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Sitting on the tailgate of my truck, I fire up the new Optimus Gemini II dual-burner camp stove in order to make some coffee and oatmeal to start the day. With a scenic backdrop of snowcapped mountains piercing a pale blue sky, I twist the knobs on the slim silver stove to get the heat settings just right. Moments later, I’ve got oatmeal simmering in one pot while my coffee water boils in a mug next to it. The new Optimus stove, which fits perfectly into my truck-camping regimen, is considered compact. The stove has two burners, making it a…
Toronto sure looks like a rough place these days. Not even by Canadian standards, but ours. Even the U.S. Consulate isn’t safe, as we found out last month.Yeah, that gun control is going just swimmingly, isn’t it? However, I apparently need to give the Toronto cops their due. They made two arrests in the incident, which is good. It’s everything else they announced about the arrests that has me scratching my head.Toronto police announced the arrests Thursday of a 19-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy in the second shooting at the U.S. Consulate in five…
After a long day in the sun paddling the Missouri River, I hopped off the canoe, walked along the sandbar, and began to set up my tent. As I unfolded the poles, I began to hear the clinking and clanking of knives chopping vegetables and metal spoons hitting the side of a mixing bowl. Soon, the crackle and smoke of fire began to spread over the campsite, and I got my first inkling that something tasty for dinner was on the way. I walked over to the fire with my camp chair in hand, and took a seat to watch…
Violent crime is down across the country, and that’s a very good thing. Our homicide rate hitting record lows is something that we should all be celebrating, and we’re on pace to see it even lower this year. Again, a very good thing. However, the only acceptable number of homicides is zero, and that means there’s always work to be done. We need to be realistic, though, which is why gun control is still a non-starter.But maybe the answer is to not let dangerous people walk around on our city streets? I’m just putting that…
Within the Air Force, officer ranks follow a clear-cut structure, divided into three categories: company grade, field grade, and general officers. Company grade officers range from O-1 to O-3. Climbing the ranks, next are field grade officers, in the O-4 to O-6 range, taking the helm of mid-level command. Finally, at the top of the hierarchy are general officers, O-7 and above, who oversee strategy. Air Force Company Grade Officer Ranks Second Lieutenant (O-1) The rank of second lieutenant is shown through a single gold bar. Proper forms of address include “second lieutenant” or “lieutenant.” Commissioned airmen sometimes may skip…
I got my first Swiss Army knife at a flea market when I was about 11 years old. I have no clue which model it was, but it had the basic tools we typically see nestled between those familiar red handle scales, such as a knife blade, can opener, bottle opener, and corkscrew. I beat the hell out of that knife for a few years. It whittled hundreds of sticks into sharp points. I used it to open cans of Dinty Moore or Chef Boyardee I’d brought to the campfire. It trimmed rope we used in countless forts in the…
Iowa’s always been pretty decent when it comes to gun laws, but the state has made a couple of major improvements over the past few years. In 2021, the state’s permitless carry law kicked in, and the following year voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that declares firearm ownership a fundamental individual right and mandating that courts apply “strict scrutiny” to any future gun control legislation. Those advances could be in danger, though, unless Iowa gun owners turn out in force this November. While Democrat candidates like Christina Bohannan and Josh Turek don’t…
The U.S. Marine Corps Installations and Logistics Enterprise (MCILE) 2026 plan outlines the strategic vision to sustain the force in an era of persistent global competition, including a “3-1-5” framework that bolsters wartime posture. The recently released plan, titled “The Reference A for Marine Corps Installations and Logistics,” consists of a 27-page document detailing how the Corps will generate, deploy and sustain combat-credible forces to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving security environment. It is described by officials as serving as a “Reference A” for installations and logistics, providing a single, authoritative description of the current state, ongoing modernization…
Bans on so-called assault weapons aren’t new. They also don’t work. The federal ban, which *sunsetted* in 2006, was touted as causing a downturn in the homicide rate, but mostly until people realized that the homicide rate was already trending downward, and then it continued to do so after the ban sunset. In other words, it accomplished nothing. Nevertheless, anti-gunners keep pushing them, and now their luck has run out.As reported on Tuesday by a dashing and handsome writer here at Bearing Arms–or, more accurately, yours truly, who is arguably neither of those things–the Supreme…
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz while using a route not approved by Iran, state television in Tehran reported Wednesday. The vessel was identified as a foreign container ship, with no other details. The report appeared aimed at underlining Tehran’s claims to control the strait, which the world has long considered an international waterway. It saw a fifth of all oil and natural gas pass through it in peacetime. Iran has used its ability to choke off the waterway as a key source of leverage since the war began, disrupting global…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new Defense Policy Board includes former elected officials, conservative policy figures, defense technology investors, China hawks, nuclear policy specialists and longtime Republican operatives. The Defense Policy Board was established in 1985 to provide independent strategic advice to the defense secretary, deputy secretary and undersecretary for policy. Its work can involve long-term defense planning, force modernization, regional defense policy and other national security issues referred by Pentagon leadership. That advisory role makes the board’s membership important. Hegseth removed members of several Pentagon advisory boards in 2025 after a review meant to align those panels with the department’s…
A U.S.-brokered agreement between Israel and Lebanon is being presented as a step toward ending months of war. It may also leave the hardest facts unresolved: Israeli forces remain on Lebanese territory, many in Lebanon have been killed or displaced, and Lebanon is being asked to disarm Hezbollah before Israel fully withdraws. The current conflict began on March 2, when Hezbollah launched rockets and drones into northern Israel after U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hezbollah said the attack was retaliation for the strikes on Iran and for Israel’s continuing military operations inside…
A historian and podcast host drew more than 1.1 million impressions on Instagram after criticizing the White House’s Freedom 250 website over what she described as AI-generated images and historically inaccurate depictions of women connected to the American Revolution. Isabelle Roughol, host of the women’s history podcast “Broad History,” posted a video calling out images on the Freedom 250 site’s “Ladies of the Revolution” section, including images she said were presented as Abigail Adams and Dolley Madison. The White House’s Freedom 250 page describes the initiative as part of the national buildup to July 4, 2026, when the United States…
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Watch full video on YouTube
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Tony Ochs might have traded in his Apache helicopter for a monster truck when he left the Army, but he’s always kept military veterans at the top of his mind. This summer, Ochs, a 10-year Army veteran, will be competing in the Monster Jam World Finals, using his spotlight to advocate for veterans and military families through a partnership with JCB and VetsAid. Ochs will be showcasing his powerful JCB DiGatron, thundering across arenas to wow audiences across the country. It’s the type of adrenaline rush Ochs embraced after serving as an Apache attack helicopter crew chief, completing deployments to…
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