Front Line Friday #28: Field Training Programs

Welcome back to Front Line Friday. This week's editorial is on what separates field training programs that produce street-ready officers from those that produce paper compliance. Front Line Friday is brought to you by Dead Air Silencers , whose support keeps this column going every week.

By Tom R

M18 Recoilless Rifle: New Concept in Infantry Firepower

During the morning of March 24, 1945, more than 9,000 men of the US 17th Airborne Division landed behind German lines on the east side of the Rhine. While the Wehrmacht was in deep trouble, many of their units remained effective, and any available Panzers could pose a significant threat to the fr...

By Tom Laemlein

Front Line Friday #27: Less-Lethal Tools and When They Actually Work

Welcome back to Front Line Friday. This week is an editorial, and the topic is less-lethal tools: Taser, OC spray, baton, and beanbag, and the gap between how they perform on the training mat and how they perform on a wet sidewalk at 2 a.m. Front Line Friday is brought to you by Dead Air Silencer...

By Tom R

Front Line Friday #26: Radio and Comms Hardware Beyond the Issued Kit

Welcome back to Front Line Friday. This week is a gear week, and the topic is the radio hardware nobody issues you: the accessories, the earpiece choices that actually fit your assignment, and the battery discipline that keeps a working radio from turning into a brick at hour ten. Front Line Frid...

By Tom R

Front Line Friday #25: Mental Health in Law Enforcement

Welcome back to Front Line Friday. This week is an editorial, and the topic is the gap between how law enforcement dies and how the profession talks about dying: more officers end their own lives every year than are killed by suspects, and almost nobody trains for that number. Front Line Friday i...

By Tom R

Front Line Friday #24: Off-Duty Carry Considerations

Platform selection for concealment, the holster and print-management realities that separate a workable off-duty setup from one that stays in a drawer, and the mindset differences that matter more than the hardware when an off-duty officer encounters a threat.

By Tom R

Dale Dye: Why Marines Are Called “Devil Dogs”

It’s one of the most memorable monikers for a fighting force around, and its legend stems from a brutal battle fought more than a century ago. The term was reportedly adapted from the German Teufel Hunden, and applied to American Marines following the Battle of Belleau Wood during World Wa...

By Capt. Dale Dye, USMC (Ret)
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