Author: darkpassport
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#23: Red Gun, Blue Gun
“To protect the sheep, you gotta catch the wolf. And it takes a wolf to catch a wolf.” -Alonzo Harris, played by Denzel Washington in the 2001 film Training Day. “We don’t need any accidents here” is a familiar sentiment woven into virtually all professional weapons training programs. It’s easy to avert hazards when shooters…
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#22: Academy Life Part VI
“The more I love humanity in general, the less I love man in particular. In my dreams, I often make plans for the service of humanity…yet I am incapable of living in the same room with anyone for two days together…I become hostile to people the moment they come close to me.” -Dostoyevsky “How do…
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#21: Switzerland…of America (Part II)
Continued from Blog #20: Switzerland…of America (Part I) “The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters.” -Conrad Anker, former The North Face climbing team leader and three-time Everest summiteer. “Nothing like this.” I nervously replied. The question, asked by my guide, was whether I had climbing experience or not. In…
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#20: Switzerland…of America (Part I)
As our training progresses through the heat and humidity of summer, this Throwback Thursday post revives a snow and ice filled adventure from a few years ago. Part I sets the scene, while Part II will be my personal experience. Nestled deep within the Rocky Mountains of Colorado is the mountain town of Ouray. Pronounced…
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#19: Academy Life Part V
“Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson “How does it work for nights and weekends?” The amount of free time we have – and what we choose…
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#18: The Perfect Storm Part II
Continued from Blog #17: The Perfect Storm Part I The quintessential tourist – wide-brimmed hat, floral button-down shirt, camera hanging from a neck lanyard, calf socks with sandals – is everything the seasoned traveler strives to avoid. It’s not that we care what other people think about us. After all, we’ll very likely never see…
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#17: The Perfect Storm Part I
In the fall of 1991, six men boarded the 72-foot commercial fishing vessel Andrea Gail in Gloucester, Massachusetts and steamed towards the notoriously rich waters of the Grand Banks. It was late in the season, but Billy, Bobby, Murph, Sully, Bugsy, and Alfred Pierre needed the money from one last catch of swordfish. With a…
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#16: Academy Life Part IV
“An army marches on its stomach.” Inconclusively and ironically attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. As outlined in Blog #15, our training facilities and amenities have relatively little consistency. The availability, proximity, and type of lodging are combined with budgetary limitations and enrollment quantity to be the driving force behind the accommodations offered to us at a…
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#15: Academy Life Part III
Continued from Academy Life Part II “Do you live there?” Yes. Well, sometimes. We actually rotate through multiple locations in various U.S. states. Some are government training campuses with no-cost college style dormitories. Think of a university, small military base, or large business campus. It is common to find a convenience store, library full of…
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#14: Academy Life Part II
Continued from Academy Life Part I “Is it physically difficult?” Actually, no. And that’s not just the athlete in me talking. We had to meet physical fitness standards to get here in the first place, and we’re not training for the Olympics. Accordingly, what little physical training (“PT”) we get is designed to keep us…
