The DVM 3rd World Urban Survival Guide is a rehash of a book I wrote back in the day called ‘The Professional Adventurers Guide to Independent Travel’ that started out just as a few handwritten pages of advice for a contractor buddy that was going on leave in Southeast Asia.

Oddly those 3 pages became popular and more folks started asking me to add more info (I left my email on the original 3 pages so eventually people I didn’t even know started asking me to add stuff).

Eventually I sat down and wrote a (poorly written) guide to Urban 3rd World Travel (at that time mostly focused on Southeast Asia) and threw it up on a website for all to download. Over a couple of years it was only downloaded a couple of thousand times and eventually I forgot to renew the website hosting.

But even more oddly people actually remembered I wrote it and started to ask me for a copy (Facebook is a weird place). So I have rewritten and revised the original Guide (minus the guides to the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia because those sections are way outdated now) and posted it here as the very first DVM PRESS book – fo free for you folks.

I have also added some articles I wrote about 3rd World Survival and some other shit. Please feel free to add your experience to the comments and if it is good stuff in the tradition of this guide I will add it to the main chapters.

Also – this is not edited at all so avert your eyes to the typos and shit

http://www.deathvalleymag.com/thirdworldtravelguide/ >>>>>

*changed the name

Get Some

Sundays are DVM Live Chat Night – Be there or be square, AM or PM – Hang out and talk with like minded people

http://www.deathvalleymag.com/chat/

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Operators totally wear Infidel Shirts

Ever since we started dropping bombs, kicking ass, and taking names in Afghanistan and Iraq, I started seeing all these infidel shirts, hats and other stupid infidel branded shit popping up for sale online. Generally I file gay tactical stuff like this under the “Multicam” category in my brain and go on with my day.

But lately there has been an explosion in Infidel branded crap being peddled on every corner of the internet. I figure it is only a matter of time before people start making Dog Sweaters with “infidel” written on the back so they can look like “operators” while walking their dog in the park.

The first thing that makes these shirts stupid is the fact that the term “infidel” is an insult. Someone wearing an Infidel shirt is the equivalent of someone wearing a shirt that says “Les américains sont des Idiots” in French [Americans are Idiots] or a shirt that just says “Fuck Christianly.”

Yes people, the term “Infidel” is an insult, so it just doesn’t make any sense at all to wear a shirt that basically says “I am a piece of shit unbeliever of any religion or belief.”

Now the justification some folks use for wearing Infidel Shirts is “We are taking the word Infidel back as a way to insult the insulters” [something like “nanny, nanny boo-boo stick your head in doo-doo” or some other intelligent reason].

Sure I agree – fuck the folks that call us Infidels, but at the same time why would you want to toss everyone in the Middle East in the same asshole basket.

Hmmmmm… Should I wear my super tight Infidel or Affliction shirt to the grocery store today?

Something like 90% of the Security Contractors on my team are Iraqis, most of these guys have been working with and helping the US from as far back as 2003. Countless other Iraqis and Afghanis have giver their lives protecting US personnel, cargo, and bases, as Civilian Security Contractors.

That is probably why I have never seen any actual Operators wear an Infidel shirt and I have sure as hell never seen anyone wear one here in theater [you know a shirt is gay if even a FOBBIT wouldn’t wear one]. I honestly really don’t know anyone who even owns one. I guess maybe they are popular to wear at gun ranges in the States so you look like a tough guy or something.

So basically wearing an Infidel Shirt screams “I have never pulled a trigger in the Middle East.” They are not quite as douchebag as wearing 5.11’s and a tight ass Affliction shirt to Starbucks, but they still scream “I am a Wannabe Operator.”

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~James G
Founder – Editor in Chief

James G is a Veteran Civilian Contractor who has worked in the Middle East and Southeast Asia for way too long. He spends his off time in Indonesia and Virginia getting drunk, shooting guns, writing poorly written articles and Buying T-Shirts that Actually Fit.

Original S.O.E. Single Point Sling, HSGI Pistol Magazine Pouch – Modular & the BLACKHAWK S.T.R.I.K.E. Utility Pouch – Shooting and looting kit for less than 50 bones a pop

Despite all the reviews I do on 400 dollar tactical jackets, 300 dollar flashlights and 200 dollar knives the gear I use the most usually costs less than 50 bones. Unlike in action movies or on so-called “tactical” blogs written by guys who don’t even pull triggers for a living the most used gear are the simple things.

A pouch for holding your flashlight, QuikClot, Nokia Phone, or a sling to keep your arms from turning into jelly when standing on the side of some shitty Iraqi highway for 4 hours because another one of the old ass Scania tractor trailers in your convoy has broken down for the 7th time that mission.

Below are three of my most used 50 buck or less pieces of tactical gear, feel free to suggest you favorite sub-50 buck pieces of kit in the comments.

Original S.O.E. Single Point Sling

Unlike in action movies your rifle will spend 99.99999% of the time collecting sand in your hands. Having a good solid sling to distribute the weight from your arms and shoulders yet still handy for zapping fools is always a fight between practicality and comfort.

For road work I prefer the Single Point Style of Slings, for me they are a good tradeoff between fast on and off when jumping in and out of my gun truck, comfort and the ability to go from “just standing around” to “shoot a mother-fucker”.

I was turned on to the Original S.O.E. Single Point Sling by my brother who was using one for his FAL here in Iraq. After John Wills over at O.S.O.E. heard that I was using a sling made of 550 cord and duct tape he was cool enough to shoot me one of his Single Point Slings.

What sets the Original S.O.E. Single Point Sling apart from most other Single Point Slings is John uses two thinner bungees sewn together inside the sling instead of one single thick bungee like most other gear companies use.

The difference of using two thinner bungees vs. one thick bungee is the weight of your rifle is spread over two bungees instead of one, thereby distributing the weight of your rifle over a wider area. If you get a chance try carrying a rifle all day long one day with a Single Point Sling that has two thinner bungees and one with a Single Thick bungee and you will see the difference.

I have been using the Original S.O.E. Single Point Sling here in Iraq for about 5 months now and it is still like new, the bungee is still stretchy like it came out of the box and the nylon has not seriously frayed.

Original S.O.E.
Single Point Sling
Made in the USA
50.00
http://originalsoegear.com/1point.html

HSGI Pistol Magazine Pouch – Modular/Quad

These days I tend to run a lot of missions at night so my flashlights have become my most used piece of gear. And for you guys who work with Iraqi Team members you know that not a damn one of them carry a flashlight so you end up handing out one of your lights 20 times a mission.

I also pack a green laser as a way to warn off cars driving aggressively into my convoy or into my AO when stopped on the side of the road. Then add my trusty Nokia and now I have four things to carry that I need immediate access to.

Stuffing them into my HSGI Warlord V-4 New Version’s admin pouch isn’t really an option because between all the other shit I already have stuffed in there I end up looking like a pregnant kangaroo.

So with the help of Kristopher DiMauro over at HSGI I grabbed one of their Pistol Magazine Pouches – Modular with the four mag pouches. The pouches are adjustable so you can fit anything from 5 ½ inch light to a 10 round pistol mag. The flaps are secured by side squeeze clips or Velcro [that can be covered so you can just use the side squeeze clips].

Now I can pack my lights, laser and phone in one convenient pouch that fits nicely on the side of my HSGI Warlord V-4 New Version via included MALICE clips.

HSGI
Pistol Magazine Pouch – Modular/Quad
Made in the USA
14.00 to 50.00
http://www.highspeedgearinc.com/proddetail.asp?prod=HSG-PMMOD

BLACKHAWK S.T.R.I.K.E. Utility Pouch

I have been a big fan of Blackhawk for a long time; good solid gear at cheap prices. The first piece of tactical gear I ever bought was a Black Blackhawk Tac Vest [90’s Style Baby!] that are oddly still popular to this day with British Security Contractors.

Anyway, I used to carry this massive FAK [First Aid Kit] that could mend the wounds of an entire battalion but after revamping my entire combat load for my latest gig I ended up thinning out my FAK to a more practical kit suited to a mobile gunfighter.

Originally I was going to buy a new pouch but after digging through my massive pile of tactical nylon gear I came across a BLACKHAWK S.T.R.I.K.E. Utility Pouch that I bought back in the day for carrying grenades. It ended up fitting all of the contents of my now thinner FAK with a bit of room to spare; the height was also low enough that it left a ton of space above it on my HSGI Warlord V-4 New Version when mounted low.

Even after using this pouch on and off for almost 9 years it still looks brand new. Despite BLACKHAWK using cheesy advertising and gay ass names for their gear, they make solid kit that won’t break the bank.

BLACKHAWK
S.T.R.I.K.E. Utility Pouch
Made in Some Sweatshop in Vietnam
22.00 – 40.00 bucks
BLACKHAWK! S.T.R.I.K.E. Utility Pouch – Large, Coyote Tan

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~James G
Founder – Editor in Chief

James G is a Veteran Civilian Contractor who has worked in the Middle East and Southeast Asia for way too long. He spends his off time in Indonesia and Virginia getting drunk, shooting guns, writing poorly written articles and eating way too many lamb kebabs from dirty roadside Iraqi restaurants.

Pop-Tarts for Operators

One of the worst parts about running missions on the roads here in Iraq [or anywhere for that matter] is trying to get a meal in when running 120K down the road with an AK in one had and a radio in the other. When you are driving, scanning for bad guys or working the radios, MTS, GPS and other gadgets on a 14 hour convoy you can hardly make a ham and cheese sandwich in your lap.

MRE’s are a bit of a pain to sort through while mobile in a car and between all the potholes and constant swerving most of it ends on your kit, hands and floor. You also have to eat them cold because using an MRE heater in a sealed armored truck will make you puke.

For the folks here who have eaten 5 cold MRE’s back to back, you know you are lucky to even gag half of one down. Even instant-eat food like canned meats and beef jerky [I swear I have eaten 100 pounds of Beef Jerky on Convoys and PSD missions] are hardly satisfying and not even remotely nutritious.

Plus having to hold your chow in one hand, a fork in another, napkins and a drink between your legs means your AK is lying on the floor and your eyes are on your lap. Not really a good thing when running down the road in one of the most dangerous countries in the world in a big ass bullet/VBIED/IED Sponge SUV with Iraqi Security Company stickers on the side.

Before a mission I usually make a few sandwiches and throw them in the truck. I have always thought that sandwiches were the perfect food – meat, grain, vegetables, sugar, salt – a square meal in the palm of your hand with no utensils required and only requires on hand. The problem is you can only pack a few sandwiches because after a day they turn rancid from lack of refrigeration or become nasty soggy.

So I did a little bit of Googling and found these Bridgford Ready to Eat Sandwiches that were made for the US Military’s “First Strike Ration” MRE.

They are sort of like an MRE version of a Hot Pocket for HSLD and on the move infantry types that does not require heating. All you do is tear open the package and eat.

The packages weigh 3.5-oz, 3.1-oz and 2.5-oz [depending on flavor], are about 9X5 [but you can fold them to 4 ½ X 4] and are a bit less than an Inch thick. I can easily put 3 in my LA Police Gear Operator Pants cargo pocket [2 would fit in the 5.11 pocket] but I usually stuff a couple in the admin pocket on my HSGI Warlord V-4 New Version.

The Bridgford Ready to Eat Sandwiches comes in a bunch of different flavors, Honey Barbecue Beef, Honey Barbecue Chicken, Pepperoni, Italian Style (Sausage, Pepperoni and Sauce) and Bacon Cheddar.

Out of all the different flavors Bacon Cheddar is my favorite [the bacon tastes just like fresh bacon] with Italian Style a close second. They are just a bit dry but not enough to really bother me.

These are great for anyone who needs to eat on the move or in a vehicle and still be able to have a free hand and the ability to concentrate on their environment, Convoy Escort and PSD contractors and Mil guys on the move will especially appreciate these. I also think they would be great for SAR personnel, Cops, EMS folks and hikers.

They will store for 3 years if kept around 80 degrees and 6 months if kept in an environment over 100 degrees. Each one packs about 300 calories depending on the flavor.

The only bad point is the price, at 4 bucks a piece if you eat allot of them like I do it can add up. But for a tasty meal for guys on the move Bridgford Ready to Eat Sandwiches are an excellent choice, I buy em by the case now.

Bridgford Ready to Eat Sandwiches
18.99 for a Five Pack
Bridgford Stay Fresh Sandwiches – Five Pack

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~James G
Founder – Editor in Chief

James G is a Veteran Civilian Contractor who has worked in the Middle East and Southeast Asia for way too long. He spends his off time in Indonesia and Virginia getting drunk, shooting guns, writing poorly written articles and eating cat Sandwiches.

This looks pretty damn cool, it is a post- Apocalyptic/Zombie independent film. Noting really new right? But instead of the usual Teenagers with camcorders, Lost Army Unit or regular guy fighting the zombies it is a team of Private Military Contractors dong the brain shooting.

From what I can gather from the above trailer sometime in the near future a virus turns some 50% of the worlds population into Zombies. The infected areas are quarantined off into “Red Zones” where the Zombies apparently roam free.

The only people allowed in the Red Zones are Private Military Contractors who presumably do some sort of Contract Work for the Government. One of those groups is called “White Shield International” [har-har].  In the flick a reporter embeds with White Shield on one of their runs into the Red Zone where presumably things go wrong and people get eaten and zombies get decapitated.

As with all Indie Zombie flicks it could end up being really good, or ass horrible, from the trailer I say it could go either way. But the original idea of using PMC’s fighting the Zombies for a profit is a cool twist [they seem to be really pushing that angle in their promotional videos].

Also from the videos on their youtube Page the directors/producers seem to be taking the weapon handling and “PMC Look” seriously, they even hired a 1st Recon Battalion Marine to put the actors through a quick Boot Camp. So expect to see lots of Velcro hats, tactical nylon and tricked out guns. No word yet if the Contractor Beard will make an appearance.

One of White Shield International’s Operators [Zombie Operator?]

I could not find any info on when it comes out, But when it hits the DVD shelves I will totally check it out. take a look at their Youtube page where they have posted a bunch of other cool videos.

https://www.youtube.com/user/whiteshieldintl

Support Independent Filmmakers!

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~James G
Founder – Editor in Chief

James G is a Veteran Civilian Contractor who has worked in the Middle East and Southeast Asia for way too long; he has traveled to over 50 countries chasing fortune and glory. He spends his off time in Indonesia and Virginia getting drunk, shooting guns, writing poorly written articles and Killing Zombies for the Government. James G. on FACEBOOK

good night

These days it seems that everyone and their brother is producing a “tactical pen”, but there seems little written about their use.

I would imagine that is either because they believe it is so simple, or that you just use the same convoluted trapping and pain compliance techniques that are often taught with the Kubaton.

The idea of this article is to cover the nuts and bolts of what has become my most popular and requested course, Combat Pen. There are no secrets, just a little insight.

First of all let’s look at the selection of the pen for self-defense. The two biggest things it has going for it is that you can carry a pen anywhere, even in the most prohibitive environments, and you can have it in your hand without attracting any undue attention. This is the biggest selling point.

This allows it to be carried with your other tools cannot, and can largely eliminate the need for deployment. Even when carried in the hand, many people would not identify it as a weapon.

The hidden in plain sight factor is severely diminished when you carry a two pound pen, machined knurled Goliath, and stamped with the name of a knife or gun company. I have these pens, and often carry them.

But as I sit here in the airport getting ready to fly, I am carrying a Zebra 701. It is stainless steel, writes well, and does not make my shirt lop sided. I want something that will survive any security scrutiny, allowing me to have a force option on the plane and at my destination before I get my checked baggage.

If you choose to try your luck taking your favorite tactical pen, here are two likely ways you could lose it to TSA:

A-You just toss it in the bin at security and they see it, identify it as a prohibitive item and seize it.

B-You decide to be clever and put it in your carry on. It or something else shows up and they feel the need to do a secondary scan and they find it. See A.
Either way you are out of a pen. Any argument with TSA will only delay you or possibly prevent you from flying that day. I don’t think it is worth it.

So you have decided to carry a plain old pen. Maybe you can find one in Multicam so you will still have the required tactical points to move on to the next level.

The example I give in classes is the cheap pen that the hotel puts out in the room, use it against a pizza box like a singer sewing machine. I use the pizza box because nobody ever says that I can hit them even once with this most non tactical pen.

Our primary target with the pen is going to be the face, head, and neck. A combination of physiological and central nervous system disruption is likely to break the concentration of your attacker.

Think of the pen as a cat’s claws, you use it violently get away, to a safe location to reevaluate. You can also use it to create time and distance allowing you to transition to another weapon.

Holding the pen in a hammer fist grip, the idea is to picture it as a sewing machine needle, and not a punch.

The physics of pen use are that a concentration of force on a small surface area produces trauma, especially tight, vascular ones like the head and face.

It does not rely on weight, momentum, or centrifugal force, so avoid any movement outside your silhouette, which will also be outside your attacker’s silhouette. The roundhouse is easily telegraphed, and easy to block/trap. Move the pen violently back and forth between you and your attacker.

Pens are also effective for fighting your way off the ground. There the ribs and groin become targets of opportunity based on position.

Yes, there are flashier parlor tricks you can do. But this one technique is something anyone who can hold a pen in their hand can do with little to know training. So go get your pens and pizza boxes, and GO STABBY.

>>> Click Here for a Huge Selection of Tactical Pens on Amazon

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~George “mercop” Matheis
Contributing Correspondent

George is a retired municipal police officer with a background in SWAT, patrol, and training. He currently runs Modern Combative Systems LLC which provide training in open hand combatives, impact weapons, and edged weapons, and firearms to citizens, military and law enforcement.

Fully kitted Private Anti-Piracy Operator: Dragunov and PPE

London, Abu Dhabi, Karachi, Bin Qasim, Dahej, Suez, Malta, Port Said, Suez, Goa, Redi, Galle, Colombo, Dubai, London, all visited in one recent eight week spell working the high risk area between Egypt and Sri Lanka. The gig is anti-piracy, or if you like – maritime security, but definitely armed and dangerous.

Prior to this I spent the last eight years in the sand pits of Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting off the dust and heat and the occasional insurgent. The heat’s still a bother, but the dust is history, and the moist sea air is a welcome change from the stench of the ‘Global War on Terror’.

You settle in quickly in this job, there’s a routine to all seafaring, even for the inveterate land lubbers in the security teams who ride shotgun on a ship’s bridge. You mostly watch – the flat open ocean, the radar, and the clock – 99.9% of your time is unremarkable, some say boring.

I don’t mind though, I especially like the ocean at night, when the full panoply of stars folds out above you; I even bought the Rough Guide to the Universe, to help me pick out the constellations – and with the ship’s binoculars I discovered the Andromeda Galaxy on a ship off Oman back in January.

Somalis don’t like the dark much, so in the wee small hours it’s OK to raise your line of sight skywards, and ponder the human condition while you slowly carve through pirate waters.

What of the pirates? They don’t think of themselves by that name, they’re just businessmen, protecting Somalia itself from avaricious foreigners who would dump toxic waste off the coast, and modern fishing vessels that grab up all the worthwhile stock in the Gulf of Aden, leaving the Somali fishermen, with their traditional methods, literally floundering.

These are excellent seamen with nothing to go to sea for – apart from piracy, and they are a primary source of recruitment into the ranks of the pirates. The fact that the pirate fleets are now threatening the north Arabian Sea – a thousand miles from Somalia – changes nothing for them, its business as usual, and business is booming. But why go to such lengths, with the world’s most sophisticated navies in hot pursuit?

The facts about Somalia speak for themselves: no effective government for twenty years, three quarters of Somalis live on $2 a day, life expectancy is 42 years, one in four children dies before the age of five. I once heard a saying that went “Africa is the hardest place on Earth to be an optimist”, if that’s true, then there must be a prolonged drought on optimism in Somalia. If I lived there I would probably be a pirate too, they have families to feed just like everyone else. Consequently I have a great deal of sympathy for them.

I was going to name this article Rendezvous with a Pirate, but as of writing that still hasn’t happened. Not that I haven’t been close, very close, to coming face to face with my potential seaborne nemesis. I’ve been lucky in my first six months, nothing more. In March I was guarding a chemical tanker with 21 crew members, Ukrainians and Filipinos, transiting west from India to Egypt.

We were sailing off the coast of Oman, on a course of 210˚ towards ‘Point B’, the easternmost RV point on the Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor (IRTC). This is where the military navies escort vessels east and west along what used to be the main pirate hot spot, the Gulf of Aden (there’s not many pirates left there now because of the naval presence, yet the navy boys still plough on regardless, but that’s for another article, not this one).

I was on watch that evening, on the bridge with me was a monosyllabic third officer at the wheel, and two able seamen watching out on the bridge wings – the ‘mark one eyeball’ still being the best bit of security kit available in any theater, even in these hi-tech times.

Night fell, black as coal, yet the day’s heat and humidity was still hanging over the decks like a shroud; and, although you drum the need for continued vigilance into them, the watch crew relax when night comes. With no moon it’s dark enough to fail to recognize a human body 20 meters away. I was doing my usual watch routine – keeping an eye on both radar screens, their ghostly light giving the now darkened bridge a supernatural feel, and patrolling the three sides of deck surrounding the bridge, binoculars and night vision goggles close at hand.

Suddenly the VHF radio crackled, and on emergency Channel 16 the terrified voice of an Indian watch officer came on: “Coalition warship! Coalition warship! This is Motor Vessel (—–) we are being attacked by pirates, our position is eighteen degrees twenty two minutes north, fifty eight degrees zero four minutes east, please assist. Mayday! Mayday!” The wing watchers immediately came to the bridge doors to listen, and I had to order them back to their stations – they were more valuable than ever now that we had a possible identification of pirates in the vicinity.

The watch officer picked up the vessel on our AIS (Automatic Identification System – gives each ship’s name, course, position and speed), there were only two ships within 30 nautical miles – us and mayday boy, supposedly now under attack; he was 9NM astern of our port quarter, though we couldn’t detect any small, fast-moving craft near him on our radar.

This was a souvenir from a transit this vessel undertook last September

I stood the rest of the security team up, and the other three boys were on the bridge in under two minutes, suited and booted with their grab bags full of the bits and bobs they didn’t want to lose if we had to retreat to the engine room citadel or get our feet wet by leaving the ship in a hurry.

This vessel was well equipped and we had enough weaponry, ammunition, and pyrotechnics to put on a good show if there was a pirate mother ship about, her skiffs searching the area for slow-moving merchant ships like us. A night attack – rare for Somali pirates, I was remaining skeptical until it was confirmed, and indeed it was, very soon.

Within minutes a Turkish warship responded in clear English to the mayday call. After confirming the under fire vessel’s position they scrambled a helo to intercept. The Turks asked for a running description of events. The tanker reported she was under attack from two skiffs, and had already taken hits from RPG and small arms fire, undoubtedly AK47 – standard bad boy weaponry around the globe.

The chopper got there in ten minutes, we listened to the pilot communicate with the attacked ship. The helo warned everyone they were opening fire, and put a few dozen rounds across the path of the chasing skiffs. The pirates pulled away and slipped unseen into the surrounding night, no harm done. The navies are stretched to the limit, it was lucky this warship was around, as we were still a long way away from the safety of the IRTC.

The rest of the night was spent red-eyed and on edge; the bad guys had to abort, they would be looking for other prey, and we were closest – although we changed our course slightly to get away fast from the area of the attempted hijacking. Plus, these guys must have been desperate to make a score – they were targeting at night, unusual for Somalis. We never saw a thing.

Pride of the Indian Navy

People ask me all the time why does the coalition not just blast the pirates out of the water? Also, when ships are hijacked and en route to a six month holiday in Puntland, why do the marine forces not just retake the ship? After all it’s what they’re trained for. I believe there’s a good reason why this doesn’t happen.

Somali pirates, as a rule, don’t kill hostages. If you’re unfortunate enough to get scooped by pirates, the most you’re going to get is an uncomfortable stay in a Puntland port, sharing a room on board with the rest of the crew, with teenaged locals pointing AKs through the window at you. Unlike Nigeria or Indonesia, where pirates are ruthless with crews, Somalis treat the crew as their most valuable asset – you wouldn’t mistreat your prized cow before trying to sell it at the market, likewise a dead crew isn’t good for the subsequent ransom dealings with the ship’s owners.

Start killing pirates regularly and they might start mistreating their hijacked crews, or worse. The pirates don’t want to up the ante, neither do the coalition. If they are threatened with force Somali pirates will kill without hesitation, so to avoid a bloodbath both sides play cat and mouse instead.

If pirates board you and they get to the wheelhouse – or even get hold of one of the crew – before everyone locks down in the citadel, then its game over, you’re off to Somalia. Outside of the IRTC the navies invariably can’t reach a vessel in time before it’s boarded and hijacked. That’s where the private security companies come in. We are already on board and good to go.

Firstly it’s as a deterrent – row upon row of razor wire, water hoses, and other obstacles on deck; then a show of force with weapons on the bridge. After that it’s warning shots, but the rules of engagement are clear – only fire when you are fired upon, or a life is in immediate danger, then aimed shots only.

Anti-piracy measures: foam and water cannon

Pirates aren’t suicide bombers or jihadis, they have no wish to die, this works to your advantage, so do the relative firing positions – us up on the steady deck of a huge ship aiming down on them bobbing up and down in a small wooden speedboat. The key for them is to get on without us noticing – that’s why the mark one eyeball guys on the wings are invaluable: see them, show yourselves, and hope they’re not too desperate to try and board a ship under fire.

Another incident happened on a different vessel during my eight week trip, much more chilling for me as we were completely alone and enjoying a beautifully calm, sunny Indian Ocean morning. This time the team were aboard a dry cargo vessel heading 90˚ for India, just after leaving Point B and a Chinese naval convoy (a work of art compared to some). Nowadays the areas north and east of the IRTC’s eastern extremity are prime hunting grounds, the pirate fleets have moved there, knowing the military is in scarce supply. My team 2 I/C on watch called me up to the bridge around 10:30 local time. A ship that had followed us from the convoy was now acting suspiciously, slowing down, changing course, speeding up, very odd.

I was on watch earlier in the morning, and had idly observed the same vessel through our binos, there was nothing around for miles but us and him. Suddenly, as we watched on the radar, he changed course completely and started back west, the way he came. I immediately thought “hijacked”, and when I passed on my hunch it sent our Indian captain into paroxysms of fear.

It was confirmed later when we saw the odd ship set a course for north Somalia, and then a report came in from the International Maritime Bureau in Malaysia, the ship was fired on and boarded – game over. Why didn’t they send a distress call on the VHF? Who knows, but that particular crew has 6-9 months in captivity to ponder their fate.

So, that’s a little of the life of a ship anti-piracy team. None of the headlines of Iraq or Afghanistan, and in my opinion a lot less of the risk, so fair’s fair. I’ll be back out there again soon, brown arms, red face and white body, but who said it was pleasure cruising?

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~John Hawkwood
Anti-Piracy Operations Correspondent

John is a British security consultant who has spent the last eight years plying his trade in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now in anti-piracy, facing off Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. You can check out other writings by John about private militaries, jihadis and pirates at his blog OneHiredGun.com

Spike’s Tactical/Emerson Knives CQC-22

So I grabbed this limited edition knife n’ gun combo offered as a collaboration between Emerson Knives and Spike’s Tactical. More info on both these companies here:

Emerson Knives:
www.emersonknives.com

Spike’s Tactical:
www.spikestactical.com

So as you all know, I love these two companies. Spike’s is always coming up with interesting new stuff and the folks there at Spike’s in Apopka, Florida are top notch. I’ve had the chance to meet AJ a handful of times and work with the Spike’s team on a number of occasions as well. All I can say is that these folks are as good as people get.

As for Ernie Emerson; the man is a legend. I have also had the pleasure of meeting the man and his family on a number of occasions and they are a top notch group. Ernie himself is a great guy and even if he wasn’t a knife maker or business owner, he’d still be one of those kinds of guys you’d want to trade lies with over a pint on any given day.

That said, you know I don’t pull punches on reviews and I always give raw and personal reviews of the gear I swing. I will judge this combo pack as follows:

- Initial Impression
- Fit n’ Finish
- Cost/Benefit Ratio
- End User Comments and Notes
- Overall Impression

So let’s get started…

Initial Impression

So I just got back from the land of NO GUNS OR KNIVES (aka Japan) after 740 days abroad and the first thing on my mind was getting my gun on. I’ve shot a lot of stuff running the gambit of calibers and platforms and I gotta say, I love me some .22lr. The first gun I ever owned was a Marlin 60 in .22lr and it’s just one of those go anywhere, do anything calibers. It’s cheap to shoot, fun for the whole family (no matter if you’re with the wife n’ kids, the chick you picked up in that sleazy Korean margarita joint in Bangkok, or you’re hanging with your knuckle dragging buddies after an evening at the 2nd Annual Pole Dancing and Bikini Removal Competition).

In addition, I was traveling light on my jaunt from the chilly streets of Tokyo to the humid haunts of Central Florida. No knife, no gun as I was only rocking a Kelty RedWing 3100 on the plane. No checked bags means more time at the bar, right? I’d been drooling over the Spike’s / Emerson CQC-22 combo since its inception and there was no way in Hades I was about to let the last of the limited edition set slip from my sticky palms. So in the Warmonger Jeep TJ I rode, straight to Apopka within hours of touch down. Mission: Secure a CQC-22 combo.

I walked into the Spike’s Tactical HQ about 30 minutes before they closed for the weekend. After some handshakes and back pats, we got down to business. AJ had a Cali Legal CQC-22 rifle sitting on the wall. Well, the bullet tip-released, Cali legal mag release was on it, but I didn’t mind. It’s a simple swap. I asked if they had any of the knives from the set laying around and was immediately surprised that I had the option of plain edged or serrated! Since I like to slash, stab, AND saw shit, I went for the partially serrated blade.

One of the workers at Spike’s was rolling out by this time (they had gone waaaay past closing by the time I had my rifle and knife in-hand), as it was his birthday that evening. We’ll call him Mad Max for security(s sake. Well, Mad Max was in a rush, but I flashed a couple of Jackson’s at him and tempted him with thoughts of all the lap dances and Guinness it would score him and finally, I convinced him to run the laser engraver Spike’s has on site over the blade. Pics of that later.

I must say, the purchasing experience at Spike’s was incredible. They even let my mama go into the factory storage area, which AJ lovingly called the ‘Ladies wear section’ and had her pick out a couple of shirts for free. He threw in an additional 10 round mag and two shirts, stickers, and a handful of challenge coins for me as well. It would of been a great experience even without the SWAG, but it’s nice to fly the flag, as it were, and the challenge coins went to a number of friends the following week.

On to the ACTUAL initial impression, the rifle and the knife are beautiful. The rifle is very well made, nice and tight and is covered and filled with all the best of the best from Spike’s and MAGPUL. Spikes did most of the work, including an obscene amount of custom billet and marking (there are Spikes and Emerson logos EVERYWHERE, which I really liked).

They adorned the nifty little bad-boy with all the latest and greatest toys offered by MAGPUL Industries. Upon hefting the rifle, I noticed it was a bit front-heavy. This was due to the full aluminum railed fore end area. Chambered in .22lr, this little guy was sure to have zero kick with it being heavy up front.

Great combo for rapid fire and controlled follow up shots alike. Another cool thing about the gun is the bolt. Spikes coated it in some of their proprietary Martian technology stuff (I never did ask exactly what their coating is), which means all you need to clean the rifle is a boresnake, a rag and some brake cleaner. No that isn’t a typo.

The knife was also quite impressive. Ernie has been on a bit of a Bowie kick as of late and this was basically a folding Bowie knife. I’m not a huge fan of the Bowie style knives, but the blade shape at the part that counts (the sharp part) is really intriguing. It was basically a slightly curved tanto style knife.

If the Bowie curve up near the upper swedge wasn’t present, I’d swear this was a folding Japanese tanto. Very nice combo and if you’re a Bowie fan, you’ll NEED one of these in your collection. Seriously, sell a kidney or something. You have another one. Well, SOME of you do. The handle on this one is very similar to the cqc-10 or the cqc-15 and has finger choil and grooves that fit nicely in both forward and reverse grip.

The blade I grabbed came in Ernie’s black T coating and was adorned with the Spike’s Tactical ‘Spider’ logo, which was a nice touch. I got some personalized Laser Etching on the reverse side, which can be seen in the pictures..

A Few Cons:

I wasn’t happy with the bullet button, Cali legal magazine release, but that is no fault of Spike’s. It’s actually kind of cool that a company will actually go out of their way to make such a thing. Sure, lots of companies do this, but not all, and the idea of a group like Spike’s making these specialty items in both Cali legal and ‘normal’ is pretty nice.

One other thing I wasn’t super thrilled about is the ‘slap button’ on the side. Now I’m not angry, far from it, and I’m no engineer so I couldn’t tell you why this is, but on the .22lr version of the cqc-22, the slap button is non functional.

Yes, I know, the .22lr receiver is not engineered in a way that would allow for the button to work, but as a training tool, the muscle memory thing is VERY important. When the doo doo hits the oscillator, you do not rise to the occasion; you fall to your level of training. If you’re not slapping the button in training, you aren’t going to do it when your huevos are on the line..

Bottom line. I talked to one of the techs at Spike’s ad naseum in this regard and they are indeed working on the issue. Whether there will be any retrogradable (is that a word?”!?!) option available down the line that allows your cqc-22 to utilize this vital function is up to the people that are good at math. As for knuckle draggers like me, we get to yank the bang crank after each mag load. Sure it adds to your mag change times, but in reality, this is a plinker.

Albeit a very serious plinker. But a plinker none the less. But for many it is a training tool, so Spike’s…we love you. We want to give you our moolah.. So pretty please. With cherries on top. Slap switch. We want it. We need it. Chicks DIG IT!

If Spike’s made a functional side ‘slap switch’ for reloads, this would be an even better weapon. I know the techs at Spike’s are working the problem and I feel confident they will come up with a solution down the line.

On the knife, like I said, I’m not a big fan of Bowie style stuff. Sure, there is a historical aspect to it as well as a style aspect, but I’m an end user. I noticed when I would stab heavy materials (leather, carpeting, thick boxes) the Bowie blade shape would actually ‘ride the curve’ of the Bowie.. I didn’t like this (personal taste, not everyone is gonna do this with a knife, but stabbing deeply into thick materials is something I want ALL my knives to do well if I’m going to carry them), but reasonable people can disagree on this point.

Anyway, have grinder, will travel…and so I ground the Bowie style upper portion of the knife down to a more traditional flat point and evened the top of the knife out. Then I hit the top of the blade with some ultra matte black rattle can to protect the knife and called it a day. Again, this is a personal preference and not a major gripe as I had the means and the willingness to re-profile the blade a bit myself.

Rifle

Upper: Spike’s Aluminum with black coating
Lower: Spike’s Aluminum with black coating
Rails: Picatinny 1913 rail (four sided forward of the receiver, flat top style on the upper receiver, no gap between the two giving the end user a nice solid looooong single rail up top)
Sights: MAGPUL MBUS ambidextrous flip ups (http://store.magpul.com/prod_detail_list/44)
Mags: Mad Dog 22lr. Polycarbonate semi-transparent
Stock: MAGPUL CTR MilSpec (http://store.magpul.com/prod_detail_list/83)

Knife

Blade: Black T coated, partially serrated Bowie/Tanto hybrid
Handle: Black g10 (medium texture) with Ti lock side and stainless detent ball side liner locks and painted black pocket clip

My initial impression of both the knife and gun, in a nut shell, was: Holy……!!!! The rifle has everything you need, and nothing you don’t. It’s CUSTOM…and I mean, EVERYTHING was touched. The knife was a perfect size and shape and well designed. It has a little of all the best Emersons.

Tanto like the 7, bowie like the 16 and 13, handle ergonomics similar to the 15 and 10. It’s a true hybrid of Ernie 7s skills and it seems damn near every legendary blade had a big, sharp orgy and 9 months later, out popped the cqc-22. And its pedigree combined with the way Ernie blended all the best of the best into a single knife makes this bad boy one of the top Emerson knives I’ve ever owned.

It’s not left my pocket since I received it, displacing even the legendary Emerson OBS folder that was riding shotgun before the cqc-22 showed up.

Fit n’ Finish

Both the rifle and knife were gorgeous! On the rifle, every detail was thought out. From the beautifully etched and printed logos (some hidden in places you only see once it’s field stripped!) to the control inputs to the way Spike’s really kept this great ‘Black Rifle’ nice and simple. Too often these days we see every frigging gadget, toy, play thing, and doo-dad under the sun.

Spike’s took a basic black rifle, did aluminum rails up front, worked the receiver to run .22lr, sexed up the details a bit, and added tried and true, yet simple and tasteful details in the MAGPUL accessories. The end result? A bad ass looking, fantastically performing, .22lr with all the controls, feel, and heritage of the m4.

If you carry an m4 for a living or if you have a need to train and train and train with the m4 and need a cost efficient solution for the range, you would be hard pressed to find a better rifle than the Spike’s tactical CQC-22

On to the knife. Ernie is a legend in the knife making business. His designs have revolutionized the industry and continue to do so. His blades are battle tested and I have personally beat the shit out of everything in his arsenal, or damn near it. I own and severely use Ernies combat kbits, cqc-8 (in all three sizes), cqc-15, 10, the EOTAC Snake 10, bullnoses, Commanders, you name it.

I have, at one time or another, owned, used, destroyed, resharpened, and generally caused utter carnage with ernie’s production models. The CQC-22 takes a little bit of the best of those and blends them masterfully into one serious, hardcore, no bullshit EDC folding knife. If you like the long blade body of the cqc-8, it’s in there. If you like the tanto of the cqc-7, that’s in there too.

Dig the Bowie shape from the 13 or 16? Yep, it’s in there as well. Dig the ergonomics from the 15 or the 10? You guessed it. It’s also inside. Not to mention that this badboy comes with the wave (a favorite feature for me…I carry NOTHING that isn’t waved) and optional serrations, making it the penultimate every day carry folder. Get one for yourself and one for someone you love in harm’s way. It’ll serve you both very well.

Cost/Benefit Ratio

This is a no brainer. The total package, including the rifle with all the fixings, the knife, a custom patch, a nice MOLLE adorned range bag with velcro internals, mags, stickers, and a coin came in at just shy of $1500. Now let’s break this down. If you’re LUCKY, or you want to go through the trouble of building your own black gun, you’re looking at $500 for an upper, and another $200-300 for the lower.

This doesn’t include the awesome rail / handguard set up Spike’s does and does not include all the MAGPUL goodies. You’re talking $90 bucks in pop up sights, another $100 bones for the stock, $50 for the rail covers, THEN spring for the $350 Emerson knife? A basic black rifle with similar stuff is going to run ya about the same price, but you’re not going to have the attention to detail, the finesse, or the extra touches that come with this Spike’s / Emerson combo. Sure, you could do a build for $1000. You could get a decent knife for $100-200. But how often can you pay about the same amount to get a set up this awesome? Not often, in my experience.

Range Info

The rifle is great to shoot. As i mentioned, I have the .22lr version and with the Mad Dog 26 round mags and the shorter Mad Dog 15 rounder combined with Spike’s sweet little .22lr upper, I had ZERO failures that were not directly attributed to human error. But BrownMagic…how can a human screw up the firing process of a black gun? Well, as you may know, .22lr rifles in general can sometimes have magazine feed issues when you start getting past the ten round mark. The .22lr and the rifles that they sit in have very tight and tiny tolerances (say that five times fast, suckah!).

As such, the longer magazines many of us like can be a bit finicky. If you grip the magazines or have your hand in a position that may cause you to touch or otherwise bother the magazine (such as gripping the magazine well and letting your ring and pinky fingers ‘hang’ on the magazine) and fire off a rapid salvo, you are subjecting the magazine to forces that may interfere with the proper transition of the rounds from the magazine, up the feed ramp and into the chamber.

I like the MAGPUL thumb forward grip and even have one of their ACR fore end grips inbound, but I couldn’t help myself and grabbed the magazine well, letting my fingers hit the mag and, well, there were feed issues.

As soon as I got my dick beaters in the right place on the rifle, I experienced no failures of any kind. I shot Remington cheap-o’s, Winchester Wal mart Specials, and CCI Mini mags. They all ran smoothly, and the rifle even ran super dirty (I put 500 Remy’s through her, then shot her again before I cleaned her, putting 200 CCI mini mags through it, no problems). I pulled the trigger, the gun went boom. Didn’t matter what I was shooting out of her or how dirty she was.

The knife! I’ve been carrying it nonstop like I said previously. I’ve cut paracord, foil, boxes, nylon, some straps, a bit of leather, plastic bottles, paper (cut a cute girl’s first target out of a four target paper so she could take it home). The knife, as expected, had no problem eating all that stuff. It’s plenty comfortable to use and very confidence inspiring.

Lock up is early and solid and the blade design lends itself to a lot of different tasks from fine slicing to stabbing, and chopping. It does all the things a folding knife is supposed to do and looks and feels awesome to boot. Plus it’s a 100% made in America, by an American item, which is a plus for a lot of folks, including me.

Overall Impression

The folks at Spike’s were awesome. AJ was a saint and Mad Max was a wild man with the laser engraver. The rifle was beautiful and performed like a champ clean or dirty, good ammo or crappy cheap stuff. The knife is an instant classic. All the good parts from the legends in the Emerson lineup and no fluffing or stuffing.

Just a dead sexy cutter/chopper/stabber/sawing blade that’s waved and ready to serve end users in any situation. This is a great combo and if you’re looking to grab a great Emerson knife and an excellent rifle that’s great to shoot for pros, average Joes, or first timers, you should seriously check out this package. The individual parts alone make it worth the price.

Add in the fact that it is a limited set and the weapons are matched to one another, and you have a user’s perfect combo and a collector’s wet dream.

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~Shawn Phillips
Contributing Correspondent

Shawn is former Navy and author of Gray Talon Group, a time-relevant fiction novel set in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Japan, China and the United States that centers around private military contractors in the Global War on Terror. He is currently a guest lecturer at Toyo University and an Instructor at Meisei University and the English Language Education Council in Tokyo Japan.

the Citizen Soldier – Australian style

So I was browsing the movies at the local hajji shop here in Baghdad when I ran across an Australian flick called “Tomorrow When The War Began”. Considering the rather thin choices [it was a draw between that and another poorly dubbed Steven Seagal flick] I went ahead and snapped it up. Luckily it turned out to be a pretty damn good flick.

Tomorrow When the War Began is a pretty loyal big screen version of the immensely popular [in Australia] book of the same name written by John Marsden [it is actually a series of books]. The movie is basically a “foreign army invades” story told from the eyes of a group of teenagers.

Now you are probably thinking the same think I thought when I read the description, Red Dawn. And while there are many similarities between Tomorrow When the War Began and Red Dawn there are enough differences to make this still entertaining and worth watching.

The movie starts off with a group of teenagers going on a camping trip in the Australian Bush while unbeknownst to them [despite tons of military aircraft flying over them every night in the outback] a mysterious foreign military has began its invasion of Australia. When returning to town they discover that their families are missing and no one is to be found.

Eventually they realize an unnamed foreign army has launched a massive invasion of Australia and rounded all civilians up and placed them in concentration camps. At first they do the usual looking for their families and scavenging for food but eventually they are drawn into defending themselves against the black clad occupying soldiers.

Stormtrooper bad guys

After much debate they decide to take up a more offensive position and hash up a plan to attack a major supply route. I don’t want to ruin the movie for anyone here that has not seen it so I won’t go any further but that is the gist of it.

The ‘mysterious’ invading foreign army is never identified at all during the movie, that sort of stuff usually annoys me in movies but they were never named in the book either. The author felt that “who” it wasn’t really important because the story was about the group of teenagers and how they survive and change and not about the ‘who’s”. Because the filmmaker was being loyal to the author I let it slide but it still annoyed me a little.

It is pretty damn obvious to everyone but the blind it is the Red Chinese [or every Asian guy from Hamas] invading. Besides the gay ass ninja uniforms they are wearing the bad guys have some pretty cool dune buggies and play the part of an “evil” invading force without being stereotypically heartless.

The only time they mention a reason behind the invasion is a passing blurb about “the diminishing supply of the world’s natural resources” [sounds eerily familiar doesn’t it].

My favorite line in the movie is when one of the teenage kids says “We had done nothing to earn our freedom” when referring to their old lives and the guerilla war that now lay ahead of them.

Basically the flick starts off somewhat slow like a teenage coming of age movie for about the first 20 to 30 min and then heats up in the middle finishes off with a pretty dramatic open ended conclusion. To put it simply it is basically the first 1 and ½ acts in Red Dawn, with the sequels to follow sometime later this year.

If you liked Red Dawn [and we all know only Commies and Crossdressers don’t love that flick] then you will definitely enjoy Tomorrow When the War Began. After watching it I went ahead and picked up the whole book series and I am looking forward to the sequels.

8.99 Tomorrow, When the War Began (The Book):

Tomorrow, When the War Began (The Book)

21.34 Tomorrow, When the War Began (Blu Ray):

Tomorrow When the War Began [Blu-ray]

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~James G
Founder – Editor in Chief

James G is a Veteran Civilian Contractor who has worked in the Middle East and Southeast Asia for way too long; he has traveled to over 50 countries chasing fortune and glory. He spends his off time in Indonesia and Virginia getting drunk, shooting guns, writing poorly written articles and Buying Way Too Many Movies at the Hajji Shop. James G. on FACEBOOK