Readers;

Hello all,

Another Monday and we are almost into May. The temperature is heating up and that means more and more personnel are showing up at USTC every day. There are over 500 personnel on the property today and it is supposed to get to a balmy 91 degrees.

I think I have mentioned that we will be at the NRA show in Phoenix next month and the SOFIC show in Tampa in June. Should you be able to get by and say hi we would enjoy seeing you there?

The Blackwater Pro Shop is growing and their new website will be up in a couple of weeks, it is time to get excited.

Stay safe.

John Adams

Managing Editor, Blackwater Tactical Weekly
Please continue to submit your suggestions to btw@ustraining.com

- Philip James Bailey

This week at the ProShop: Get a free Blackwater Hat with every purchase. You must indicate that you want your free hat by typing "FREE HAT" in the Order Instruction section when you check out. The hat pictured is the hat you will receive. No substitutions allowed.

M-ATV to Replace MRAP

WASHINGTON, DC -- Several companies are competing for a contract to outfit the US military with the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV). The M-ATV, dubbed the "baby MRAP," will replace the much larger and expensive MRAPs currently deployed overseas.

The M-ATV is a tactical vehicle designed for U.S. Soldiers and Marines in Afghanistan to be lighter, more mobile versions of the first-generation MRAPs tactical vehicles. They provide comparable protection from roadside bombs, explosively formed projectiles, and rocket propelled grenades when using appliqué armor.

Full Story

Emergencies happen every day -- often when you least expect it. The Ready Campaign encourages all Americans to have an emergency supply kit, an emergency plan, and to be informed about the different emergencies that can happen in their area and the appropriate responses. Below are some tools to help you be more prepared in case of an emergency.

The Obama administration is crafting a plan under which military and other U.S. officials will turn its recently unveiled Afghanistan strategy into a guide for operating there, says the Pentagon's policy chief.

Michéle Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy, on April 21 laid out details of the implementation plan, saying it will be aimed at creating a "fully resourced, integrated, civil-military counterinsurgency strategy."

During a presentation at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, she said the implementation plan will feature three primary goals: reversing Taliban gains, especially in the most troubled areas of Afghanistan; ensuring Afghanistan security forces have all needed training and mentoring so they - not U.S. or Western forces - can take over the lead during most missions; and creating a security environment where "governance and development can finally take root and grow."

As the American death toll in Iraq rises toward 1,000, some IR scholars may be per- plexed. Only a few years ago foreign policymakers in Western democracies, including the United States, were described as being extremely sensitive to the political cost of military com- bat casualties. I argue that the number of casualties a democracy will experience is influenced by several factors, including its military manpower system. I contend that democracies with conscript armies will experience fewer combat casualties than democracies with volunteer or professional forces, because the societal actors most closely impacted by conscript casualties are more likely to have the political power and access with which to constrain policymakers. Using several selection models I find that democracies with conscripts suffer the fewest casualties and democracies with volunteers experience the most casualties with democracy alone being responsible for numbers that lie between the previous two types of democracy.

To view the latest contract opportunities at U.S. Training Center, visit our Contract Web Page

TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND SUBMIT YOUR RESUME CLICK HERE
Questions regarding Security Consulting or Training at USTC (252) 435-2488 or email webmaster@ustraining.com

Tactical Equipment Evaluation

Some years ago I saw a knife that just intrigued me because of its overall appearance and "flavor". The CRKT M16-14 was something I hadn't seen before and I was eager to find one; handle one; test one; see how it felt. My wife, God love her, bought me one as a birthday present a few years ago and I've been carrying it on and off since then. Most recently I also picked up a CRKT M16-13 which is slightly smaller than the M16-14 and has a different blade design. For people who think that the M16-14 might be a tad too big for daily carry, the M16-13 is the perfect answer. Let's take a look at them both and see what abuse the M16-14 can take and has taken!

Full Story Can Be Viewed At:

Recreational Equipment Review

Well, it's that time of year. If you haven't been through your camping gear to make sure everything is serviceable and replace what isn't, it's past time to do so. I've written on this topic before but I'm not talking about backpacking in this review. I'm talking about camping in a tent at a site you can drive up to. Now for some of you, "drive up to" means sleeping in the back of your pickup truck anyway. But for me - even though I'd be driving up in the pick up truck - it's not a campsite unless I'm in a sleeping bag on the ground - even if "on the ground" is inside a tent. Let's take a look at some of the basic gear you should have and some inspection / repair steps that need to be taken before you depend on that gear in our great outdoors.

Full Story Can Be Viewed At:

http://www.borelliconsulting.com/recevals/campback/campready09.htm

The provision for peace... Warriors, soldiers, governmental forces to fight against all threats against peace... paying for peace with commitment, action, personal sacrifice and sometimes their own serious, debilitating injury... or death.

Full Story Can Be Viewed At:

http://www.ustraining.com/btw2009/article/042709chaplain.htm

The ultimate strength-and-conditioning plan to blast fat and pack on muscle

The U.S. Marine Corps keeps its combat-conditioning program engaging by frequently mixing in cool new workouts and physical challenges. The routines aren't designed to wage war on a man's body, but that's exactly what they'd do if you jumped into the program headfirst. So we created a plan to gradually prepare you physically and mentally for the demands of its military training.

With the blazing temperature dominating the headlines throughout the United States, troops in Baghdad, where temperatures typically hit 120 to 130 degrees, say they're getting a new perspective on what "hot" really means.

Here are some links for charitable organizations.

The Blackwater Tactical Weekly does not endorse any organization over another nor encourage charitable contributions, we provide these links as a public service, and take no responsibility for the actual sites. Although we strive to validate the sites before linking we caution you to do your own research, as the internet is ripe with scams.

For nearly 29 years, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation has provided full college scholarship grants, not loans, along with financial aid and educational counseling to surviving children of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations personnel who were killed in an operational mission or training accident.

For the third year in a row, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation has been awarded a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the nation's leading charity watchdog group. It's Charity Navigator's highest rating for financial efficiency. The Special Operations is just one of four veteran’s services and advocacy charities that have earned at least two consecutive four-star rating.

No matter how cynical I get, it never seems to be enough.

The Blackwater Tactical Weekly is a free weekly e-publication.

The Blackwater Tactical Weekly provides readers valuable information from diverse sources regarding tactical and strategic security issues.

Questions regarding Security Consulting or US Training (252) 435-2035

To subscribe to the Blackwater Tactical Weekly, Click Here

To view an archived of the Blackwater Tactical Weekly, Click Here