Category: Security

What does muscle memory have to do with firearms safety? Lots. Muscle memory is a biological function that allows the body to perform a learned movement somewhat involuntarily and automatically through repetition over a period of time. If safe firearms handling habits are learned so that they are repeated automatically, the chance for negligent discharges […]

Every time you buy a new firearm, even if it within the same line of manufacturers you are used to, you will have to conduct training with it. There is not much a way around this if you are serious about your training. Practicing and training to perform at your highest potential is a great […]

Now when you teach combatives, as I do, and when you have faced a few bad guys as a law enforcement officer and special events security professional, you see what others may not. When I saw this little tool I immediately perceived it as being a very useful and discreet non-dedicated or improvised weapon. This […]

Next time you are hanging out, happen to have spare airway tubes and IV sets sitting around, and want to impress your medical geek friends with some SOF Medical Magic, throw together a Macguyver Cric.  It’s a great conversation starter if not a great airway….. The following story highlights a bit of SOF medical gadgetry […]

When I was in training to become a SERE Specialist I was sent on a second solo evasion living exercise because I did terrible at my first one. The weather wasn’t terrible and I mostly had sun. The temperature dropped well below freezing at night but I was allowed to have a fire. Life was […]

Here in the United States, we have apparently been hit by the old Chinese curse. That is to say, we live in interesting times. The world is fraught with tension and violence, and within our own borders, we are collectively agitated and bewildered by our depressing lack of a coherent and functioning political system. International […]

RALF KASSNER is a former special forces member and mission leader of the German anti-terrorist groups GSG9 and SEK. He has instructed and trained with most of the European special teams, to include the GIGN, SAS, Le Raid, GOE, as well as Delta Force, SEAL Team Six, HRT, and more. He is now the CEO of Wodan Security. SOFREP: You have […]

Learning to start a fire in the woods is a skill everyone should learn. Fire can keep you warm, cook your food, purify your water, and keep predators at bay. However getting a fire started is only the beginning. It is harder than you think to keep a campfire going all night. Traditionally you will […]

A few students asked me what my go to deployment method is…gravity, wave feature, assisted openers, autos.. etc.. I like the hat technique. Basically where I work and train civilians; handguns and the permits to carry them are impossible to obtain if you want to be able to protect yourself. Naturally this leaves very few […]

I have always felt carrying a concealed handgun to be both a right and a responsibility.  The vast majority of citizens I’ve talked to have felt the same way.  Carrying a lethal weapon for the defense of life is accompanied (to most) by the weight of the knowledge that the carrier may be called on […]

For many of us, the holidays represent one of the few opportunities we get each year to spend a little quality time with the great outdoors. For those of us that live in the colder regions of the country, that means braving potentially freezing conditions, and depending on what you do outdoors, adding frostbite and […]

Every concealed-carry permit holder has more than likely wondered how the law enforcement community feels about the “average Joe” carrying a concealed weapon. So did I. Fortunately, I have friends who are police officers in my area—some who trained me in the police academy, some who were a classmates—and could ask the questions that many of […]