An interesting development over the weekend in the aftermath of current events: Playstations! When the new generation of consoles launched, there were concerns that they would be too light on privacy, with peripherals like Microsoft MSFT -0.93%’s Kinect and PlayStation’s Camera possibly having the ability to spy on users if say, the government wanted a …
Moving On, Or Staying Left of Bang
We all know what happened. It's what happens next. Now that the histrionics are out of the way, it's time for a rational, coherent plan of action. The diatribes on what we should do are knee deep; we don't need that. Sure it feels good, but in the end, you know and I know what needs …
A Couple of Thoughts on Leadership
1SG FireBreather: "What's the Definition of a NCO? SPC Kickstand: "A Leader, 1SG!" If you're reading this blog, I'd like to thank you on a personal level. The ability to share what I've learned and hopefully teach others is a blessing and a humbling experience. Let this knowledge not be wasted. It's also very likely …
Team Contact Drill Basics
Watch this clip from Bravo Two Zero: It's a really bad movie, showcasing some really bad techniques, about a really bad Patrol that was doomed from the start. Still, I include it because it's a simple, easy to see demonstration of an essential Team Drill. What Just Happened Here? B2-0 got compromised by a child …
Commo Windows
Putting the Pieces Together We've discussed the Patrol Radio, who you're relaying to, the modes that work best for Beyond Line of Sight, and included a great example of a Signals Operating Index(SOI). These are each pieces of a puzzle that have to be sorted out long before a Patrol steps off. This is why …
Report Formats
Without an effective means to relay what you've found, your mission is absolutely pointless. Effective, quick methods to send traffic are absolutely essential. Remember as a rule: Keep your transmissions as short as possible; and Keep your transmitting power as low as possible. In order to accomplish #1, standard formats are the only way to …
The Base Radio Station
We've talked about Squad Radios, we've talked about Patrol Radios, now let's move to the next layer in the echelon: the Base Radio Station(BRS). The BRS Squad Radios(read: Handhelds) are for intra-team communications on the ground. They're limited in range and utility. Why? Because you don't want everyone in the valley hearing your chatter when …
Open Sources
H/T Sam Culper III's FB page: Russia's learning some lessons. "An awful lot of expeditionary warfare revolves around logistics," Aboulafia said. "A lot of it comes down to experience. They don't have that much of it." So while there's a whole lot of this upfront, there's also a whole lot of this: Outrunning their Supply …
Data Books
I wonder what these three items have in common? They're a triangle-each provides something additional for the other two. Reading a blog is nice; having Wikipedia and such is awesome(sometimes). The internet has given those who embrace it a magnificent tool for collective information- but that's a huge double edged sword. There's going to come …
QRP- The Patrol Radio
QRP, as per the technical definition, is low power communications. The three letter group in and of itself simply refers to low power, however these days it's common amateur radio lingo for 5 watts or less. It's becoming a more and more popular segment of the amateur radio hobby and rightfully so- it's fun to take tiny …