Sometimes the greatest learning can come from a disaster! You’re forced by circumstances to sit up and take notice or action. In an ideal world, it would be better to learn from others’ mistakes, but life doesn’t always work that way! Industry veteran Rupert G tells us more…
When I began working for myself I put a memo on my phone to back up my hard drives at the end of every week.
I did it once (felt smug) and then the reminder just became another annoying “buzz” in my pocket which I came to ignore, until down the line and “Bang” an electric surge went through my hard drive. The cold sweat crept down my neck as I did the maths and I realised that this disaster wasn’t going to be measured in months but a few years. When I took it to the computer guy he sagely nodded and said “Well sir, you’re not alone, it happens to most people only once”. Very helpful, thanks.
Years later (and a bit wiser) I was chatting with a client on a pleasant sunny afternoon, cups of tea in hand. Not far off his staff were being shouted at at a vehicle check point at the culmination of a HEAT course. The Arab Spring was ongoing and stories were circulating that one or two crisis responders had been caught out when they couldn’t get their clients staff out of Libya.
The result had been red faces and some very annoyed clients whose staff had been left stranded.
My client asked me if we had an Ops Room full of serious looking ex-soldiers (like some scene from a Jason Bourne movie) who were just waiting to kick into action once one of his team got into a sticky situation. I replied “No, we concentrate on the situational awareness side of the training. But I can certainly recommend a couple of very good companies that I like and who have watched over me when I was overseas”.
This story is from the April 2018 edition of Private Military Contractor International.
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This story is from the April 2018 edition of Private Military Contractor International.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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GEAR ON TEST
If you’re training, on the range, or indeed in need of a fine partner to carry all your EDC items, then sometimes a small pack can be the answer! We’ve been trying out the latest version of one of our favourite designs, and find that it still meets our needs as well as ever.
FIVE YEARS STRONG!
AT PMCI WE PREFER TO CONCENTRATE ON BRINGING YOU THE MOST INSIGHTFUL AND VALUABLE INFORMATION WE CAN IN EACH AND EVERY ISSUE, CONCENTRATING ON PRODUCTS AND PROVIDERS THAT WILL GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO TRAIN AND PLAN EFFECTIVELY RATHER THAN BLOWING OUR OWN TRUMPETS! HOWEVER, WE’VE JUST REACHED A MILESTONE THAT WE FEEL IT’S RIGHT TO SHOUT ABOUT, AS THE EDITORIAL TEAM HITS THE FIVE YEAR MARK! BILL AND TRAMPAS GIVE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THOSE FIVE YEARS, AND WHERE THEY’RE HEADING NEXT…
Spotting Danger With Gary Quesenberry
Over the course of the past twenty years, trampas has worked in and around law enforcement on the local, state, and federal levels through various task forces before transitioning to the firearms and training industries. His travels have led him around the usa to meet some amazing people and learn many valuable lifesaving skills. Of these skills, one of the most important to learn and pass along to family, friends and students is that of situational awareness. So important in fact, pmci decided to invite a special subject matter expert to join us and discuss his new book on the topic! - ts.
RUGER-57
Late December of 2019, Ruger Firearms threw the gun industry for a loop by announcing a new semi-auto pistol chambered in 5.7x28mm aptly named the Ruger-57. This nearly 30-year-old cartridge, commonly perceived to be pertinent only to a niche market, was suddenly, the main topic of conversation! -TS
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Although they are nothing new, one of the most overlooked bits of kit in our “tactical wardrobe” is the fleece, but it’s actually one of the most versatile garments that you can own, both for training and for general use! As we head into the colder months of the year Bill takes a look at some of the models he’s been using and abusing and brings us the benefit of his years of use and technical garment knowledge!
MICROTECH SCARAB
In the knife community, there is perhaps nothing more captivating than the “SWWWICK” sound of an automatic knife. Whether it’s the classic linage of the stiletto switchblade from our favorite gangster movies or if it’s the mystique of being banned in several states, the automatic knife remains on the top of every blade fan’s “must have list”. -TS
ATTACKSENSE UPDATE – PEER TO PEER TRAINING
If you’re a regular reader of PMCI then you’ll know that some of the contributors, especially those in the UK where access to live fire training is limited, have been making good use of their “6mm” tools to keep their skills and drills up to date with the AttackSense Smart target System, and now it looks like things are getting even more interesting with live peer to peer “ranking data” available! -BT
CONSOLE VAULT
AS AN AVID PRACTITIONER OF LEGALLY CARRYING A CONCEALED FIREARM EVERY DAY AND TEACHING OTHERS TO DO THE SAME THROUGH THE TRAINING COURSES OUR COMPANY OFFERS, TRAMPAS IS CONSTANTLY AWARE OF AREAS IN WHICH HE CANNOT POSSESS A FIREARM, AND LOOKS TO FIND A SOLUTION FOR THOSE MOMENTS WHEN HE NEEDS TO SECURE HIS “TOOLS” WHEN MOBILE. - TS
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Throughout my law enforcement career, the standard training for our department, as with many agencies across our state, consisted of a static range with a solid color (black, blue, or green) human silhouette known as a B-27 target. It was only during my regular training as part of the SWAT team away from the patrol, upper brass, and investigations personnel in which things were a bit more “dynamic”.
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