*************************************************************************
Greetings Sheepdogs,
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Honorable persons take responsibility for their actions, their decisions.
Leaders take responsibility for the actions of their subordinates. Because
they delegate authority and assume responsibility.
Table of Contents:
Prevention
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Practice
Intervention
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
Postvention
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
Education
Legal
Instruction
Gear
Cryptology
Signals Intelligence
Intelligence
Religion and Politics
Psychology
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.
The purpose of gun-free-zones is to create unarmed victims
for armed criminals to prey upon. The emotions created cause
ignorant persons to back Democrat gun-control policies.
How do you avoid mass murders?
Don't go into gun-free-zones.
Don't send your children into gun-free-zones.
Yes, it is that simple. Not easy, simple.
No, you don't have to send your kids to public schools or
private schools that advertise that they are gun-free-zones.
You have lots of other options. America is a free country.
You could afford private school or home schooling if it were
important to you.
People do things that they want to do and neglect to do
things they don't want to do. That is reality. It's important
to stay in reality. Lying to one's self causes all kinds of problems.
Parents of children murdered in schools will never accept
responsibility for sending their children into gun-free-zones.
They will always blame others. That is human nature.
Murdering one's children by abortion or choice of school
is never one's fault. It's either not a murder or the government
forced me to send my children to public school. Both of which
are false.
---
"Less Than Five Minutes!" by John Farnam
Table of sections:
Mindset
Safety
Training
Practice
*************************************************************************
----- Mindset and Attitude -----
Figuring out the correct way to think.
"The controversial truth about surviving armed attacks" by Tim Larkin
The weapon is the active brain. Destroy it immediately.
If you want to survive, you must be the first to cause injury.
The only way you really protect yourself is when you injure the other guy.
‟We don’t decide what is necessary to survive a
lethal force encounter initiated by someone else.
That person decides what’s necessary for us to survive.”
– William Aprill
"All that we don't know is astonishing.
Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing."
-- Philip Roth
From an email from Tim Larkin --
Have you ever thought, "I don't want to hurt him too badly . . . just enough to stop him"?
This might be the most dangerous thought you'll ever have.
I just released a shocking video analysis of a parking lot confrontation that
turned deadly in seconds.
It reveals the fatal mistake that cost one man his life.
Most people believe there's a middle ground in violent encounters.
A way to "just hurt them a little" to defuse the situation.
Dead wrong.
This surveillance footage shows exactly why half-measures lead to tragedy.
Discover the critical error that separates those who survive violence
from those who don't.
"Don't Make This Fatal Mistake in Self Defense Situations" by Tim Larkin
Stay Safe,
Tim Larkin
P.S. This video perfectly illustrates why understanding proper leverage
application is so critical. [The punch was completely ineffective. -- Jon Low]
"The line between everyday life and sudden violence is thinner than most realize."
-- Tim Larkin
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, Escape
"Landing safely." by Orion Taraban, Psy.D. Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025
I'm currently writing this on a cross-country flight to New York City.
I'm doing much better these days, but I used to be somewhat of a nervous flier.
When the turbulence reached a certain point, I wasn't able to sleep or read or
watch a movie. All I could do was manage my anxiety so that it didn't spill
over into panic. This usually required all of my attention, which means that
I've spent more than one flight simply staring into space, combating the
intrusive images of an engine failure at 36,000 feet.
Learning about aerodynamics helped to reduce my anxiety, and flying more
often – something I generally avoided when I could – helped even more.
And this is consistent with the literature: education and exposure are two
of the best ways to combat phobias. Over the course of my research, I learned
that there has been only one known instance of a commercial airliner losing
all four of its engines at altitude – and the pilot still managed to make it back
to an airport safely. I think about this story almost every time I fly.
I think it's important to remember that it's extremely rare to lose all your
engines at once. While a loss of power in any engine is obviously problematic,
it's usually the case that the better part of the aircraft remains operational,
leaving enough functionality to avert disaster. It's also a good reminder that
necessity can inspire positive outcomes, even in the event of the worst case
scenario. This isn't about planes.
Warmly,
Orion
“Happiness is the by-product of achievement” -- Jeff Cooper
"Connecting the dots." by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
Wednesday, April 30th, 2025
Have you ever looked up at a clear sky on a moonless night deep in the wilderness?
The celestial array is breathtaking: millions of stars emerging from the inky blackness
in such a tasteful profusion that each seems intentionally placed to give the impression
of chaos. And across it all: the opalescent band of our galaxy stretching across the
heavens like the arc of an ensō circle.
According to the astronomers, there are 35 constellations visible in the northern
hemisphere. A few of them – Orion, Ursa Major, Cassiopeia – are easy to spot.
However, to the amateur, the majority are hidden in plain sight. Not only that: they
look nothing like the figures for which they are named. Connecting lines and artistic
embellishments are necessary to educe the forms out of the stellar abundance.
Our lives are similar. There are certain inescapable facts about our lives. Like the
stars in the sky, their existence is irrefutable. However, the meaning – if any – that
emerges from them depends on how we connect the dots. The same set of stars can
be arranged to represent the Hero and the Victim – and a countless number of other
archetypes. We cannot choose the stars, but we decide how to draw the constellations.
Warmly,
Orion
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
Keep your gun in a separate mental category,
not with your wallet and keys.
"Be so focused on watering your grass that
you don't have time to check if someone else's is greener."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"I do not carry a pistol so that I may impose my will on others.
I carry a pistol so that others may not impose their will on me."
-- Tom Givens
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
"Your gunfights will always be anomalies.
So are those of all the instructors you venerate.
It’s useful to keep those facts in mind."
-- Greg Ellifritz
“You need to have the capacity for danger. You need to be ‘dangerous’.
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary.
And, that is not the same thing as being harmless.
There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless.”
-- Jordan Peterson
"Your life is as good as your mindset." -- Nicola Cavanis
‷If you look at someone bigger, faster, and stronger and immediately think,
‶I'm at a disadvantage″,
I have news for you: you are.
But that's only because you just put yourself there for no reason.
The truth is that anyone can do debilitating violence to anyone else.
Your size, your speed, your strength, your gender --
all the factors that untrained people think make the difference when it comes to violence --
all matter far less than your mindset and your intent.‴
-- Tim Larkin
"Have your affairs in order."
-- John Hearne
***** Situational Awareness *****
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
"Many people don't realize that your awareness skills
are more important than your marksmanship skills.
Well, you can't shoot something you don't know is there,
or don't know it needs to be shot!" -- Tom Givens
Pay attention! Always be aware of what is going on around you.
Don't let your loved ones get run over by cars.
STOP texting on your phone! Take the ear buds out!
"At least nine dead, multiple injured in Vancouver
after car drives through Filipino festival"
by Lauren Irwin
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
---
"Violent Summer?" by John Farnam
---
Tom Givens says, "Always know who is around you and what they are doing."
---
If you get stopped by police for speeding, that's your fault for not seeing the
cop before he saw you. If you get hit by a car, it's your fault for not seeing the
car before it hit you. Pay attention!
"Clear Indicators: 7 Signs You’re Going to be Attacked" by Steve Tarani
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Recognizing Pre-Attack Indicators for Concealed Carriers – Comprehensive Guide"
by Brandon Curtis
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"What's More Important Than the Gun You Carry?
Being aware of your surroundings and everything going on around you, that's what."
by Sheriff Jim Wilson
"Women's Sixth Sense for Danger:
Converting Fear Into a Self Protection Superpower"
by Tim Larkin
Men play with violence. When women experience violence, it's the real thing.
"Jeff Cooper's Color Code exists to help you get your head
around the need to kill someone in the immediate future."
-- John Hearne
---
Jeff Cooper's Color Code of Mental Awareness
UNAWARE - of what's going on around you. (White)
AWARE - of who is around you and what they are doing. (Yellow)
ALERT - to a POTENTIAL threat and taking action to avoid the threat. (Orange)
ALARM - by a REAL threat and taking action to escape the threat,
which might include shooting to PREVENT the attack. (Red)
COMBAT - front sight, press. Shooting to STOP the attack. (Black)
*************************************************************************
Karen Finley has a green thumb.
*************************************************************************
----- Safety -----
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.
How to prevent unauthorized persons from using your guns.
"You are not responsible for negative reactions to your boundaries."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Low-Tech Attack!" by John Farnam
Excerpt:
This is because fools, particularly arrogant fools, lack circumspection and
prudence. They invariably manufacture in their minds a self-deceptive fantasy
and then live as though their fantasy is somehow tangible and something upon
which they can literally bet their lives.
"Gut feelings are guardian angels." -- Nicola Cavanis
"Not allowing law-abiding citizens to carry guns on the pretext of public health
or safety makes as much sense not allowing sober people to drive cars in order
to protect them from drunk drivers."
-- Stephen P. Wenger
Jeff Cooper′s Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING
THAT YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
---
RULE V: Maintain control of your gun. -- Stephen P. Wenger
"Trigger Press Casualty" by tacticalprofessor
Safety Rule 2 is unforgiving.
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
"The Critical Difference!" by John Farnam
"Kansas Supreme Court affirms product liability immunity of gun maker,
and seller in civil suit
Case centers on wounding of ESU football player in mishandling of Beretta"
by Tim Carpenter
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
The Beretta APX had a warning stamped on the gun frame that was on point in the case:
“FIRES WITHOUT MAGAZINE.”
The real question is why didn't he sue the guy who shot him? Because the
college student didn't have any money and Beretta is perceived as having lots
of money.
“Don't be buffaloed by ‘experts’ and ‘elites.’
‘Experts’ possess more data than judgment.
‘Elites’ become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who
bleed to death the moment they are nicked in the real world.”
-- Colin Powell
"Miss?" by John Farnam
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
Don’t go to stupid places.
Don’t associate with stupid people.
Don’t do stupid things.
Have a “normal” appearance.
Be in bed by 10:00 PM (your own bed).
Don’t fail the attitude test.
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
----- Training -----
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false.
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
"How To Start A CCW Training Regimen" by Richard A. Mann
Excerpt:
"What are the basics of the defensive handgun? Well, it always starts with safety, . . ."
[Because, if you shoot yourself, the enemy wins and laughs without expending
any resources, effort, or time. (Also, an excellent reason for never committing suicide.)
-- Jon Low]
"A logbook like this could also be handy if you’re ever taken to court;
it’ll show your methodical dedication to safe gun handling and self-defense."
"If you’re not measuring your training,
what you’re doing is called playing."
-- Chris Sajnog
---
"In order to measure, we must be able to quantify."
-- Aaron Cowan
"10 Common Concealed Carry Mistakes To Avoid" by Brandon Curtis
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
1. Having the minimum required training
2. Printing/Exposing
3. Using a cheap holster
4. Wearing improper clothing
5. Fingering/Checking the gun
6. Not practicing with Self Defense ammo
7. Adjusting in public
8. Carrying on occasion
9. Not understanding firearm laws
10. Having the wrong mindset
"When you're training to protect yourself and others, speed always comes last.
In the more than twenty-five years I've been training people in self-protection,
I've never heard from someone who used self-protection tools in the field and
felt like they suffered from a lack of speed at the moment of truth. In fact, I
usually hear the opposite: it's much more common to suffer from a lack of
accuracy or force." -- Tim Larkin
"04-23-25 Heartland Liberty LIVE Wednesday 7-8pm"
(Dan Meredith interviews Johnathan Low)
by Heart Land Liberty Productions
Meat starts at 3:18.
"A mistake that makes you humble is better
than an achievement that makes you arrogant."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Screwing Up" by Mike Wood
"I share this because I see an important caution for those who vary their guns and
carry systems seasonally or even more frequently. Note the comments about grip
angle – which affects where the gun points – and location of controls [although Mike
was referring to the release on the holster]. Several years ago, I briefly carried a
Kahr P9 Covert as a pocket gun because the gunsmith who'd created the now-defunct
HexSite system would not mill the frame of a revolver to install those sights on my
usual choice for a pocket gun. It didn't take long for me to switch back to a
S&W Centennial revolver in that role as the pistol required a slower, more conscious
effort to align its muzzle where I was looking at my intended target. Old habits die hard.
For more than the last decade of my teaching years, I wore a pair of Centennial
revolvers on the belt at 4:30 and 7:30. In the ensuing years, back issues led me to
move my now single belt gun up front. While I routinely reholster that gun up front
following dry-fire sessions, I've occasionally caught myself trying to reholster it at 4:30
when coaching a friend during a shared shooting session. Maybe some list members
shift gears [pun intended] better than I do but . . .
Stupid people do not learn from mistakes;
smart people learn from their own mistakes;
wise people learn from other people's mistakes."
-- Stephen P. Wenger
“Training deals not with an object,
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”
--Bruce Lee
"What You Need to Know About Self-Defense Training"
by Tom McHale and James Queisner
Making a good faith effort to learn new things. You have to give it the time.
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always
possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Richard Henry Lee
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
“Don't be buffaloed by ‘experts’ and ‘elites.’
‘Experts’ possess more data than judgment.
‘Elites’ become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who
bleed to death the moment they are nicked in the real world.”
-- Colin Powell
"Miss?" by John Farnam
“It may seem difficult at first but everything is difficult at first.”
-- Miyamota Mushashi
"We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution
was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists."
-- Patrick Henry
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
“The secret of success is this.
Train like it means everything when it means nothing –
so you can fight like it means nothing when it means everything.”
-- Lofty Wiseman
"Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."
-- Tiger McKee
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
"There are three different areas, or disciplines, in which the armed person must train.
These are mindset, gun handling, and marksmanship. Each is equally important, and
you must be at least competent in all three areas."
-- Tom Givens
------------------------------ Conferences --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required for continuous growth.
Stagnation is complacency. Complacency kills.
"The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword;
because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force
superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense,
raised in the United States."
-- Noah Webster
7th Annual Security Operations Summit (SOS.25)!
July 24-26, 2025 San Antonio, TX
This year's national summit will be in San Antonio, TX at Cornerstone Church.
Law of Self Defense, live online class upcoming dates
September 27, 2025
Bullets & Bibles Conference, $750
Friday, September 12, 2025 – Sunday, September 14, 2025
Living Water Ranch, north of Manhattan, KS.
For more information about lodging (free lodging in the dorms) on site or
meals (3 meals a day included in registration fee) or
if you have any questions regarding the event,
contact our Bullets & Bibles Conference Coordinator,
Vonda Copeland
director@fhftc.org
or call 785-293-2449.
Rangemaster Tactical Conference
??? 2026 A.D.
Guardian Conference, $800
September 19th - 21st, 2025 in Oklahoma City
------------------------------ Classes --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required for continuous growth.
Stagnation is complacency. Complacency kills.
Modern Warriors
Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Map of Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Dustin Salomon
KR Training
Kari Grayson
Citizens Safety Academy
Carry Trainer, Mickey Schuch
Paladin Training, Inc.
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
Virginia Private Firearms Training (for private lessons), John Murphy
Defensive Training International, John Farnam
Quips,
Rangemaster, Tom Givens
Newsletter,
https://rangemaster.com/newsletter/
Trident Concepts, Jeff Gonzales
Apache Solutions, Tim Kelly
Harris Combative Strategies, Randy Harris
Mead Hall Range & Tactics
Two Pillars Training, John Hearne
Mike Seeklander
‟Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
----- Practice -----
How to get proficient at that task.
"You have to be lucky to win. And the more you practice, the luckier you get."
-- Col. Lones Wigger
The most important thing to note is that ZERO innocent bystanders were
hit by the good guy, Elijah "Eli" Dickens.
“ Everyone Was WRONG About The "Eli Drill" ” by Kinetic Concepts
The bad guy killed 3 and injured 2 almost immediately when he exited the
restroom and entered the food court.
Elijah "Eli" Dickens fired
4 Rounds Supported (40 Yards), 2 hits
4 Rounds (20 Yards), 4 hits
2 Rounds (6-8 Yards), 2 hits
in 15 Seconds; 10 rounds fired, 8 hits on intended target
(far superior to American police averages).
Extremely important to note, zero innocent bystanders hit by the good guy.
Why practice?
“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are
figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very
special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy
if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could
have been their finest hour.”
-- Winston Churchill
‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"Be stronger than your strongest excuse."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"People rust faster than equipment."
-- John Hearne
‟Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous.”
-- ‶Shooting in Self-Defense″ by Sara Ahrens
"Shoot as much as you want but if you start to get shaky, it’s time to go home."
-- Duaine Zeitz
"Your speed doesn't matter. Forward is forward."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Practice your shooting by doing exactly the same thing, exactly the same way,
every time, until it is completely automatic."
-- Duaine Zeitz
"Remember, growing may feel like breaking at first."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
"Remember, the day you plant the seed is not the day you earn the fruit."
-- Nicola Cavanis
*************************************************************************
Not misguided, evil.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Table of sections:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy -----
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it,
which tools to use, which tactics to use,
which always includes walking away.
"Never let fear decide your fate." -- Nicola Cavanis
"Another Active Killer Gun Malfunction" by Greg Ellifritz
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
“Time is Always on Your Side” — The Lie That Can Get People Killed
by Michael E. Musengo, Lynn L. Westover and Lon D. Bartel
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Having a gun is important.
But knowing WHEN to use it is even more important."
-- Greg Ellifritz
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from "Principles of Personal Defense" by Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC,
(1920 – 2006 A.D.)
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics -----
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy.
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
"Victim Snatches Defeat From the Jaws of Victory in Robbery Attempt"
by Active Self Protection
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
---
The "good guy" only has to deal with the legal system if he gets caught.
No reason to believe he will get caught. Statistically speaking, there is a
50% probability of being identified. And that's in murder cases. This is
not a murder case. Neither of the robbers died. So how much effort are
the police going to put into closing the case? (Are the police going to
expend any time or effort to find a guy who shot two robbers?) If the
good guy leaves the city / county / state (to take a vacation) he's not going
to be around for a line up (to be identified by witnesses). He's not going
to be around to be questioned. Fuzzy photos are not going to make an
extradition, much less a conviction.
Leaving the scene for safety is not "an indication of a depraved mind."
Two bad guys attacked the good guy. The bad guy's gang banger buddies
were coming to exact revenge. Leaving the scene is the smart / reasonable
thing to do.
The good guy doesn't call the police because the police will identify him
and turn all of his contact information (home address, where his family lives)
over to the bad guys (it's called discovery, it's required by law). The buy guys
will use that information to kill the good guy and his family.
Even if the good guy defends his family from the gang attack, the scum bag
attorneys working for the families of the bad guys that he shot will sue the good guy.
How do you avoid being sued? Don't give anyone your identifying information.
The final shot, as the good guy is walking out, is to prevent the gang member
from identifying the good guy to the gang. Having a gang gunning for you is bad.
You think the police will protect you and your family? Then you are criminally
naïve. There are a few police officers taking money from the gang to provide
the gang with information. That's how gangs work. That's how police departments
work. The Nashville Police leaked the Covenant shooter's journals free of charge.
What would such police officers do when offered $10,000. The Mafia used to be
able to buy the location of witnesses in the Witness Protection Program for $5000.
And that was from FBI Special Agents. Nashville cops are paid much less than
FBI agents. The gangs have lots of money for such expenses, because the drug
users keep giving the gangs money. Yes, the blame lies squarely on drug users.
They are the demand that drives the criminal economy.
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
" Tactical Training Scenario- “They’re Putting On Ski Masks” "
by Greg Ellifritz
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
“People shoot you because they see you.
They see you because you let them.
Don’t let them see you.”
-- Clint Smith
"Without discrimination,
you're going to shoot the wrong person really fast."
-- Paul Howe
"You brought a gun to the fight. That doesn’t mean it’s YOUR gun.
The gun belongs to whomever can keep it. Think about that before intervening
in other folks’ problems. When is the last time you practiced your in-hand
weapon retention skills?"
-- Greg Ellifritz
---
". . . if the assailant has a gun, it may actually be the easiest gun for you to access,
if you know how to take it from him."
-- Stephen P. Wenger
---
When was last time you practiced your in-holster weapon retention skills?
Have you taken a class to learn such techniques?
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
“When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark;
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”
-- Stephen P. Wenger
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques -----
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided at all costs
and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."
-- Massad Ayoob
"THE SPECTRUM OF REFINEMENT - EYES, DOT, TARGET"
by Gabe Suarez
This is worth studying and practicing.
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
"Doubles Trouble" by Ben Stoeger
Stop! Don't engrain bad habits.
"Grip first, then press."
-- Mike Seeklander
"Aim Small Miss Small" by Gabe Suarez
---
Does it make sense to practice different aiming techniques?
Does it make sense to use different aiming techniques under different circumstances?
If you believe in Hick's Law, the answer is no.
Will you be able to choose the correct technique for the given circumstance?
If you believe in Murphy's Law, the answer is no.
Better to practice one technique and use it in all circumstances. No decisions.
No choices. Just execution.
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"4 Self-Defense Areas to Target That Everyone Should Know" by Tim Larkin
"Denn jedes Mal, wenn was geht, ist Platz für Neues.
Und wenn es gestern nicht sein soll, dann klappt es heut 🦋"
-- Nicola Cavanis
There are many techniques for doing any given task.
Search and experiment until you find one that works for you.
"Are You Ready to Perform an Emergency Draw?" by Massad Ayoob
There are many many ways to draw your pistol with support-side-hand only.
Send me an email requesting my course outline, "Defensive Pistol", and I
will email it to you. It describes several ways to draw support-side-hand only.
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
"Carrying Concealed While Driving
Take your defensive pistol with you wherever you can."
by Karl Rehn
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
“What’s the number one reason for reloading?
Missing the target!”
-- Claude Werner
"Better Shooting: Curing the Flinch
How to Exorcize the Flinch Demon"
by Dave Anderson
Excerpt:
"To avoid or cure a flinch, the basic rule is to never let the gun hurt you.
Firearm reports lead to flinching and permanent hearing loss,
so always use hearing protection."
"When you can “see the flame” when actually shooting,
you’ve beaten the blinking habit."
[So watch for the muzzle flash when you shoot. -- Jon Low]
"Train and practice so that you can stay in your rational mind,
and force your enemy into his emotional mind. The emotional
mind makes bad judgments which will allow you to win."
-- John Hearne
Mike Seeklander, slow motion, one-handed technique.
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
Email from Jeff L. Gonzales --
Hello Jonathan,
No matter where you are in your shooting journey, at some point you discover
trigger control — and then, years later, you rediscover it again.
That’s exactly what happened to me recently. I’ve developed what I’d describe
as a resilient trigger control technique. It works amazingly well, especially when
I’ve been off the gun for longer periods. And that’s the reality we all face: various
challenges that cause training droughts. Resilient trigger control is key.
The problem? We’re constantly balancing competing demands — shooting
up close and fast versus shooting long-range and precise. Is there one trigger control
technique that works for both? Maybe. I thought I had found it. But what I actually
accepted was a small degradation in precision at distance for the sake of
speed — because regardless of range, shooting as fast as you can guarantee hits
is always the goal.
Over the years, I’ve practiced with many different drills. Recently, for the
past 6+ months, I’ve been using a drill from the 25-yard line that I believe is
one of the best (more on the drill later). It has clearly exposed the challenge of
balancing speed and precision as performance metrics. And no, the speed doesn’t
slow down just because of distance — it’s still as fast as you can guarantee the hits.
Challenging, to say the least.
After a rough first run (out of five), I committed myself to improving — and
what I discovered surprised me. My trigger finger placement didn’t change much,
nor did my speed. What changed was the orientation of the tip of my trigger finger
— almost pointing straight back. After reviewing what turned out to be one of the
best groups I’ve ever shot for time at 25 yards, I focused the rest of the practice
session on this adjustment. The results were striking: first-shot times, total times,
and split times became ridiculously consistent repetition after repetition.
Here are 4 quick tips if you're looking to improve your speed and precision at distance:
• Don't over-aim. While not directly tied to trigger control, understanding this concept
is crucial. I was literally sending the round the moment the dot settled after recoil.
• Stay consistent with your trigger finger placement. It's low-hanging fruit —
inconsistency here will make improvement almost impossible.
• Drive the gun with intent. As I drove the gun to the target, my trigger finger is
straight pointing at the target, making it easier to apply the new rearward angle naturally.
• Feel the trigger differently. I was hyper-focused on the feedback from the trigger —
sensing it more acutely than before, despite everything else happening around me.
I'm excited to see how resilient this technique is over time, especially after some
downtime I have coming up. With a little more practice to solidify it, I’m curious to
see how it holds up after a break.
I’d love to hear what others have discovered through similar experimentation.
Good luck out there,
JLG
P.S. Feel free to share this with any like-minded folks who might benefit.
---
"Pistol Standard Bravo 2 | Build Real-World One-Handed Shooting Skills"
by Trident Concepts, LLC
---
"Refined Trigger Control" by Trident Concepts, LLC
"Those motivated by a desire to improve their
gunfighting skills as opposed to a quest for trophies,
must be willing to bleed ego on the match results
to avoid shedding blood in combat."
-- Andy Stanford
"When The Sights Are Right" by by George Harris
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/when-the-sights-are-right/
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Postvention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to treat your wounds or the wounds of your loved ones.
Suggestions on how to avoid prosecution, conviction, and prison time.
Suggestions on how to avoid the civil law suit and judgment.
Table of contents:
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
*************************************************************************
----- Aftermath -----
You must be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.
“Your understanding and consent are not required
for someone to take your life, kill your loved ones,
and destroy all you hold dear.”
-- William Aprill
"Win Your Case in Court: 5 Tips to Help Your Self-Defense Case"
by Emily Taylor and Richard Hayes
Trial is a theatrical presentation.
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the address,
In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the link is,
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
The various policies are drastically different.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
*************************************************************************
----- Medical -----
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
2 day TECC (Tactical Emergency Casualty Care) Course.
June 20-21, 2025
Longhollow Church
Hendersonville, TN
Course will run from approximately 8-5 both days and you must attend both full days.
You will leave the course with a 4 year certification through the NAEMT.
The link to register is below:
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Best,
Tracey Mendenhall | VP of Operations
(Life Saving Ninja)
DEFEND SYSTEMS
(615) 480-7758
If you can't make the above class, you can check below for the next class.
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified, $495.00
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************************************
----- Survival -----
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
"Survival is not based solely on technique. Survivability may hinge on the use
of the correct technique appropriate to the environment you are fighting in.
Oh, and yes, marksmanship is always valuable."
-- Clint Smith
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
Table of contents:
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
"My Gun Culture" by Tom McHale
Quips, John Farnam
Active Response Training, Greg Ellifritz
"Weekend Knowledge Dump- April 25, 2025"
The Tactical Professor, Claude Werner
Rangemaster Newsletter, Tom Givens
American Handgunner Magazine
Tactical Science
International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors
Alien Gear blog
Shooting Classes Blog
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- Legal -----
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
Tennessee is a firearms sanctuary state. Yeah!
"Tennessee Defends Firearm Freedom!"
by Guns & Gadgets 2nd Amendment News (Jared Yanis)
Gun Owners of America. Tennessee Firearms Association.
I give money to both. I encourage you to do so.
"DOJ Claws Back Authority from ATF:
Gun-Rights Restoration for Americans with Felonies"
by Roman Balmakov
Primary sources in description below the video.
"Karmelo Anthony Debate:
Use Of Force & Murder | The Culture War with Tim Pool"
"What Goes Into Jury Selection? (John's Briefs)" by John Corriea and Tim Forshey
Arizona Supreme Court did away with voir dire. First state in the country to do so.
The attorney, Tim Forshey, is wrong. The case is won or lost in pre-trial motions.
Competent attorneys will hire a specialist attorney to do the pre-trial motions.
It's a separate legal specialty.
The attorney, Tim Forshey, is correct. The trial is theater. Just not for your
entertainment.
As with all disciplines, there are many different levels of sophistication and
competence. You want your attorney to be able to play the system (all parts of it)
like a violin. If your attorney is struggling with any part of your defense, you've
got the wrong attorney. Never too late. Fire your attorney and hire a better one.
"ATF Targets Senior Citizens in Missouri" by Liberty Doll
Because the ATF are cowards. It's easier to arrest and prosecute law abiding citizens
than to investigate violent criminals. You might get hurt investigating real criminals.
"HAPPENING NOW:
ANOTHER ATF CAREER GUN CONTROLLER AXED . . .
There Is A CULLING Going On At The ATF" by Langley Outdoors Academy
"Self-Defense vs. Negligent Discharge" by William Starnes
Excerpts:
"If you substantiate the five elements of self-defense,
you’ll beat any criminal charges brought against you for
killing or harming another."
[That is complete nonsense. As Andrew Branca says, even if you are complete
innocent and justified in your use of lethal force, there is a 10% chance that
you will be convicted at trial. That's just the noise in the system. That's why
your attorney should prevent your case from going to trial. -- Jon Low]
"The wisest choice, however, is not to say anything at all before consulting
with an attorney regardless of how clear the situation seems."
"Drone Hunting Season! | EXECUTED For Open Carry | Cops Casually Disregard 2A & 4A"
by ARFCOM News
This is why it is not enough to be correct, you must win. You only have the rights that
you can enforce.
As the instructors taught us at Intel School (NMITC), if you don't want to be tortured,
don't surrender.
"ATF's Dirty Secret EXPOSED!" by Guns & Gadgets 2nd Amendment News
“Is there no virtue among us? If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form, will insure liberty and happiness
for a dishonorable population represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
*************************************************************************
Newell Convers Wyeth's "Gunfight"
*************************************************************************
----- Instruction -----
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
----- Instructors -----
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”
-- Robert John Meehan
"7 Polite Behaviors That Quietly Signal You’re High Class" by Manners Matters
My mother told me that there are two types of people in this world. Those who
write thank you letters and those who don't. Be careful, because some people notice.
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
Be careful what you teach.
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do,
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
"You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."
-- John Hearne
"You don't have to memorize formulae. Because you can always derive
them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
"Thinking is the hardest thing a person can do.
That's why so few people do it."
-- Henry Ford
"The limited time you spend with students may be the only training they ever receive!"
-- John Farnam
“He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
-- Richard Henry Dana
“The student’s purpose is to expand their body of knowledge and social network.
The instructor’s purpose is to help the student achieve the student’s goals.”
-- Amy Schwartz
----- Students -----
"Failure is an indication that someone tried to do something."
-- Ingersoll
"Growth is uncomfortable because you've never been there before."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Keep in mind that this is some seriously next level material.
It is totally normal that the first time you see this stuff, you find
it confusing. You find it difficult to understand. So, confusion
should not discourage you. It does not represent any intellectual
failing on your part. Rather, keep in mind that it represents an
opportunity to get even smarter."
– Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science and other
stuff at Stanford University
"Try.
Try again.
Try once more.
Try differently.
Try again tomorrow.
Try and ask for help.
Try find someone who's done it.
Try to fix the problem.
Keep trying until you succeed."
-- Nicola Cavanis
----- Andragogy -----
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to
take place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
"It's better to be wrong than to be vague."
-- Freeman Dyson
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
----- Gear -----
And the safe storage thereof.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Which Doesn’t Belong and Why" by Rich Grassi
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
"Don’t rely on factory quality control. Do your own examination.
Make sure it looks right and feels right."
"Understanding Handgun Recoil" by Richard A. Mann
"Achilles Heel Tactical Student P320 ND Frame-by-frame Analysis & Commentary"
by Protraband
Re: S&W M&P Sheild EZ
After Eve (a friend from church and student) tried several pistols, I purchased
a S&W M&P Sheild EZ for her to use in my Defensive Pistol course. She has
small weak hands. She was able to shoot it competently, but never got a comfortable,
stable (repeatable), solid (strong grip, because her hands are weak and her fingers
do not bend as an able bodied person's would).
I then asked another friend with small hands to review the pistol.
---
Hi Jon.
I actually just rented the EZ Shield at Sumner Gun this past week and
tried it on their range. I got my first three shots through the same hole,
so I was definitely able to be accurate with it.
The only thing I didn’t like was that the thumb safety is in the way of
where my thumbs are naturally positioned. It looks like it can be ordered
without the thumb safety, so I am planning on getting one without the thumb safety.
All the best,
Tina
---
Thank you very much.
Eve had the same problem with the thumb safety being in the wrong
place preventing her from forming a stable solid grip.
"Different Kinds Of Handguns, Explained" by Daniel Y
Striker fired pistols are effectively single action pistols.
"Training Schools Banning Sig P320 Following Multiple Issues"
by Tom Knighton
"SIG P320 ® PISTOLS" (user's manual)
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
Excerpt: (from page 5)
"THE MOST EFFECTIVE SAFETY IS TO CARRY YOUR PISTOL
WITHOUT A ROUND IN THE CHAMBER, AND TO LOAD A ROUND
IN THE CHAMBER ONLY WHEN READY TO FIRE."
[This runs contrary to all modern training and practice. You will never
have time to load a round into the chamber in a real world combat situation.
-- Jon Low]
"Kimber 1911 Pistol Models
Safety & Instruction Manual "
Excerpt: (from page 5)
"Do not carry a loaded firearm with a live round in the
chamber while walking, running, crossing or climbing a
fence, stream, ditch or any obstacle, or where there is
any possibility of slipping or falling, as this could lead to a
possible unintentional discharge."
"Chicago Cops Slammed with Sudden Ban on the Sig/Sauer P320 —
And the Officers Will Pay the Price" by Paul Huebl
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger
Shawn Ryan on ammunition.
"A Primer On Buying Used Handguns" by Patrick Sweeney
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Purse Carry - Rolling the dice" by SafeMind Defense
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Review from Belgium.
"Why We DIDN’T Go For a Glock (And Why You Should Think Twice)"
by ReconBrothers
Glock knuckle. Requiring undercutting and slimming the trigger guard.
They chose the Walther PDP in the end.
"Carry Options: Holsters That Just Work!" by Tom McHale
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law, ITAR,
International Traffic in Arms Regulations. That means cryptosystems are
protected by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Never let the
government infringe on your right to keep and bear cryptosystems, to
include home made cryptosystems, to include sharing cryptosystems with
others.
"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe,
and preserve order in the world as well as property.
Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of their use."
-- Thomas Paine
"What Happens When a Program Calls Sleeps?" by Core Dumped
Very low level.
At 6:20 the video shows an arrow with the caption "compile", actually it
should say "assemble" because the result shown is assembly language code.
Red black trees. Worth studying. You'll find them very useful.
At 18:06, that's why you should never use an interpretted language.
Real time operating systems. Used exclusively in the combat world.
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Norman Christ
I note that you have been using the Calculus of Variations in your cryptology.
I have been following you closely. I think you are brilliant. Be careful. As
Gelfand and Fomin say,
". . . the principle of least action only holds for sufficiently small time
intervals [t₀ , t₁], and has to be modified for continuous mechanical systems."
". . . we shall henceforth replace the principle of least action by the
principle of stationary action. In other words, the actual trajectory of a given
mechanical system will not be required to minimize the action but only to
cause its first variation to vanish."
---
And on a not so tangential note --
"The Maxwell equations are actually invariant under a 15-parameter family (group)
of transformations. In addition to the 10 conservation laws already mentioned (energy,
momentum, and angular momentum), this invariance leads to 5 more conservation
laws, which, however, do not have direct physical meaning. For a detailed treatment
of this problem, see E. Bessel-Hagen, “Über die Erhaltungssätze der Elektrodynamik”,
Math. Ann., 84, 258 (1921)."
But you seem to have found "direct physical meaning". Bravo!
As Amalie Emmy Noether taught us, all symmetries lead to conservation laws.
Of course, the above was written before the conservation of Time-Charge-Parity.
Sometimes things are hard to understand, but you do.
Do not fret. I always cite open source.
---
If a thing is proprietary, very few people will check it. They have to be inside
the company and trusted.
If a thing is secret, very few people will check it. They have to have the appropriate
clearance and the need to know. Will such persons have the expertise to review?
Probably not.
So the error rate for released products is very high. "Doesn't matter. We have to
be first to market. We don't even have to suck less than the competitor, as long as
we are first to market." You remember that. You worked in the private sector.
Do you know what they say in the intelligence community? "No one will ever
trace it back to us." There really is no accountability in the intel community.
In open source, there are tens of thousands of persons checking. Every problem
is easy to someone. It's just a matter of getting a large enough population to have
that person in the population.
It's the light bulb problem. What's the probability of a light bulb burning out in
your apartment? Near zero. You could go years without replacing a light bulb in
your apartment. As expected.
What's the probability of a light bulb burning out in a large building? Near one.
That's why such buildings have full time maintenance crews.
Open source gives you that near one probability. That is why you will always
be ahead of the Puzzle Palaces. (And the fact that bureaucrats are too stupid to
realize or care. They really don't know what they don't know. And much of what
they know is false. That's why they so often lose.
Why do they occasionally win? Because the enemy is worse.
No, it's not that even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut.
That is a different paradigm.)
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
Be careful. This is really deep.
"The Quantum Experiment That Defies Logic Exactly 1/12th Of The Time"
by Dr. Lídia Del Rio (channel Essentia Foundation)
Knowing computer science makes physics easier to understand.
Reversibility is not going back in time. It's going back to a previous state.
A measurement is an irreversible operation. (You can't forget what you learned.)
Information costs energy, in thermodynamics. [Information being conserved
does not violate this. -- Jon Low]
---
"I changed this light by observing it" by Looking Glass Universe
"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.
Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that?
We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.
We must believe that we are gifted for something,
and that this thing must be attained."
-- Marie Curie
"Amateurs Solve a Famous Computer Science Problem On Discord"
by Quanta Magazine
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
"Random numbers in a range in C code - optimized for speed" by Srcerer
"You don't need to memorize theorems,
because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
"The Integral That Changed Math Forever" by Abide By Reason
The Lebesgue integral.
"Should we fly in the Lebesgue-designed airplane? —
The correct defence of the Lebesgue integral"
by Andrew D. Lewis
"Math's Strangest Set" by Abide By Reason
The Vitali Set.
Note corrections in the description below the video.
Measure theory is fun. There are many measures besides the Lebesgue measure.
"Handbook of Applied Cryptography"
by Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot and Scott A. Vanstone
"Computer Security and the Internet:
Tools and Jewels from Malware to Bitcoin", Second Edition
by Paul C. van Oorschot
ISBN: 978-3-030-83410-4 (hardcopy), 978-3-030-83411-1 (eBook)
"An Introduction to Error Correcting Codes with Applications"
by Scott A. Vanstone , Paul C. Oorschot
Research and Publications (P. Van Oorschot)
Alfred J. Menezes
Scott A. Vanstone
"Der Fixpunktsatz von Brouwer (Brouwerscher Fixpunktsatz)"
by Weitz / HAW Hamburg
"The Story of Information Theory" by Visual Electric
Useful history. I am old enough to have used ITA2 (Baudot) code on the teletype
machines in the secure communication centers. In Cryptologic Communications
School at the Naval Technical Training Center in Pensacola, Florida, we read ITA2
off the paper tapes (oily yellow paper tapes). There is even a hand motion for it.
Remember? Yep, grandpa is older than dirt.
Information theoretic entropy.
Lossless compression. (down to its entropy)
Error correction coding. (environmental noise)
[But there are different types of noise. Missing bits, added bits, flipped bits, etc.]
So, is information conserved?
At the quantum level? Do observations destroy information?
At the relativistic level? Do blackholes destroy information?
In the real world? Does noise destroy information? If not, where is it? How do we
recover it?
Modulation array, maximizing the distance between elements of the array to minimize
ambiguity (noise / distortion / etc.). [Staff, it was a MOM array, not a PAM array.
Right you are.]
Nicola Cavanis
***** Signals Intelligence and Ground Electronic Warfare, Cyber Security,
(sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too) *****
"A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined,
but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain
a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them,
which would include their own government."
--George Washington
"UVB-76 Waking Up?" by Docent
"Now We Know How Hezbollah Was DESTROYED With a Pager"
by The Infographics Show
"Innocent Looking Backdoor Found in Universities and Government Systems"
by PwnFunction
Unit 42
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) revealed it has deployed more
than 200 satellites into orbit over the past 2 years.
-- The Merge
Breaking Defense has a weekly newsletter, "Networks & Digital Warfare" at
Crypto-Gram by Bruce Schneier
2600
‟If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury.
Therefore what he must fear is his victim.”
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense"
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-- Second Amendment, U.S. Constitution
"Let's face it, most of us are not half as smart as we may sometimes
think we are - and for intellectuals, not one-tenth as smart."
- Thomas Sowell, "Random Thoughts," December 2010
"CIA To Go After Drug Cartels?" by Docent
"Democrat Mayor BUSTED,
Michelle Wu EXPOSED Fundraising With Alleged CHINESE COMMUNIST CCP Insider!"
by Brian Maxwell
"Interarms Was A CIA Front" by Travis Pike
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Partisan Military Actors Terminated
There are consequences for defying the chain of command."
by Emmy Griffin
"What The NEW Acting-Director Of ATF Just Told Every Emplyee About
The 2nd Amendment" by Jared Yanis (Guns & Gadgets 2nd Amendment News)
"After 10 years USMC officially exonerates MARSOC 7 from accusations of war crimes"
by Nick Coffman
Terrible how incompetent cowards can make this sort of thing happen
over and over. That's why it is so important to make the cowards disappear.
Hopefully, President Trump will make them all disappear.
"Naval Air: USS Truman Gets Dent" by James Dunnigan
April 15, 2025: On February 12th the aircraft carrier Truman (CVN-75) received
a small gash in its hull and damage to its right side aircraft elevator when it collided
with a merchant ships while approaching the Suez Canal. The Truman went to a port
in the Mediterranean where it could have the damage repaired.
This wouldn’t have happened if the May 2019 retirement announcement of the
Truman had been carried out. This was to save the cost of its mid-life upgrade and
refueling of the nuclear reactors. The mid-life upgrade will cost $3.5 billion and
takes five years to complete. At that point, Truman would be able to operate another
25 years. That would cost $20 billion. By retiring the Truman the Navy would save
about $24 billion over 30 years and that money would be used to build new, smaller,
ships and buy new weapons. Retiring Truman would also allow the navy to order
and build two new Ford class CVNs at once, which would save time and money.
The decision to keep Truman in service was not about money, but the fact that the
new Ford class CVNs were facing major problems with launching and recovering
aircraft and somewhat less desperate problems with its new radar and some other
mechanical systems. Keeping the Truman was also about the seemingly intractable
problems the Navy has building ships and developing new designs. Keeping the
Truman is seen as a positive move towards fixing some fundamental management
problems.
The Ford class has become a major crisis. In February 2018 the navy confirmed
that it had major problems with the design and construction of its new EMALS
Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System catapult installed in its latest aircraft carrier;
the USS Ford (CVN 78) and the three other Ford-class carriers under construction.
During sea trials, the Ford used EMALS heavily, as would be the case in combat
and training operations and found EMALS less reliable than the older steam catapult.
EMALS was also more labor intensive to operate and put more stress on launched
aircraft than expected. Worse, due to a basic design flaw, if one EMALS catapult
becomes inoperable, the other three catapults could not be used in the meantime
as was the case with steam catapults. This meant that the older practice of taking
one or more steam catapults offline for maintenance or repairs while at sea was not
practical. The Navy admitted that in combat if one or more catapults were rendered
unusable, they remained that way until it was possible to shut down all four catapults
for repairs. During the initial at-sea tests the EMALS failed once every 75 aircraft
launches. The standard for steam catapults is one failure every 4,166 launches.
The landing and recovery system also had reliability problems, failing once every
76 landings, which is far below the standard of one failure per 16,500 landings.
In effect, these problems with launching and recovering aircraft make the Fords
much less effective than the older Truman and other Nimitz class CVNs. The navy
has long had a growing problem with developing new ships and technology and the
Ford is the worst example to date. With no assurance as to when and to what extent
the launch and recovery systems would be fixed and be at least as effective as the
older steam catapults, the navy was overruled and told to keep the Truman.
The navy also asked for another delay in performing mandated shock tests for
the Ford, in which controlled explosions were set off near the hull that generated
at least 66 percent of the amount of force the ship was designed to handle. This
would reveal what equipment was not sufficiently built or installed to handle shock
and make changes as well as confirming that the hull can handle the stress overall.
The navy wants to wait until the second Ford-class carrier enters service in 2024
because, it admits, it is unsure how badly shock tests would damage new systems
and design features. Meanwhile, there are some other major shortcomings with
the Fords, including the radars, some of the elevators and a few other mechanical
systems. But none of these are as serious as the malfunctioning catapults.
Progress is being made in improving the reliability of the new launch and recovery
system but such progress has been very slow and there is no convincing plan to
achieve parity with steam catapult systems any time soon.
Some of the problems with EMALS were of the sort that could be fixed while
the new ship was in service. That included tweaking EMALS operation to generate
less stress on aircraft and modifying the design of EMALS and reorganizing how
sailors use the system to attain the smaller number of personnel required for catapult
operations. But the fatal flaws involved reliability. An EMALS catapult was
supposed to have a breakdown every 4,100 launches but even after some initial fixes,
in heavy use, EMALS actually failed every 400 launches. By the end of 2017, the
Navy concluded that an EMALS equipped carrier had only a seven percent chance
of successfully completing a typical four-day surge with multiple catapult launches
for a major combat operation and only a 70 percent chance of completing a one-day
surge operation. That was mainly because when one EMALS catapult went down,
all four were inoperable. In effect, the Ford-class carriers are much less capable of
performing in combat than their predecessors. The navy eventually came up with
modifications to EMALS that fixed these problems.
This EMALS catastrophe was avoidable and the problems should have been
detected and taken care of before the Ford was on sea trials. Back in 2010, the
U.S. Navy plan to equip future aircraft carriers with electromagnetic catapults
seemed like a great idea and everyone seemed assured that all was proceeding
according to plan. This was especially true after EMALS passed some key tests
in 2010. This included the first time an EMALS catapult launched an F-18E
carrier jet fighter. This was from a land base equipped with the test version of
EMALS. Earlier in 2010 tests had been put on hold for a bit while software
problems were fixed. The mechanical aspects of the electromagnetic catapult
were believed pretty much solved but the test model the navy was working with
has been having some serious problems with the control software. In the midst
of all this, there was no mention of the key problems, like being able to repair
one catapult while the other three kept working. This had been a key feature of
steam catapults for a long time and what is really scary here is that no one caught it.
With the 2010 decision, the plan to put electromagnetic catapults into all future
carriers, beginning with the Ford, went ahead and apparently serious criticism of
real problems was no longer an option. This was a great relief at the time because
the Ford was under construction and a massive and expensive redesign would be
needed to make room for the bulkier steam catapult.
The EMALS disaster calls into question the ability of the navy to handle new,
untried, technologies. That is not a new problem and has been around since
World War II. In retrospect, not enough was done to test and address what are now
obvious problems. The current solution is to delay the moment of truth as long as
possible and then conclude that it was unclear exactly how it happened but that
measures would be taken to see that it never happen again. That approach is wearing
thin because more people are well aware that is just a cover for the corruption and
mismanagement that has been developing within the industries that build warships.
The navy has been having a growing number of similar problems with the design
of the LCS, the DDG 1000 and a lot of smaller systems.
Meanwhile, there is a critical need for new carriers. The first ship of the new
class of carriers, the Ford is about the same length of 333 meters and displacement
of 100,000 tons as the previous generation of Nimitz class ships, but will look
different. The most noticeable difference will be the island being set closer to the
stern/rear of the ship. The internal differences are much more obvious, including
the power generation and electrical system. The Nimitz ships were rapidly wearing
out and with the EMALS disaster, the Navy will have to improvise and do without
for a decade or more.
The Fords were not just replacements for the aging Nimitz class; they were
designed to be cheaper to operate. There is a lot more automation and smaller
crews. The Ford will be the first modern American warship built without urinals.
There are several reasons for this. The Ford will have a 20 percent smaller crew
and more of them will be women. Currently, about ten percent of American warship
crews are presently women, but the Ford crew will be at least 15 percent female.
Since women sleep in all-female berthing areas, a toilet was attached to each
berthing area. Moreover, berthing areas will be more spacious because of the
smaller crew and hold a third to half as many bunks as previous carriers. Finally,
drainpipes for urinals more frequently get clogged than those coming from toilets,
so eliminating the urinals means less work for the plumbers. There are a lot of
other visible changes to enhance habitability and make long voyages more tolerable.
All that will have to be changed somewhat, at least in the Ford, and perhaps in
others of this new class if EMALS cannot be fixed.
Before the EMALS crisis, the Ford was expected to cost nearly $14 billion.
About 40 percent of that is for designing the first ship of the class, so the actual
cost of the first ship CVN 78 itself will be at least $9 billion and about the same
for subsequent ships of the class. Except, that is, for the additional cost of fixing
the EMALS problems. Against this, the navy expected to reduce the carrier's
lifetime operating expenses by several billion dollars because of greatly reduced
crew size. Compared to the current Nimitz class carriers, which cost over
$5 billion each to build the Fords will feel, well, kind of empty because of the
automation and smaller crews. There will also be more computer networking,
and robots, reducing the number of people constantly moving around inside a
Nimitz class carrier with its crew of 6,000. The most recent Nimitz class ships
have a lot of this automation already but adding EMALS was considered too
expensive because of the major engineer changes to the power plant and
electrical systems. A lot of that is subject to change depending on what internal
alterations are required to make the carrier work at least as well as the Nimitz class.
So far that has turned out to be a lot more difficult than anyone expected.
-- James Dunnigan
"Tucker Uncovers Deep State Against Trump in the Pentagon. EP111"
by Sentinel 🇺🇸
---
"Pete Hegseth’s Top Advisor Framed for Pentagon ”Leaks” (It Was Really About Iran)"
by Tucker Carlson
"Leave In 48 Hours," India Tells Pakistanis On SAARC Visa
Hat tip to Global Recap.
An important piece to the puzzle.
✏️ Additional Info: The scheme aims to let Pakistani passport holders visit other
SAARC countries visa-free—or sometimes with a visa on arrival—for short stays.
These countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,
Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
"CIA ONLY Wants People With These 2 RED FLAGS" by Andrew Bustamante
"The Diversity Report #26" by Docent
Of special interest are the articles describing
"The Army Blackhawk pilot involved in the Washington, DC, plane crash
failed to heed her flight instructor’s warning just 15 seconds before the deadly
crash that killed 67 people, . . ."
Do you understand why this is in the Intelligence section?
"DECLASSIFIED: Proof Biden Made Gun Owners Domestic Terrorists"
by Guns & Gadgets 2nd Amendment News
I wonder why this is in the Intel section?
Thank you, Tulsi Gabbard.
Being a conspiracy theorist is being a few years ahead of the lame stream media.
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
The Dispatch
"StrategyPage"
"The Merge"
Breaking Defense
Intrigue
1440
29155
Global Recaps
Timber Sycamore
Ground News
Sadie Newman
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Religion and Politics ***** ***** *****
"I hate it when I'm trying to eat a salad and
it falls in the trash and I have to eat a taco instead."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"The Myth of an Asian IQ Advantage:
The Truth is Somehow More Offensive"
by Based Camp with Simone & Malcolm Collins
Offensive truth? East Asian students do not have higher IQs because of genetics;
they get higher scores in the IQ tests because on average they spend 13 more hours
per week studying (academics, as opposed to sports or other activities, like sleeping).
[And I thought my study habits were normal. Well a fish doesn't notice the water he
lives in.] Asians are not smarter than white people; Asians work harder than white
people.
"On One America News:
Concealed Carriers Stop Active Shootings Better Than Police" by John Lott
History.
Social activists in the military.
"One More DEI Social Activist Colonel Under Fire....EP107" by Sentinel
"Israeli Politics!" by John Farnam
---
We get a lot of refugees from Ukraine and Israel at the Jewish Community Center
in Nashville, Tennessee. Many consider the Ultra-orthodox to be cowards unwilling
to fight for their homeland. There is no legitimate reading of the Torah or Old
Testament of the Bible that exempts them from military service. Real men serve
honorably because they understand that they must defend their families and country.
Any excuse not to do so is dishonorable.
" WATCH: Red state gov urges firearms makers to ditch Colorado amid its anti-gun push
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said gun manufacturers he spoke to are
'throwing in the towel on Colorado' "
by Alec Schemmel
"Sowell Exposes 'EXPERTS' Like Bill Gates, Neil deGrasse Tyson & Chomsky"
By "Experts" he means liberals.
Minimum wage laws are criminal stupidity.
Soft on crime laws are criminal stupidity.
Public schools run by teacher unions are criminal stupidity.
Central planning always fails.
"The REAL reason why Asians are more successful than Westerners"
by Thomas Sowell
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
-- Mary Flannery O'Connor
You get what you pay for, especially when hiring cops.
"Police Shoot Veteran And Service Dog" by Liberty Doll
"Illegal Aliens Busted With 180,000 Rounds of Ammo" by Docent
"The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire
a set of ready-made answers to economic questions,
but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists."
-- Joan Robinson, "Marx, Marshall and Keynes," 1955
Bob Hope on Democrats.
In case you don't understand Trump.
In case you don't understand feminism.
In case you don't understand communism / socialism / liberalism.
In case you don't understand mass migration.
In case you don't understand FaceBook.com.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"How to SEE GOD (if you don't believe): the concept that makes order out of chaos"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
Some criminal predators don't have a self. Don't have a soul. All humans are
creations of God, but not all humans are children of God. To think that criminals
think the way you do is a deadly mistake. You can't predict the criminal's future
behavior. Because you would never have done that crime. You would never have
conceived of doing that crime. That's why it is so important to kill criminals as
you would swat a mosquito. Intelligently, of course, so as to avoid the legal system.
Vigilantism is not a socially acceptable pursuit. But it is only vigilantism that
prevents criminal behavior from driving our communities to chaos. Oh, did you
think it was the police? Consider the number of police, consider the number of
criminals (just the convicted ones on parole, probation, or other forms of release).
Not possible is it? Because it's not the police. Never has been. The police are
agents of the government. They enforce the laws of the government against the
people. They have no obligation to protect the people. Such is case law all the
way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. (TV and movies are not real. They are just
propaganda. But even such propaganda will not change the mind of anyone who
has had first hand experience with the legal system.)
"The Reason Communism & Marxism Always Fail Is Brutally Simple"
by Jacob Howland and Jordan B. Peterson
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Watch Tucker Carlson’s Head Explode As Guest REVEALS Obama’s Dirty Secrets"
by Freedom Frontline
"Dems keep saying they’re smart, but where’s the proof?" by Jesse Watters
Every public appearance is an IQ test, and the public sees the results of that test.
"Why the Black Hawk and Plane Crashed
The pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter has been revealed,
and so has the true reason for the crash."
Helicopter pilot disobeyed orders from flight instructor and the control tower.
“You can’t truly call yourself ‘peaceful’ unless you are capable of great violence.
If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.
Important distinction.”
-- Stef Starkgaryen
*************************************************************************
Psychology
What is this feeling? What's happening to me?
"Jordan Peterson: Why Do Nice Guys Nice Finish Last?"
Évariste Galois. Math genius, dead at 20 in a dual.
"How to meet women: The four pathways" by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
"Cold Approach", Ya!
"Social Circles", Okay.
"Social Media", The ability to command attention makes men irrestistable to women.
Fame is a force multiplier for men in the game of dating and mating.
I stopped by Martin's BBQ in Nolensville on the way home after a USPSA match
this past Saturday. As I'm walking in a lady in a short form fitting white dress is
walking out with a box of barbeque. I recognized her from social media. They are
real, and they are roaming around in the world.
"Women and ACCEPTABLE LOSS: the other side of female hypergamy"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
*************************************************************************
Ene Kallas
"History teaches us that history teaches us nothing." -- James Bachmann
"Strongest hints yet of biological activity outside the solar system"
by Sarah Collins
Hat tip to 1440.
Excerpt:
Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the astronomers,
led by the University of Cambridge, have detected the chemical fingerprints of
dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), in the atmosphere
of the exoplanet K2-18b, which orbits its star in the habitable zone.
On Earth, DMS and DMDS are only produced by life, primarily microbial
life such as marine phytoplankton. While an unknown chemical process may be
the source of these molecules in K2-18b’s atmosphere, the results are the
strongest evidence yet that life may exist on a planet outside our solar system.
My kind of woman.
"Gun Bunny Competes in @InrangeTv's CQB West Brutality 2025" by Ada Wong
I don't know why I follow this gal. Perhaps, it's because she has so much fun.
"Dea Matrona - Dreams" by AOK Curator
"Dea Matrona - 'Whole Lotta Love' (Led Zeppelin Cover)"
by Dea Matrona
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
