My grandfather Willie was a practical man. A retired coal miner who built his cinder block house with his own hands, he kept hogs, a fully stocked cellar, and a three-acre garden. He didn’t abide frivolity. He didn’t hunt or fish for sport — he did it for protein. There were no ornamental flowers...

From theatrics to tactics, smoke has many uses other than perfecting roasted meat and getting in our eyes around a campfire. Whether to obscure movement or to signal allies, the use of smoke long predates firearms, harkening back to the days of large-scale maneuver warfare. In the 21st century, as both technology and industry...

Traumatic injuries occur in the tens of millions every year in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), close to 2-million victims of trauma require hospitalization annually. In normal times, trauma victims have the benefit of an infrastructure that allows rapid stabilization and transport to a modern medical...

According to the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, 9 p.m. is the peak hour for violent crime. Despite this fact, many of us train almost exclusively during the day. Does that make sense to you? No? Good. If you wish to be truly prepared, your training must be realistic, and this means you...

Nicholas Nassim Taleb in his book Antifragile commented that some of the greatest inventions are creations so simple and ubiquitous, that they nearly go unnoticed, such as the spoon or chair. The belt itself likely fits into this category, and within the confines of load-bearing equipment centered on warfighting and modern combat, the bearer...

Take a look at the animal kingdom and pay careful attention to the physiology of successful predators. You’ll notice a few common threads, such as sharp claws and teeth, quick reflexes, strong muscles, and precise senses. Although some hunters rely primarily on enhanced smell, touch, and hearing, many of the most dominant species have...