During the Vietnam Conflict, the United States military developed various hammocks for use in the field with the most popular being the M1966. These hammocks provided US servicemen the ability to sleep up and off the ground away from the insects, rodents, reptiles, and arachnids that called the jung …

“Jesus, that’s Jason Bourne.” That quote from the popular Robert Ludlum series has become a derogatory smear online when someone makes a comment about “gray man” or “op sec” or “non-permissive environments”. It seems like everyone is a secret agent these days or trains with someone who was making th …

It’s funny how something so small can ruin your day. I’m talking about the creepy crawlies that seem to be everywhere in the camp. Mosquitoes, flies, and ticks are the main culprits that can ruin your time in the field. Hell, even thinking about them gets me all paranoid that there is something flyi …

Is it a rite of passage to burn off some eyebrows as a kid playing with fire? Serious question but not so serious. When I was a kid, I was fascinated by fire. I snuck matches from my parents’ fireplace mantle and ran to the backyard to experiment. I learned on my own how to light them and experiment …

I’ve been a boater for a long time and there is nothing like getting out on the water. When I was a teenager, I picked up canoeing and kayaking as a hobby that grew into a summer job for years. Later on, I took my powerboat license and spent a lot of time on the Connecticut shore on my family’s boat …

“There are many correct ways; not one way.” I’ve heard this expression as a student in many courses and have used it myself as an instructor countless times. It is an excellent way to offer others multiple solutions to a problem without prescribing only one. I started thinking about this approach an …