The SA80 carbine....and other SA80 rambling.

When the SA80 came to design in the seventies,it was envisioned that it would be a single caliber family of weapons that would replace the multitude of different weapons in a infantry platoon. As well as easing the logistical nightmare of the platoon Sargent by tying all platoon weapons under one caliber. 

Don't ask me what there plan for the beloved gimpy was because I've no idea. 

So initially the SA80 was not a great weapon. But that's another story. With the increase of operations in the post gulf war era several capbadges were reporting that the rifle variant of the SA80 wasn't ideal for their role. In the past three previous attempts had been made to create a carbine SA80 but all three had been shelved in the post options for change military. 

So when the demand for carbines reached Whitehall the army created the initial weapons from surplus LSW's while choosing the 1989 carbine concept seen below. 

Initial fielding was primarily with tank crews and pilots for out of wagon contacts. Price harry himself carried one on his second tour due to his role as a army aviator in a Apache. 

However the carbine has found its way into the hands of dog handlers and combat camera teams on operation HERRICK. And most notably 43 commando RM formerly the fleet protection group. The size was judged to be ideal for boarding operation and the increased caliber of 5.56 offered the added stopping power. However it should be noted 43 commando have been recently seen carrying diemaco C8 carbines recently.

To finish the SA80 carbine is a unique addition to the family of weapons as it dispels the myths that the SA80 family lacks modularity. With the evolution of the weapon systems through internal improvements to the A2 and A3 variants as well as new sights, magazines and hand guards the SA80 is finally beginning to shake of the negative image created by keyboard commandos and pissed of crusty Cold War warriors pining for their SLR's. I've used this weapon for seven years and I like it. But haters gonna hate. 

And furthermore maybe a dog handler attatched to Hereford will do a bit for the carbines reputation. 

Buy cheap. Buy twice

Ok so picture it this way. A new guy fresh out of training has been with there unit for a few months and is considering getting some decent kit. He looks at the senior toms and hiss full screws for a bit of inspiration as the kit they carries comes through experience on tour or on excercise. 

One small problem. Upon hitting the unit costs go up. You might have a car, a new expensive TV and console to go in your Z type wanking palace and let's not forget that drinking habbit you've picked up and the twenty lamberts you've started smoking out of sheer boredom. 

So funds are some what tight....

Usually most garrison towns will have a kit retailer in the high street. The one that seems to be everywhere is HM supplies. This shop is kind of the marks and spencer of military retailers. Great for a few odds and ends but you know you shouldn't buy everything from that place. I have bought kit from that shop in the past and it does have some great stuff such as their command kit RA protractors and Garmin GPS's etc. But to be frank I found the webbing pretty damn flimsy, furthermore they seem to have not embraced the MOLLE revolution and are somewhat behind on what other manufacturers make today. However there is a silver lining. The tailoring services most of the HM supplies shops provide are pretty damn good. And in the end at least it's not webtex. 

Another company who make kit that seems to turn up in most garrison towns is disciple. There kit seems to be in every drop zone supplies. If there ever is a more websters and overpriced kit manufacturer I think disciple is the leader in that field. 

The cost of what it would take to buy a decent fight light MOLLE battle belt out of disciple products could get you a ton of decent warrior assault systems kit. The MTP material used by them seems like the pattern was drawn in crayon by Johnny aged five. And the stitching is poor as hell and looks like a poor sweatshop worker was forced to do the stitches while wearing boxing gloves. I wouldn't take disciple kit anywhere arduous in my lifetime. And I know by writing this post I may have shot myself in the foot by getting some kit to review but I owe it to anyone who reads this blog and follows my Instagram to only bring you something that will last you a lifetime when you buy it and won't disintegrate on your insertion tab. 

These are just my thoughts your free to spend you hard earned beer tokens on what you want. 

Just remember the army is the biggest catwalk and Guuci kit doesn't make you a better soldier but it can deflect some shit off you, Oh and to that one bloke obsessed with issue tissue kit. Fuck off! 

Review: Odin systems command panel.

As a commander your going to be carrying a fair few extra items. Compass, lumi pens and maps etc. there are several solution to carrying all your extra items, but what if your carrying them whilst wearing osprey body armour? Some may argue that the issued command pouch that comes with the osprey pouch set may be good enough. I disagree. I personally feel that extra space is needed for this mission essential kit, this is stuff you can't sling in your daysack and fanny around getting later. It need to be front and centre at less than a arms reach. That's why I feel the Odin systems command panel offers you the best solution for keeping that kit right where it needs to be.

First of all lets talk about the pouch itself. The material is military spec genuine Crye multicam fabric  and is berry compliant. The outside of the pouch includes a large multicam Velcro part that gives you ample room for placing your patches on. Furthermore there is three rows of MOLLE for mounting any patches you want on the exterior. On the rear the MOLLE loops are secured by Velcro tabs that folds back on the final loop on the patch, totally getting rid of the nightmare or poppers coming undone when your moving.

 When you open the command panel I'm sure like myself you will be astounded by the sheer amount of real estate on offer internally. Inside you'll find a series of MOLLE rows sewn in for organising such things as your pens and keeping secure and kit you need to tie down. Behind those there is a large open pocket against the rear, I find this a great solution for where to store my haribo and cigarettes! But it has more than enough space to hold your notebooks and crib cards and TAMs.

One of the unique aspects of this command panel is the Inbuilt waterproof map case. The laminate on it is totally waterproof and can hold a small tactical or a well folded map. Underneath the map case you'll find a small waterproof pouch that I've used to contain my section ORBAT within, these are very simple ideas that the guys and girls at Odin tactical have refined and perfected to give the soldier in the field just what they need to keep what they need secure and in the right place.

My final thoughts on this command panel are that I'm happy as hell to be using this! It's construction is solid and robust and the use of actual multicam fabrics will stop you looking chippy and will last a long time regardless of where you take it and what you put it through. If your thinking of buying a command panel I highly recommend this one, this one can't be beaten on price right now! It works perfectly with osprey and you'll be future proofing yourself when VIRTUS comes into service. So go check out the guys at Odin tactical I'll leave the website below. And if your at otterburn camp go check out there shop. 

www.odintactical.co.uk

Blog update.

Hey one and all just a quick post to keep you updated on what's going on. I know I've promised a few reviews on kit that hasn't nesscicarily been forthcoming. I apologize for this its for two main reasons. 

Firstly I suffered a pretty bad knee injury recently that's stopped me from doing any form of excercise. Which leads into my second point that I haven't had the ability to field test much of the gear because of this and the fact my abilities to test are few as my current unit is pretty static. 

I'm going to try and remedy this ASAP God willing I'll have the reviews I promised plus a few more in a week or two. 

Knives: a personal thing, but essential kit.

Weather you are camping,fishing or soldiering in the field or on operations a decent knife is a must have. This isn't really a article about what's best for a fighting knife. It's more of a personal insight into a specific knife I have used in the past that I see as a good all rounder. 

The knife in question is the Glock fighting knife. This knife for a fixed blade is in my humble opinion is the Rolls Royce of knives. Let's start with the price I bought it four years ago from UKMC in Portsmouth for £24.99 and that's still the price today! The handle and case are of polymer construction and come in tan, black and green. The blade is adonized in black and has two options for having a saw on the blade or not. I chose the saw feature as I was planning to use this in Kenya a few weeks later. Furthermore a handy little feature is a bottle opener in the hand guard which is useful for the pop sold in the CSM's clacky wagon. There has only been one down side to this knife and that's the scabbard. Fixing it to a beltkit or a MOLLE system is pretty hard. But I'm sure if you find a MOLLE knife sleeve from a other maker it will fit like a dream. 

In conclusion I feel if your looking for that good all round field knife for a decent price, you should consider the Glock combat knife. Get it from UKMC in Portsmouth as I haven't found a cheaper one online. And if this isn't the knife for you they have a ton of others that may pick your interest. 

Gladius actual out.

Monday motivation 2: Grace under pressure.

Who's the handsome chap in the uniform some of you may be asking. Well that's Ernest Hemingway. The greatest literary mind of the 20th century. 

If you haven't read any hemmingway,I suggest you should. It will expand your mind and any girl who doesn't like a guy who reads the classics is lying! 

Hemmingway was rejected by the U.S. Army on medical grounds. Did he let stop him from getting in the war? Fuck no! Hemmingway joined the Italian Red Cross and tended to the wounded and was himself wounded by a Austrian mortar. All of this is delved into with greater detail in "a farewell to arms". From his time in WW1 hemmingway got a taste for war. He reported on the Greco -Turkish war as well as the spanish civil war. 

After years of hard drinking and a tumultuous marriage or two he set his sight on reporting on the liberation of Europe. Teaming up with the forth infantry division hemmingway stayed on the frontline until this journalist did something crazy. Hemmingway created and led his own unit of the French resistance. 

This is just the story of one man. A journalist. Think about who you are! Hemmingway saw more action than most men in their life time. Just because you were born a man doesn't make you one. Your actions on your time in this world dictate how you will have your life spent. Will you be a hemmingway? Or will you be joe crowbag on the street with nothing to offer? The choice is yours. Better yourself physically at the gym. Better yourself mentally by reading the right books. Train yourself hard and surround yourself with like minded individuals and not anchors around your neck you have rescue at every tiny drama in their lives. Be who you have always wanted to be. Me? I'll be a hemmingway. Who you are is your choice. 

Until next time. Better yourself. And conduct yourself with grace under pressure. 

Gladius actual out. 

Monday motivation 1.

General James 'mad dog' Mattis is a example for all leaders. Throughout his forty year career he was a tenacious combat leader and always took care of his men. He also gained the nickname 'the warrior monk' as he has never married and owns a breathtaking amount of military books. He was one of the first officers who created a required reading list for his men. If you are a leader in anyway shape or form military,civil,sports or other. Learn from mad dog, be the best leader you can be. 

Keep reading and keep thinking. 

Gladius actual out. 

Review: Agilite tactical RnR tee shirt. Part 1.

Some of you may be thinking how can you review a tee shirt? It's pretty basic? Well I ordered this shirt for something to wear under my combats at work and do a bit of PT in. Well for a tee shirt this seems to be made by angels! When I first put the tee shirt on to do my daily gym session I was amazed by the softness of the material. At first I thought this might be due to it being fresh out he pack, but when I wore it a few days later under my combats at work it felt as good as it did when I first pulled it on. The material wicks moisture away from the main points on your torso where ou sweat and still retain its dryness, if you get a tee in your size I promise you that if you use this for gym, combat or everyday attire you'll end up buying more. The RnR series of tee shirts come not just in the military olive green but a variety of civilian attire appropriate colours. If these aren't in your wardrobe or being under your uniform ask yourself why? Take it from me I never thought something so basic could be made so bloody well. On a personal level I would like to see a military brown one made because some units have specific dress policy regarding what you wear under your PCS shirt / jacket. If your looking for a decent tour tee shirt to commemorate you tour,excercise or course get in touch with the guys at Agilite in sure they can square you away.

This has now been changed into a two part review so I can review this tee shirt some more, plus it'll be a good excuse to get back into the gym. And I can get a few more pics of it in action.

For more from Agilite check out www.agilitegear.com

The Instagram account that this blog is linked to is continuing to grow but I can't bring more reviews to you without your help. Spread the word help make Gladius tactical the go to place for tactical reviews for the man on he ground. When I started this is was to sift through all the crazy expensive gear and pick the kit that any service member in the lower ranks can afford. This is the main mission and with your help it can continue. 

Thank you for all your continued support.

Gladius actual out.

Review coming soon: Warrior 901 Elite 4 MultiCam chest rig.

The tax man gave me a little gift the other day. So I thought I'd put some off it to good use. 

Picked up this chest rig from UK tactical this morning during their sale. Review will be coming hopefully by Thursday so stay tuned in for it then. 

Gladius actual out. 

Ferreday Rhodesian assault vest.

Ferreday and sons of Sailsbury in the former Rhodesia was the premier maker of tactical equipment to the Rhodesian security forces during the bush war.

Due to the short comings with the standard issue webbing the Rhodesian forces began tailoring their own belts as well as taking the better constructed Warsaw Pact chest rigs of dead terrorists. Or buying from ferreday and sons in Sailsbury Rhodesia.

The Rhodesian forces had a lot of freedom when it came to equipment and clothing in the bush. Hence the bush shorts and gym shoes. 

The load usually carried on a fire force mission was generally suited to carrying ammunition and water for short fire fights with quick supporter from aviation assents. 

For the collector these vests are hard to source but can be found in online retailers in Zimbabwe or if your looking for a decent reproduction some ferreday kit can be found in eBay. 

Thought I'd bring it back in time for a bit as I see a lot of similarities between the fighting load carried by a Rhodesian soldier on fire force and the new fight light policy being pushed by the infantry battle school at brecon. Tell me what you think, leave a comment on the Instagram. 

Remember to read the history of those who fought well. 

Gladius actual out. 

You can tacticool anything....

Whilst watching the discovery show there was a gun show where the gunsmith made something truly beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen something like this but Christ on a crutch it's a amazing thing! 

Well there it is! For those not in the know that's a Thompson sub machine gun from the pre war era. That has been tacticooled to a whole new level. 

Hope you enjoyed this Friday night post. There will be more to come in the week. 

Don't forget to enter the "Tactical coffee club" competition. You could win a guns and coffee patch from Ukmc pro solutions. 

Gladius actual out.  

The Allyness checklist.

This post by the online comic "contact, wait out" is bloody spot on. And I'm guilty of pretty much all of these kit purchases. Especially the beret shaping has got me bagged by the hierarchy a few times. 

Gladius actual out. 

Coffee. How do you make it in the field?

Everyone loves coffee right? Who doesn't enjoy the morale boost it gives you when your chin strapped in some dump like Brecon or Lydd ranges. Despite the love of tea here in the UK and its rich history with the British army I just find it doesn't cut it for me. 

When I was a teenager at college I used to work at a coffee shop in the high street and have since that day became a addict to the sweet nectar. 

As my taste for coffee has progressed over the years my ability to stomach the crap Nescafé sachets has disappeared. Well unless it's absolutely dire. On my last excercise I was verhicle mounted to I had the ability to carry a few extra items so I took my little Italian stove top boiler and a bag of monsoon malabar. Because if your gonna have coffee you might as well go all out. 

Using the pan adapter for my jetboil my coffee maker slotted in perfectly and in two minutes I had a cup that could keep me going till lunch. 

Next payday I'm gonna get some of that OAF branded coffee from the guys at black rifle coffee as those guys have the right idea about coffee. 

I'll start a hashtag of #tacticalcoffeeclub so if anyone wants to contribute how they drink they're joe in the field please feel free to contribute. The most imaginative will win a guns and coffee patch from Ukmc pro in Southsea. 

Or send a email to gladiustactical@gmail.com

Gladius actual out. 

Review coming soon: Agilite R&R Mens Crew

In the next few weeks I hope to have some new gear to review. Coming in the next few weeks I'll have these great T-shirts from my friends at agilite tactical. More tactical kit from the holy land made by soldiers for soldiers. 

If there is anything else you'd like me to review or interested in having reviewed please send a email to gladiustactical.gmail.com

Until next time. Gladius actual out.

Tactical gear from the Holy land. The Agilite tactical advanced ammo pouch.

I'm proud to announce our first review will be of a Agilite tactical advanced ammunition pouch. The Agilite company is a Israeli equipment manufacturers based in tel aviv and has been providing kit to Israeli defense force personnel including special forces. 

The pouch itself comes in a few camouflage patterns such as ATACS FG and AU, OD green, coyote tan and of course multicam. For a ammunition pouch this is light years ahead.

A commander with this on his beltkit can still carry three mags which are held securely as well as a small amount of command kit in a totally unique fold down panel built into the pouch. As well as this totally amazing feature the pouch comes with a multi tool holder on a small side pouch attatched to the main body of the ammunition pouch. Furthermore there are elastic loops on the opposite side for glow sticks or even a maglite. 

 

My final observations is this pouch would be ideal for a junior NCO to mount on his battle belt. Whilst still carrying your ammunition you can carry a minimum of command kit in the laminated panel, so there's no need to search through a ton of crib cards for the most import ones such as a nine liner of frequency changes and grids. 

The pouch itself is solid in construction with berry compliant multicam cordura. And has been designed by a company who knows what they are on about. For more information please check out 

www.agilitegear.com

This was my first review and I hope to do more of these in the future. Maybe with some more exotic kit from companies such as Agilite or perhaps someone closer to home like jay jays of Brecon. 

Stay fighting and keep thinking.

Gladius actual out.

AR-15's it's like Barbie for men.

Just before I begin the first review here on Gladius tactical on a Agilite advanced ammo pouch, I'd thought I'd add this major bit of gear porn for you guys.

Review coming soon. Agilite advanced ammo pouch.

I'm proud to announce the first review for gladius tactical will be the Agilite tactical advanced ammo pouch. I'm in contact with Agilite and the guys there are all ex IDF including special forces, so they really know stuff.

For more information on Agilite please visit www.agilitegear.com

If I could pull of a vest.....

If I could pull of a vest, I would without doubt buy this great offering from Operator as fuck nation. If you've not heard of OAF nation I emplore you to check out the site. It's full of great stuff in a effort to bring global war of terror veterans together. So if there are any of you gym god OP HERRICK veterans I suggest you get this. 

Gladius tactical out.

One for us geeks.

So much Tacticool. I'd love to see the face of anyone if you rocked up in this ensemble. Now I'm tempted to see if there are any Mandalorian morale patches out there.

Gladius actual out.

Blue DPM for BATUS enemy.

Whilst in my local paper shop I had a peruse at this month copy of combat and survival. This cover immediately caught my eye as it showed a British soldier using The old DPM pattern on the PCD uniform in a interesting shade of blue. 

On further investigation I found out this was being issues to the battlegroup that plays enemy forces at the British army training unit suffield in Canada. To create a distinct enemy identity on the prairie. 

From my personal experience playing enemy we generally used to use desert DPM which was great in the summer but shite in the winter. So as much as some people see this as needless expense when cash is tight in the forces. But I can see the merit of providing the enemy a decent uniform for the conditions of Canada, whilst the enemy are cutting their own detail munching pasties and digging in hilariously loud. 

Until next time. 

Gladius actual out.

Arktis where are they these days?

With a media blackout that would make North Korea proud Arktis seems to have gone to ground. So what did happen to one of the UK's premier tactical equipment manufacturers?

A little back ground for those who don't know, Arktis made there name with there take on the ubiquitous chest rig that was de riguer for many of the guys tackling the IRA on OP banner. 

There seem to be two main reasons for Arktis seeming to evaporate from the UK scene. The first one is pretty self explanatory, as it hit most UK retailers and bespoke kit manufacturers. This was the change from DPM  to MTP. A great number UK kit retailers struggled to stock Multicam as it was generally only popular with SF types and sold few retailers in differing quality. 

But Arktis seems to be clawing back into the MTP market place with select bespoke items that are generally available from their ebay shop.

And as for the second reason Arktis seems to have disappeared is the business seems to be getting a lot of sales across the channel with the French military. The 1601 model assault vest became a must have item for French troops in Ivory Coast, Arktis and its equipment got a good reputation within the 2REP that its deep Reece commandos put in a tender for a bespoke chest rig. Pictures of this chest rig where hard to come by but hopefully I'll bring them to you soon.

Arktis has been at the forefront of replacing the average French soldiers poor quality issued equipment. And has won contracts from the French MOD to develop a unique arctic camouflage for its mountain infantry to use in Afghanistan. 

However despite all these good things, it has been slow to get of the mark in the MOLLE market as well as several other fields. With a lot of the guys on the ground preferring the tailorability of MOLLE platform its bizarre that a company with such a sterling reputation would found to be so lacking. 

If you compare this MOLLE belt to even a low grade manufacturer. It would be in poorer design and less suited to what the troops need. It looks rigid in construction and not well thought out in regard to adding a yoke system.

 In the future I'll be trying to get my hands on Arktis kit to review. But I hope these musings which are all of my own opinion shed a little light on what's gone on in regards to what was once one of the premier tactical companies in the UK.

Until my next post Gladius actual out.

Everyone wants to look ally right?

Well everyone wants to look like a special forces guru right? Everyone wants to be decked out in Crye precision. And a load carrying system decked out in so many pouches you can carry all the kit you may or may not need. This seems to be the school of thought heading through parts of the armed forces at the moment. Now I'm not saying that looking ally is a crime by any way shape or form because I'm guilty of spending money on kit purely on the Gucci factor alone (my AKU boots I hardly wore in afghan being the best example) I have to add that these boots were not nessecarily meant for infantrymans work, but mainly for jumping out of a blackhawk shooting a high profile insurgent commander and jumping back on the helo within a short period of time. Which if truth be told isn't most people in the armies day to day whilst in afghan. 

When I first arrived to my battalion you could spot who the ally call signs were just by the way they looked. Decent webbing,Gucci smock and non issue boots. This is still the trend that continues to this day, but has been supplemented by different role changes attributed by 13 years of continuous campaigning. For example MOLLE kit only came on general standard issue in the British army with the advent of the first generation on osprey body armour. Since then we have seen what can only be described as a MOLLE explosion! For a perfect example of too much MOLLE I'll describe my own osprey armour in afghan, I began the tour with the medic and commanders pouch as they were required as part of our SOP's. Then on the ops panel I had four bungee mag pouches. Some might think that this doesn't sound too bad, but I still had my battle belt holding six more mags and my grenades. And let's not even mention my daysack.

And the stupid thing was that I thought that this was the perfect way to carry my kit. Until major issues such as moving fast, getting into wagons and alike made me decide to make my kit more streamlined and as a result all of my ammunition got pushed to my battle belt. Right now the army is going through its post herrick reappraisal and on the ground is trying to learn the lesson from the ground up and balance leathality and mobility as well as sustainability on the battlefield. Which a few of the old and bold Cold War warriors amongst us call fight light, but is going through the army as project Payne. But that's a subject for another article.

Gladius actual out.

Greetings.

Hello and welcome to Gladius tactical. We hope this will soon become your one stop shop for all tactical information. On this blog we intend to deliver intelligence on all things that will affect you as the boots on the ground operator in the field.

Please help us get this blog of the ground.

Gladius actual out.