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Watch full video on YouTube
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…
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Watch full video on YouTube
Watch full video on YouTube
George Washington’s army had the will to fight. It did not always have the powder, weapons or ammunition needed to survive. That shortage, and the covert effort to solve it before France openly backed the American Revolution, is at the center of Liberty, a new graphic novel from Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner and artists Étienne Le Roux, Loïc Chevallier and Elvire De Cock. Timed to the country’s 250th anniversary, the book looks beyond the familiar battlefield story of the Revolution to the spies, smugglers, secret agents and civilians who helped keep the rebellion alive when its future was…
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Watch full video on YouTube
Watch full video on YouTube
Watch full video on YouTube
The tactical athlete is always balancing training routines that build a foundation of strength and durability with those that develop endurance and work capacity. Here is a practical workout that puts tactical fitness into practice. This is a classic tactical fitness matrix combining strength, calisthenics and cardiovascular conditioning into a single, cohesive training day. Here we combine best practices of training style to create a program that helps the athlete “get good at everything.” This workout is designed to test your ability to transition seamlessly between heavy tactical strength and high-heart-rate endurance. We aren’t just building muscle for show; we…
The shift from the older Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), which tested only pushups, situps and a 2-mile run, to the new Army Fitness Test (AFT) reflects a bigger change in what “fit” means for soldiers. The new test is more comprehensive and tests more elements of fitness than just muscle stamina and endurance. Endurance still matters, of course, but the AFT asks a different question: Can you move fast, move loaded, and stay strong when the load gets heavy? The 3-rep max hex bar deadlift and the sprint-drag-carry events of the AFT are direct ways to answer that question…
When you tell a former athlete who is now a recruit preparing for various military training opportunities that they need to do both heavy weightlifting and more cardio, it hits hard for many. Typically, depending on the recruit’s athletic history, one (strength or cardio) is very likely a weakness and the other a strength. For instance, strength athletes may be weak in muscle stamina and cardio endurance. Endurance athletes may be weak in strength and power. Here is a question commonly asked by athletes seeking to join the military: Stew, I’m trying to get my ruck times down for selection,…
The conversation around veteran suicide prevention has grown considerably in recent years: more funding, more programs, more technology, more public awareness. What has not grown at the same pace is the understanding of one of the most significant risk factors driving that suicide rate: traumatic brain injury. Veterans diagnosed with TBI face a 56 percent higher risk of dying by suicide compared to veterans without a head injury diagnosis. That statistic is not new. What is new is that a national coalition launched in March 2026 is specifically building its entire model around it. Heads Up Vet, announced in March…
