s M-4 mag Pouches would be as good at their other shit is.

When the pouches arrived the first thing I noticed was the unique top flap that held the mags in-place. I am a big fan of a flapped double-mag pouches [but I like a bungee for singles] but one of the biggest problems is the flap. After you open it either re-secures itself down in an awkward angle [in the case of Velcro secured flaps] or it flops around when you run [for side-squeeze secured flaps], I call this “Crazy Flap Syndrome” [CFS].

Click Here to Keep Reading – TACTICAL GEAR – FIELD TESTED: Zulu Nylon Gear M4 Double Magazine Pouch – An innovative M-4 Mag Pouch in a Sea of Mundane >>>

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CIVILIAN CONTRACTORS: The “Run to Mommy” Contractor Douchebag

by James G · 39 comments

in Civilian Contractors,Douchebag Contractors

: there’s no crying in security contracting

The “Run to Mommy” Contractor Douchebag is one of the most pitiful breeds of the Contractorous Douchebagnus. This is a full grown man who despite working in a “tough guy” job as a security contractor in war zones acts like a hurt little puppy whenever someone is “rude” to him.

Just last week I had to run over and talk to one of the Team Leaders [let’s call him “Mr. Vag”] working on another camp about an upcoming mission. As soon as I walked into his hooch I knew he was one of the breeds of the Contractorous Douchebagnus just by the 13 water bottles of Copenhagen spit and dumbbells on his floor.

All I wanted to do was ask him a simple question and he immediately comes at me like I just called his whore mom a whore. If this happened back in the states I would have just walked away but one of the silly things about contracting is if you don’t bite back when someone pushes you it is somehow a sign of weakness.

Anyway, I basically had to jump on his shit and put him in his place. And like all bullies as soon as I pushed back he acted all apologetic and shit like “I” misunderstood him. So after wasting 15 minutes of my time passing on a message that should have taken 3 minutes I wandered back to my team room.

And less than 30 minutes later I got a call to come and see one of the PM’s [contract project managers]. Honestly I didn’t have any idea what it was about, but I did think it was strange because this particular PM really has nothing to do with my team.

So I scuttled over to this PM’s office and before I was even half-way in his door he starts going into a rant about how I should “respect other TL’s” and “act like a professional”.

Click Here to Keep Reading – CIVILIAN CONTRACTORS: The “Run to Mommy” Contractor Douchebag >>>

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TACTICAL GEAR – FIELD TESTED: US PALM AKMP AK Shingles – An A+ Nylon Product

by James G · 21 comments

in Field Tested,Tactical Gear

US Palm AKMP AK Mag shingles at work in Iraq

One of the biggest voids in the Tactical Gear market is AK Specific magazine pouches that fit the unique shape of the AK magazine properly. It seems like every gear manufacturer just doubles the size of whatever M-4 mag pouch they sell and market it as an AK mag pouch.

I have tried a bunch of different brands of AK mag pouches and I have never been 100% satisfied. They are either too big, not big enough, the mag is positioned awkwardly, the flap or bungee doesn’t fit right or they are not properly shaped for the unique curvature of AK mags.

So far the only AK mag pouches that I have been impressed with were the ones that US Palm integrated onto their AK Attack Rack. Unfortunately at the time US Palm did not offer them separately. I actually liked them so much I considered cutting the AK mag pouches off my Attack Rack and DIY’ing them into separate pouches.

Luckily I never had to resort to such radical means to have some solid AK mag pouches for my rig. Back a couple of months ago US Palm started making the same style of AK Mag Shingles they were using on their AK Attack Rack, but as separate MOLLE pouches/shingles.

I was standing by with enthusiasm when I found that out because in my new gig in Iraq I am humping the AK about 80% of the time and I still didn’t have decent AK mag pouches for my rig.

The US PALM AKMP Shingles come in Single, Double or triple Racks in a verity of colors from the evilest of all camos Multicam to solid colors like Ranger Green, Coyote and Black [good on US Palm for making them in Black, not enough nylon gear comes in black these days]. And just like the AK Attack Rack these shingles are made of durable yet lightweight 500D Cordura, and are a US made fully Berry Complaint product.

Click Here to Keep Reading – TACTICAL GEAR – FIELD TESTED: US PALM AKMP AK Shingles – An A+ Nylon Product >>>

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TACTICAL CLOTHING – FIELD TESTED: Oakley Factory Pilot Glove – 2 Day FAIL

by James G · 55 comments

in Field Tested,TACTICAL CLOTHING

2 days is all it took for these Oakley gloves to come apart

After years of just using cheap construction work gloves [Stanley is my favorite] as tactical gloves I was convinced by one of the guys on my team to buy a pair of “real” tactical gloves. So I hit up the PX and looked at the different brands of tacticool gloves they had.

The first thing I noticed were the prices, fucking 60 bucks, 100 bucks – all I could think was “come on, these cost 4 dollars to make in China”. The second thing I noticed was they all looked stupid, when did tactical gloves have to have all sorts of plastic shit all over them, I threw-up in my mouth a little when I saw the carbon fiber knuckles they all had.

After washing my mouth out I went with a pair of Oakley “Factory Pilot Gloves’ because I have used Oakley sunglasses before and I was satisfied with the quality and brand [they also make some pimp fedoras]. They were also the cheapest at 45 bones.

Then next day I spent about 10 hours on the range here in Iraq training a group of guys to shoot the AK. That included shooting a bit myself, loading up the gear, prepping the range, cleaning the range, opening a dozen sardine cans of ammo and loading a couple hundred magazines. The next day was the same except no training, my team just shot a few thousand rounds each and did the usual loading a couple hundred mags and prepped and cleaned the range.

The next day I was sitting around our team room playing some Call of Duty Black Ops with my teammates when one of the guys said “Damn bro, you need to get some new gloves”, I thought he was talking about my old Stanley gloves so I said “Already dude, I gots a pair of pimp ass Oak’s”.

He said “Bro, these are your new Oak’s” and tossed them into my lap

Click Here to Keep Reading – TACTICAL CLOTHING – FIELD TESTED: Oakley Factory Pilot Glove – 2 Day FAIL >>>

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