A care package from my good friends at Liberty Mountain

With Mam on a day trip to Laos

The Ridgerunner - "Wild Bill Moreland"

The Ridgerunner is about "Wild Bill" Moreland AKA "The Idaho wildman". He survived 13 years, in the wilderness of Idaho, with very little in the way of equipment. When apprehended by the authorities, his gear consisted of, A canvas tarp with rope sewn to the ends, a wool blanket, the clothes on his back, a coffee pot, skillet ,flint & steel, pocketknife, and some hooks & line that he scavenged from rivers and streams.

He was known to used fire-tower phone wires to snare deer. The gear he possessed was stolen from cabins and hunting camps. He found a single shot .22 rifle and a box of ammo in a cabin he raided. over his last 2 years in the wilds, he fired only 24 rounds, taking one deer with each round. He said that he aimed for the head, and was always able to stalk within a few yards of the deer before firing.

I know for a fact that none of the current world survival "Experts" has never lived for any length of time off grid. And when they do they usually have a whole truck load of gear to help them along. I seriously doubt that any of the manufactured "experts" in wilderness survival could survive anywhere except on youtube or TV.

The Gerber river mini (knife)

The Gerber river mini (knife)

In 2010, I was visiting my pimp homie friend Sean “Pog” Kendrigan at his home in New Hampshire.

Sean and I worked together at a wilderness program for hard core juvenile offenders in Utah several years ago. It was one hell of an experience. Some of those kids you would love to forget but cant. Ol' “Pog” was also a river raft guide in Maob, Utah for a few seasons. He reminds me a bit of the character “Seldom seen Smith” in Edward Abby books.

Anyhoo, Sean and I were looking over some of his river rafting equipment, tools, guns, knives etc. - you know, typical wilderness pimp stuff. Suddenly Sean pulls out a Gerber river mini knife. I had never heard of or seen one before. “Pog” says ( I paraphrase ) “see this knife?, I love it. It was in my paawket ( NH speak for pocket ) on every paddle, every hike and every swim”. I took it from him and examined it closely. I liked it too, compact, sharp as fuck, easily concealable, and looks like a hybrid between a Sudan Janjaweed dagger, and a WW2 OSS lapel knife.

I was headed for Aroostook County Maine the next day. I decided to look for one at the kittery trading post in Maine on the way up to the Jack Mountain Bushcraft School (JMBS) in “the county”. No luck finding one. I kept the little knife in the back of my mind until I got back to Arizona and went to see my friend Jon the owner of Trapper Jon's knife shop in Sierra Vista, Az

(Jon is also a New Hampshire boy). Of course Jon had one in his shop so I bought the thing and have been packing it around the world ever since.

Ive carried this knife From Arizona to Afghanistan, from the Sudan, to Thailand, Mongolia, Tajikistan and a lot of 3^rd world shit holes in between annnnd, its even been Snake Blocker approved. I had this knife with me as one of the 5 or 6 I brought to the DYS casting call, Snake, looked at it, liked it and even threw it and stuck it in the ground!

This knife has – as my friend Sean said - “been in my pocket, on every paddle, every hike and every swim”.

Darfur in The Sudan

“Immediately when you arrive in Sahara, for the first or the tenth time, you notice the stillness. An incredible, absolute silence prevails outside the towns; and within, even in busy places like the markets, there is a hushed quality in the air, as if the quiet were a conscious force which, resenting the intrusion of sound, minimizes and disperses sound straightaway."

~ Paul Bowles

I was at home in Arizona, when I got a call from a recruiter about a job in Darfur, Africa, I would be working as a weapons armorer for a Military contract company. Subcontracted by the UN to perform maintenance on the weapons, used by the African Union Soldiers who were providing security for the food convoys. UNMID or United Nations Mission In Darfur. And AMIS, African Mission In (the) Sudan, were responsible for security in the region.

It took me less than a minute to say I was very interested in the position and could deploy immediately.

After the mountain of paperwork was completed and my shot record was in order, I boarded a plane in Tucson for Atlanta, of course the flight was late so I nearly missed my British Airways connection to London, I was in fact the last person to board the flight.

We flew into London and I had about ½ an hour to make my connecting flight for Nairobi, Kenya. I barely made that flight also but eventually after 22 hours total flying time from Tucson I finally made it to Nairobi.

As bad luck would have it my bag did not arrive at the same time I did so I had no clean clothing, no camera, no cell phone, and no power cord for my laptop. Bummer!
After letting the airport baggage folks know my bag was not there I proceeded through customs and passport control and was met by the company representative who had a car waiting.

He drove me to the Safe house in Nairobi and I took a nap for a few hours. After waking up and feeling a bit rested I searched out the kitchen and pilfered some coffee to make a brew.

That was a million dollar cup of coffee as I recall, and I went out to the garden, sat on the patio and watched the local folks walking by going to work.

As I sat there drinking my Javva I realized that I was finally in Africa - “the continent of adventure” as one of my friends once said. The neighborhood was pretty and I noticed that every house had a fire place and a garden. The homes looked more like cottages. This neighborhood must have been left over from the British colonial period.

Anyhoo, having no shaving kit and no clean clothes I went to see the company rep who gave me a $500.00 advanced per dium payment.

I swung my timbuk2 messenger bag over my shoulder and headed for the compound gate. After exchanging pleasantries and asking a few questions of the local Kenyan security guard I went out the gate turned left and went searching for a taxi.

After walking about 20 mins I located a mall and a currency exchange where I converted my US dollars to Kenyan shillings. There was an Ethiopian restaurant across the way so I went there and bought some breakfast, good coffee and good food but I didn’t know how to eat in the Ethiopian style so I had to get a spoon to continue my meal.

After the meal I went to the taxi stand and hired a driver named Rufus, he quoted me a price for a 2 hour tour of the city which sounded reasonable so I agreed and we headed out.

Nairobi is a pretty city and I saw lots of gardens, and we did a drive by of the Massai market then went to a smaller market where I could buy some clothing.
Then we drove to a department store where I bought some towels, razors and other toiletries.

After farting around Nairobi for a while I asked Rufus to drop me back at the company house so I could check on things there and find out my status.
After speaking to the company rep again she informed me that I would be in Nairobi for 4 days until my Sudanese temp visa was approved by their embassy.

Damn! The prospect of staying at the company house for 4 days was pretty grim to me. It was a dirty shit hole full of dissatisfied company employees and no privacy at all.

My luggage still had not arrived so I grabbed my timbuk2 bag and headed out . I walked to the Mall again, found Rufus and asked him about accommodations like a bed and breakfast type thing.

Rufus told me he had a cousin that managed a time share condo and I might be able to rent one for a few days, so we went there and I managed to rent a room for the remainder of my time in Nairobi.

After dropping off my junk in the condo, I took a long shower, put on my new clothes then hit the door, I walked around for a while and located a net café where I printed out some papers I needed, bought some lunch, had a cup of coffee and did a lot of girl watching.

As I recall Kenya had a lot of pretty ladies of all colors.

Feeling a bit tired I returned to my room, made a gin and tonic and flipped through the TV channels for a while, I must have passed out from either exhaustion or from the booze but I woke up several hours later feeling hungry.

It was pretty late or early depending on your perspective but I was extremely hungry and tried very hard to locate an all night delivery service via the telephone. The security guards told me that there was nothing close by and all shops were closed, Damn! But, I was told there was free food and coffee in the main kitchen of the condo complex.

I went to the kitchen and got a few rolls and some coffee and returned to my room. Later on I walked to the company house to check in and see if my luggage had arrived.
The rest of my time in Kenya was about the same, my luggage didn’t arrive until the day I left for Sudan and in fact I had to pick it up at the airport before checking it in for my flight to Khartoum.

I checked into Kenya airlines for my next flight to Sudan then went on a stroll around the airport shops. I bought some wine gums candies and a rough guide tour book about the Sudan, it was a good book but I cannot remember the title.
Upon arrival in Khartoum I passed through immigration and customs and was immediately accosted by all types of local guys bugging me to carry my bag.

There were 2 Nepalese gentlemen Mr. Krishna and Mr. Podel who were traveling with me who were working for the same company. We went outside and finally found our company representative who was suppose to meet us inside at baggage claim but who was of course late!

Man, I remember the heat of Khartoum and all of the noise; I was reminded of other countries like Kuwait and Qatar. I cannot say I really liked it very much.
The driver dropped me off at my designated safe house then took my Nepalese friends to their accommodations in another neighborhood.

I introduced myself to Randy who was the manager of the safe house and our Maid Rose Leku Lojong, a very nice and pretty Sudanese lady.

There were also some other employees there who were in transit to and from the forward operating bases. I met Hermie from the camp I was going to; he is one of the greatest welders and metal smiths I have ever seen.

The other guys were from different FOB’s and camps around all of Darfur. I was heading for the camp at Nyala Darfur which was the largest camp in the southern sector of Darfur and the town of Nyala is the capitol of southern Darfur.

After a couple of days in Khartoum Hermie and me along with several other folks boarded a Russian AN-26 airplane and flew to Al Fasher the capitol of Northern Darfur.

We had a lot of supplies and groceries to unload so upon arrival we were met by other people from our company, after loading up the vehicles we headed for the tiny camp of Zamzam.

Hermie and I ended up staying in Zamzam for 5 days, it was ok for me tho because I got all of my reimbursement paperwork turned in and took care of all of my admin stuff.

I had a tent to myself an, air conditioner, plus the Internet technology guy hooked me up with a wireless sign in code. I was in business!

I was working on a Canadian Department of defense contract so there was a small detachment of Canadian Army guys and gals there. We were allowed access to their vast DVD movie collection so I just stayed in my tent watching movies during the hottest part of the day.

My habit was to wake up early and go for a run around the perimeter on the camp inside the wire. I was surprised to feel how cool it was in the mornings there in northern Darfur. Being from Arizona and having worked in the Middle East for 2 years I was use to extreme hot temperatures; Darfur heat was nothing thus far.

After about 5 days or so we boarder a soviet made An-28 STOL aircraft and flew for about an hour to the airport at Nyala, Darfur. We were met by Andrew in the company vehicle and after loading all of our plunder we headed for the camp.

I was given a tent which had an air conditioner, a wall locker a small file cabinet and a really shitty bunk which squeaked each time I moved.

After stowing my gear/plunder I met the work shop manager and was given the rest of the day off to get my things sorted. I cleaned and mopped out my tent, hung my mozzy net, set up my laptop with an internet connection; thanks to the IT guy.

We had a communal kitchen, weight room/gym, TV and internet room and our own Toilet and shower facilities which we kept locked at all times to keep out the rif raf.
I was liking what I saw so far.

Later on in the day I went to the mess hall and got signed up with a meal ticket and met the lead cook/catering manager – a cool guy.

After making myself a cup of stout coffee I took a walk around the camp perimeter inside the wire to lay out a jogging course, after pacing it out I found that according to my pace count, the perimeter was approximately 1 mile(1,700 meters) in length, that was good, I only need to jog it 2 or 3 times to get my workout in.

I slept pretty good that night but I can recall hearing lots of gunfire outside the berm toward the area of the refugee camps. It was pretty much the same every night, sounded like AK-47 and Chicom .50 mostly. You kinda got use to it. Also, I was again surprised to feel how cool it got after dark, I rarely used my AC at all during the night.

At night and in the early morning Even tho the temperatures were in the upper 60’s to low 70’s I would see The Nigerian soldiers dressed up in wooly pully sweaters and watch caps like they were experiencing winter in Montana, I kinda got a kick out of that. I also saw them wearing the old ww2 style British army issue wool great coats.

Anyhoo, I flew out the next morning on my first weapons inspection mission to the camp at Zalinje via an old soviet MI-8 (widow maker) helicopter.

It was a pretty camp and we were able to buy some decent citrus fruit due to the fact that Zalinje was famous locally for its fruits and veggies. We stocked up on many varieties.

Over the next few months I went on many missions all over southern Darfur where I encountered many good and not so good people. I was very impressed with the high standards of military soldiery which the Rwandan troops held them selves to; their weapons, equipment, vehicles and uniforms were always maintained to the highest standards. It was in stark contrast to the way the Nigerians acted as soldiers.

Anyway, the town of Nyala which is the capitol of southern Darfur is about as 3rd world as you can get. It had one paved road badly in need of maintenance, one stop light that everyone ignores, scores of horse and donkey carts and people galore.

I kinda liked the chaos tho and got a chuckle out of the vendors selling foods clearly stamped “This food is a gift from the people of the United States” – “Not for sale”.

I guess they could not read English.

One thing I found annoying about Sudan is that cameras were illegal except with special permit. We had a camera for taking pictures of damaged equipment and as my partner was checking it inside the helicopter before we took off, a Sudanese special police officer came on board and confiscated it. My partner was subsequently fired for having the camera even tho it was a company camera used for work purposes – go figure.

I really enjoyed my stay there and would welcome the opportunity to return to The Sudan or just anywhere in Africa –“The continent of adventure”.

Whites smoke jumper boots

So over the past 2 weeks or so I have been scouring the net looking for a decent pair of used white or hathorn boots. In my opinion the boots made by either company are superior to any others on the market. why? well, several reasons. These boots are hand made, extremely durable, come with a lifetime guarantee of quality, and can be completely rebuilt at the company shop if needed. And most importantly to me is that they are comfortable.

I have owned and worn 3 pair of either Hathorn or Whites boots since the 70s. That is an average of 13 years or so per pair....not bad. I could have had the old boots rebuilt but chose to move on the a different pair over the years. This particular pair in the picture is my 4th pair of such boots. Given the average life span of these rascals ill be wearing them until in 75. I normally buy pre owned boots for a good reason. New from the factory they come hard as sheet iron.....I made the mistake once of buying a new in the box pair of hathorn packer boots on my first guiding/mule packer gig in Montana. It was misery for a while. From then on I got the ones already broken in.

Even with this pair I will soak them in water over night then walk them out dry and add neatsfoot oil or snow seal as they dry on my feet. That way they will feel as if they grew on me.

If you pimps are interested in these boots you can check them out at;

https://whitesboots.com/

http://www.nationalfirefighter.com/store/m/29-Hathorn-Boots.aspx

Or search them out on Amazon or Ebay.

Tomahawk,

Out!

Flint and steel strikers

STRIKERS

I decided to test out some newish strikers I have had in my possession. Not that my opinion means anything in the survival industry, I mean after all, I'm not a survival expert, I only played one on TV.

First I emptied out my flint and steel set to see what was in it. I have not had my F&S set out for a few years so I was uncertain as to the content.

Contained there in was 1 striker made from a broken file. 30 pieces of char “cloth” made from old army web belts, 1 piece of Illinois Chert, 1 piece of white quartz from the Chiricahua mountains in Arizona, 2 gun flints, 1 small piece of chaga, 1 piece of light 100% cotton cloth, and a small tinder bundle.

The 5 strikers I was trying out were made by different manufacturers, 2 were commercially made and 2 were made by blacksmith artisans, and 1that I got in a trade that has a wooden handle, supposedly made from an old whiskey barrel.

As a control, I used the striker I have been carrying since the 70s, made from an old file it throws massive sparks regardless of the stone – as long as the stone is hard.

Anyhoo, 1^st up was the wooden handled striker. I liked the look and feel of this one but after repeated strikes on all 3 stones this one threw very few sparks because the steel is too soft. Disappointing.

Next was a hand made “D” shaped striker. Like the first one, this rascal threw very few sparks but still a degree better than the 1^st one.

Next was “C” shaped striker that was a bit difficult to hold on too due to its shape. Like the other 2 it didn't throw many sparks and the steel once again appears to be a bit too soft to make a good striker.

Next was a “U” shaped striker that was also difficult to hold and strike with but unlike the other 3 this one did throw some decent sparks.

And finally a Bear claw shaped novelty striker I got from my friend Mikhail in a trade. This rascal not only looks cool , its easy to hold, throws sparks like crazy, had a lanyard hole, and fits easily into my tinder box along with my old striker.

The steel is vary hard and sparks as well as my old file striker.

Any lastly, just for shits and giggles, I used my old timer pen knife as a striker to see how it fared against legit strikers made for that purpose. Amazingly, it worked better than 3 of the 5 strikers. As an aside I also like the old school cheap “Camp king” boy scout style knife as a striker. In the days of old they were made of good steel and were pretty must indestructible.

So there you have it, my evaluation of how well legit strikers fared against a broken file and an old timer. If you decide to use flint and steel as your primary method of fire making it would be a good idea to test your stone, steel, and cloth before heading to the woods, oh! And, practice, practice, practice.

See you on the trail!,

Colonel Tomahawk

Hogs exit by Gayle Morrison

"Hogs Exit" by Gayle Morrison is an awesome book about a cool American that was an operator in the secret war in Laos. Jerry Daniels AKA "Hog" - his chosen call sign. was a Montana smoke jumper hired by the CIA to train Hmong as Jumpers and to work as a "kicker" on certain operations.
Having lived the life as an operator, parachute rigger and "Kicker" all across south east Asia, Central Asia and the middle east I can certainly relate to this story. Especially the part about friends who died suddenly or under mysterious circumstances....Government shit runs deep especially in the alphabet agencies like the CIA.

This book examines the unique personality and reported death of a man who was a pivotal agent in U.S./Hmong history. Friends and family share their memories of Daniels growing up in Montana, cheating death in Laos, and carousing in the bars and brothels of Thailand. First-person accounts from Americans and Hmong, ranchers and refugees, State Department officials and smoke jumpers capture both human and historical stories about the life of this dedicated and irreverent individual and offer speculation on the unsettling circumstances of his death. Equally important, Hog’s Exit is the first complete account in English to document the drama and beauty of the Hmong funeral process.
Hog’s Exit provides a fascinating view of a man and the two very different cultures in which he lived.

Excerpt:
It just didn’t sit right. The American Embassy had reported the accidental death of Jerry “Hog” Daniels by carbon monoxide poisoning. Three decades later, his family, friends, and coworkers remain unconvinced that the U.S. government told them the truth. A former CIA case officer during the “secret war” in Laos, Jerry Daniels was experienced, smart, and careful.

Raising even more doubts, his casket was “Permanently Sealed” before being shipped home to Missoula, Montana, where he was honored with a three-day funeral ceremony organized by his former comrades-in-arms, the Hmong hilltribe warriors from Laos.

First-person accounts from Americans and Hmong, ranchers and refugees, State Department officials and smoke jumpers capture the life of “Hog” Daniels and offer speculation on the unsettling circumstances of his death. Equally important, Hog’s Exit is the first complete account in English to document the drama and beauty of the Hmong funeral process.

Kickers; a novel about smoke jumpers in Laos by Patrick Lee

Back in the day I worked as a Kicker for an organization in SE Asia that shall remain nameless. I was an awesome job and my 1st as a Private Military Contractor (PMC). Other "Gigs" took me to central America, Colombia, throughout the middle east, Central Asia and Africa. But none of those can match the excitement of my 1st job as an aerial delivery specialist in SEA. This book "Kickers" my Patrick Lee - Himself a smoke jumper, brings back some memories and makes me feel nostalgic for the good old days.

Excerpt: 
Laos, 1961. The Communist Pathet Lao threatens a Laos takeover with Russian military support. Newly elected US President John F. Kennedy contemplates military intervention in the small Southeast Asia country. Aware that military confrontation could escalate into nuclear war, Kennedy elects to fight a covert war using CIA surrogate assets.

The intelligence agency chooses as its surrogates for the war Meo tribesmen and college-age US Forest Service firefighters, smokejumpers without military experience.

For newly-recruited smoke jumpers Thanasis, Charlie, and Dog, the CIA’s offer brings excitement, damn good money, and good times at Lulu’s in Vientiane. It’s a sweet adventure for the three young men until they realize the CIA is willing to sacrifice both smoke jumpers and Meo to control Laos.
Based on battles and events recalled by surviving smoke jumpers, Kickers involves readers in a thirteen-year secret war most Americans don’t know was fought. Similar in tone to Philip Caputo’s A Rumor of War, Patrick Lee’s story of betrayal and covert ops sets a new standard for Cold War novels

Major John L. Plaster

Major John Plaster is the only Modern era American SF guy I will write about. I have been following his writings for decades and truly enjoy his books.

John L. Plaster (born 1949) is a former United States Army Special Forces officer regarded as one of the leading sniper experts in the world. A decorated Vietnam War veteran who served in the covert Studies and Observations Group (SOG), Plaster co-founded a renowned sniper school that trains military and law enforcement personnel in highly specialized sniper tactics. He is the author of The Ultimate Sniper: An Advanced Training Manual for Military and Police Snipers, The History of Sniping and Sharpshooting, and Secret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG, a memoir of his 3 years of service with SOG.

Career;
Plaster served three combat tours in the Vietnam War as a member of MACVSOG beginning in October 1968, leading intelligence-gathering and recon teams in North Vietnamese Army-controlled areas of Laos and Cambodia and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. He was wounded once, and decorated four times, eventually receiving a field commission in recognition of his combat experience. Plaster's final tour with MACVSOG ended in November 1971. He retired from the military at the rank of Major.
Plaster parlayed his military experience into becoming a sniping instructor to members of many U.S. governmental agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Customs Service, the United States Marshals, Navy SEALs and United States Marine Corps. Foreign units that have attended the school include the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Spanish Foreign Legion.
Since 1993, Plaster has been a precision rifle instructor at the Gunsite Training Center in Paulden, Arizona. He was recently Chief of Competition for Autauga Arms' U.S. and European sniping championships.
Plaster's experiences serve as the basis for the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops; he assisted the game's developers in developing the game by providing his wartime experiences to them.

 Books

• The Ultimate Sniper: An Advanced Training Manual for Military and Police Snipers (1993)
• SOG: A Photo History of the Secret Wars. Boulder, CO: Paladin. 2000. ISBN 978-1581600582. OCLC 445847740.
• Secret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG (2004)
• The History of Sniping and Sharpshooting (2008)
• Sharpshooting in the Civil War (2009)
• SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam (1998) ISBN 978-0451195081
• Sniping in the Trenches: World War I and the Birth of Modern Sniping (2017) ISBN 978-1610049023

Journals

• The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin
• Soldier of Fortune
• American Legion Magazine
• Guns & Ammo

Mitchell Werbell III

Back in 1975 hen I was still a young pup of 17, I use to get a gear catalog from a new company called Brigade Quartermaster. In fact, I bought my 1st large capacity backpack from them. It was a madden mountaineering pack, in light blue...Later on I found out that this company Brigade QM was founded by Mitchell Livingston WerBell III, of SIONICS fame and that he was also the owner and founder of the Mercenary school in Georgia. Mr. Whispering death had an interesting life and a colorful military career. Sadly he died mysteriously at the fairly young age of 65 in 1983.

I credit Mitch for guiding me toward becoming an Airborne Infantryman and working as a PMC or "Private Military Contractor" in later years. His exploits are legendary, and Have always interested me.

Mitchell Livingston WerBell III, (1918–1983), was an OSS operative, mercenary, paramilitary trainer, firearms engineer, and arms dealer.

Early life and OSS service

Werbell was born in Philadelphia, the son of a Czarist cavalry officer in the Imperial Army of Russia. In 1942 WerBell joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and served in China, Burma, and French Indochina. As a guerrilla operative during World War II, he carried out a secret mission for the OSS under the command of Paul Helliwell in China with E. Howard Hunt, Lucien Conein, John K. Singlaub and Ray Cline. They were paid with five-pound sacks of opium. Following World War II, WerBell briefly worked as the director of advertising and public relations for Rich's, a department store in Atlanta, Georgia; he left after a year to open his own PR firm.

SIONICS:

After WerBell closed his PR Firm to design suppressors (commonly known as "silencers", a term which is a misnomer for firearms, he incorporated SIONICS to design suppressors for the M16 rifle. The name was an acronym for "Studies In the Operational Negation of Insurgents and Counter-Subversion". Through SIONICS he developed a low cost, efficient suppressor for machine guns.

In 1967 he partnered with Gordon B. Ingram inventor of the MAC-10 submachine gun. They added WerBell's suppressor to Ingram's machinegun and attempted to market it to the U.S. military as "Whispering Death" for use in the Vietnam War. WerBell is credited with over 25 different suppressor designs and the "WerBell Relief Valve, a mechanism designed for machinegun suppressors. WerBell's modular designs and use of exotic materials such as titanium in sound suppressors have an impact on their design to the present day.

SIONICS was absorbed by the company MAC (Military Armament Corporation) and later called Cobray where WerBell developed a training center for counterterrorism in the 1970s. The courses lasted 11 weeks and students included members of the military, high-risk executives, CIA agents, and private individuals. WerBell concurrently ran Defense Systems International, an arms brokerage firm.

Mercenary activities:

In the 1950s, WerBell served as a security advisor to Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo and to the Batista regime in Cuba. In 1966 WerBell helped plan an invasion of Haiti by Cuban and Haitian exiles against "Papa Doc" François Duvalier called Project Nassau (but internally referred to as Operation Istanbul). The mission, which (according to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Special Subcommittee on Investigations of the House Commerce Committee) was financially subsidized, and to be filmed by CBS news, was aborted when the participants were arrested by the FBI. WerBell was released without being charged.

In 1972 WerBell was approached by the Abaco Independence Movement (AIM) from the Abaco Islands, a region of the Bahamas, who were worried about the direction the Bahamas were taking and were considering other options, such as independence or remaining a separate Commonwealth nation under the Crown in case of the Bahamas gaining independence (which they did in 1973). AIM was funded by the Phoenix Foundation, a group which aims to help build truly free micronations. The AIM collapsed into internal bickering before a coup by Werbell could be carried out.

In 1973 WerBell was asked to assist with a coup d'état against Omar Torrijos of Panama, according to CIA documents released in 1993. WerBell sought clearance from the CIA which denied getting involved in coups. The plan was not implemented, though Torrijos died in a plane crash five years later.

In a 1979 20/20 interview WerBell claimed that Coca-Cola had hired him for $1 million to take care of kidnapping threats against its Argentine executives during an urban terrorist wave in 1973. Coca-Cola later denied the claim.

Later in life WerBell claimed he was a retired Lieutenant General in the Royal Free Afghan Army or sometimes an Afghan Defense Minister after supplying Afghanistan with large weapons contracts and training. WerBell claimed he was given the billet of Major General in the US Army to allow him to travel freely in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War to demonstrate and sell his silenced submachineguns and sound suppressors. This has been confirmed by Major General John Singlaub and Lt Col. William Mozey.

Other exploits:

Other exploits include an alleged, but unsubstantiated presence at Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963 when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated; spearheading the 1965 Invasion of the Dominican Republic; being tried and acquitted on charges of conspiracy to marijuana smuggling reportedly in association with Gerry Patrick Hemming and with the acquiescence of Lucien Conein; and providing physical security services and training for Lyndon LaRouche security forces.

In 1988, Sheriff Sherman Block of Los Angeles announced that Hustler publisher Larry Flynt wrote WerBell a $1 million check in 1983 to kill Hugh Hefner, Bob Guccione, Walter Annenberg, and Frank Sinatra. Los Angeles television station KNBC displayed a photocopy of the check. WerBell died in Los Angeles a month after receiving the check.

Death and courtroom poisoning claim:

In the 1989 Cotton Club murder case of Roy Radin, Arthur Michael Pascal, then owner of a Beverly Hills security firm, testified that prosecution witness William Rider, Flynt's former brother in law and private security agent, "told him of poisoning soldier of fortune Mitchell WerBell III in 1983 in order to take over WerBell's counterterrorist school based in Atlanta. Pascal said that Rider and... Flynt, poured four to six ounces of a digoxin, a powerful heart relaxant, into WerBell's drink during a cocktail party at Flynt's Los Angeles mansion. WerBell, 65, a security consultant for Flynt... died of a heart attack at UCLA Medical Center a few days later." Flynt and his attorney, Alan Isaacman, were in Bangkok and "unavailable for comment, according to a Hustler magazine spokeswoman". "Isaacman characterized an earlier Rider claim of a Flynt-paid murder contract as 'fantasy'." Rider passed a polygraph test regarding "possible involvement in homicides," according to courtroom testimony. Pascal was later arraigned on a murder charge due to tapes Rider provided investigators.

Habanos Cigar shop in Phnom Penh

I lived in Phnom Penh for two years. I dont know why. Its hot, over crowded and becoming way to expensive for the average EXpat on a budget. The first time I ever visited Cambodia was in the early 1980s and it was a wreck due to the Polpot regime. But, in Phnom Penh at that time you could get a decent room for around 1 dollar(US). Those same rooms are now around 10 or 15 bucks.

Anyway, I did have a decent girlfriend and she is probably what kept me in Cambodia for that long. For entertainment, one of the things I would do is frequent "Habanos" ciger bar down along the Mekhong, not far from the royal palace. It was a nice place to hang out, smoke a decent C-gar and have a few drinks. They offered a wide variety of cigars and booze.

If you ever find yourself in PP and desire a decent C-gar and booze, check out Habanos. Im sure you wont be dissapointed.

http://www.habanos.com/en/lugar/la-casa-del-habano-12/

The Panama sole

I was recently interested in the History of the panama sole. I did a bit of research and found out some interesting info about the famous Jungle boot/desert boot sole. In WW2 the germans had a similar canvas and leather boot issued to the desert corps but it had a vibrab type sole. The Panama sole boots were exclusively American until after "Nam". This type sole is now ubiquitous and found throughout the world. I also learned that the "Saran" insoles in my issue boots back in the 1970s were of general issue and were basically plastic sand paper, and use to tear my feet up on long road marches. Once I became a savvy 11B I bought different socks, insoles and invested in a good pair of jungle boots. I still have 2 pairs I bought in the 1990s.

In 1944, the Panama sole was first developed by U.S. Army Sergeant Raymond Dobie, which used a series of angled rubber lugs in the soles to push soft mud from the soles, clearing them and providing much better grip in greasy clay or mud. However, the Panama sole was developed too late to see service in World War II, and both M-1942 (Jungle) and M-1945 (Combat Boot, Tropical) boots used Vibram soles. With the end of the war, all official interest in jungle equipment came to a halt; an improved jungle boot with the new Panama sole was not produced until 1965.

Development and use;
The use of "jungle" or "hot weather" boots predates World War II, when small units of U.S. soldiers in Panama were issued rubber-soled, canvas-upper boots for testing. Developed in conjunction with the U.S. Rubber Company, a pair of jungle boots weighed approximately three pounds. Adopted in 1942, the design of the jungle boot was based on the idea that no boot could possibly keep out water and still provide sufficient ventilation to the feet in a jungle or swamp environment. Instead, the jungle boot was designed to permit water and perspiration to drain, drying the feet while preventing the entry of insects, mud, or sand.

In 1942, fused layers of original-specification Saran or PVDC were used to make woven mesh ventilating insoles for newly developed jungle boots made of rubber and canvas. The Saran ventilating insoles trapped air which was circulated throughout the interior of the boot during the act of walking; moist interior air was exchanged for outside air via the boot's water drain eyelets. In cold weather, the trapped air in Saran insoles kept feet from freezing by insulating them from the frozen ground; when walking, the insoles circulated moist air that would otherwise condense and freeze, causing trench foot or frostbite.

The new M-1942 canvas-and-rubber jungle boots with Saran mesh insoles were tested by experimental Army units in jungle exercises in Panama, Venezuela, and other countries, where they were found to increase the flow of dry outside air to the insole and base of the foot, reducing blisters and tropical ulcers. The Saran ventilating mesh insole was also used in the M-1945 tropical combat boot.

World War II;
Field reports from the Panama Experimental Platoon on the new lightweight boots were positive, and M-1942 jungle boots were later issued to a number of U.S. Army and Marine forces for use in tropical or jungle environments, including U.S. Army forces in New Guinea and the Philippines, and in Burma with Merrill's Marauders, the 1st Air Commando Group and the Mars Task Force (5332nd Brigade, Provisional). As jungle boots wore out more quickly than the standard Army Type II field shoes, they were often carried by infantrymen attached to the field pack as a secondary pair of footwear, to be used when encountering heavy, soft mud.

British Imperial forces designed their own jungle boot based on the American one, but much higher. Special Operations Executive Force 136 personnel were issued with these boots during operations in Burma 1944–45. Otherwise, they were not issued until after the war where they were used in the
First Indochina War
The French issued rubber/canvas jungle boots manufactured by Palladium during the first indochina war. They came in different variants and were also worn during the Algerian war.

Vietnam War;
In the early years of the Vietnam War, some U.S. Army units were equipped with the M-1945 Tropical Combat Boot In 1965, a boot incorporating most of the improvements developed since the end of World War II for tropical climates was adopted by the U.S. military as the M-1966 jungle boot, developed by the Natick Laboratories and the shoe industry. In the improved boot, the upper was made of cotton canvas duck, with leather for the toe and heel, and nylon reinforcements for the neck of the boot. The new jungle boot originally used a Vibram-type lugged composition rubber sole strongly vulcanized to the leather toe and heel.Water drains (screened eyelets) were added to the canvas top near the sole to quickly drain water from the inside of the boot. Removable ventilating insoles made of fused layers of Saran plastic screen, first invented in 1942, were issued with the jungle boot.

In May 1966, after numerous widely reported incidents of foot injuries to U.S. forces caused by punji stake traps, issue jungle boots were fitted with a stainless steel plate inside the boot's sole to protect the wearer from punji stake traps. Later jungle boots were given nylon canvas tops in place of cotton duck. The boot was also fitted with other improvements, including the Panama mud-clearing outsole and nylon webbing reinforcement on the uppers. However, Vibram-soled jungle boots continued to be issued to troops into 1969.

The US military jungle boot's popularity extended beyond the US Armed Forces with Australian Army and New Zealand Army soldiers going to great lengths to get a pair of jungle boots from American troops to use alongside their standard-issue black leather General Purpose Boots (GP Boots). When the 1st Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) was deployed to South Vietnam and served alongside the US Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade in 1965, many Australian troops were willing to trade their Australian Army-issue "slouch hats" for a pair of jungle boots from the Americans since the boots Australian troops were issued were World War II vintage tropical studded ankle boots and the boots were not suited to the conditions of Vietnam. Australian and New Zealand Special Air Service troops also made extensive use of American jungle boots during the course of the Vietnam War and they were very popular with SAS troopers. Up until the replacement of the GP Boots for the Terra Boots in 2000, Australian military personnel were allowed to wear the US military jungle boots with their combat uniforms and the boots remained popular with Australian soldiers during the post-Vietnam period.

Post-Vietnam jungle boot designs;
The Vietnam-era jungle boots were quite successful. They have gone through only minor design changes since they were introduced in the 1962 and used in large numbers by troops in Vietnam. Jungle boots were the standard combat footwear for mild weather for decades following Vietnam. The last nomenclature for jungle boots was boot, Hot Weather, Type I, Black, Hot-Wet and allowed for both OG107 green and black for the nylon sections of the upper. In addition, the Type II boot was defined, identical except with desert tan color for the leather and the nylon, eliminate the steel plate (conducted heat to the foot in hot sand) and vent eyelets (let sand into the boot). The US military jungle boot helped influence the design of the famed desert combat boot, which many American soldiers wore during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2001 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Despite the introduction of the desert boot at the time of Operation Desert Storm, many American military personnel were still issued jungle boots because there were not enough desert boots to issue to all personnel in the Middle East at the time, which led to many American soldiers and Marines to go into battle with jungle boots and black leather combat boots. During Operation Enduring Freedom, US Army and Marine personnel were seen wearing black jungle boots and black leather speedlace combat boots alongside the newer desert boots while on combat operations in Afghanistan during the early 2000s.

During the 1980s, some of the improvements incorporated over the years in U.S. jungle boot design were modified or discarded, primarily for reasons of cost and convenience to the contractor. This included changes in rubber sole composition (to avoid marking linoleum floors at stateside army bases), and use of waterproof Poron linings instead of Saran ventilating insoles. Since the boot retained its water drain eyelets, water still entered the boot, where it soaked the open-cell Poron insoles which remained in constant contact with the bottom of the foot. In contrast, the British Army continues to use Saran insoles in its combat boots, primarily because of its insulating properties.
Increasing use of the jungle boot as a general-purpose combat boot brought more changes; the issue boot's Panama sole reverted to a Vibram sole in the 1980s.However, the Vibram sole, while better suited to use on rocks, sand, or other hard terrain, lacked the mud-clearing qualities of the Panama sole, and was inferior to the latter for use in jungle or swampy environments. Other changes were made to lower acquisition costs. By the late 1980s, incidents of heel blowouts and loss of water drains (screened eyelets) from poor materials and lack of quality control were being reported.
Today, Altama Footwear and Wellco Footwear are two American combat boot companies who still manufacture the US military jungle boot. Altama began manufacturing boots for the military towards the end of the Vietnam War, in 1969, and is still supplying the military with footwear to date. Wellco gained the first government contract for boots in 1965. These companies manufacture jungle boots with waterproof insoles and Vibram or Panama outsoles with green cotton/nylon uppers and conventional eyelets. Both companies also make an updated version with a black Cordura upper and a Speedlace-and-eyelet lacing system. The company Atalaia manufactures jungle boots for the Brazilian Army.

As of 2005, the United States Marine Corps has retired the black jungle boots from front-line military service and replaced them with two versions of a new tan rough-out leather combat boot. One version, called the Temperate or Infantry Combat Boot, has a waterproof Gore-Tex lining inside. The Temperate boot is an effort to keep moisture out of the boot; once the interior is soaked with water, it tends to remain there. The lining also tends to limit air exchange, limiting its use to environments with temperatures of 98 °F or less. Another, called the Jungle or Hot Weather Boot, has no lining but retains the vent holes on the instep of the boot. The US Army and US Air Force have also removed the black jungle boot from frontline service for suede leather desert-style boots when the US Army adopted the Army Combat Uniform and the US Air Force adopted the Airman Battle Uniform. A number of nations outside the United States are still using and issuing the American-made jungle boot to their soldiers. One example can be seen in Afghanistan with soldiers of the Afghan National Army being seen wearing black jungle boots with American-made combat uniforms.

The Karambit, Sanggot, or Lihok Blade

In the new flick “Extraction” there is a knife fighting scene where one dude is using some type of commercial long straight blade and the other is using a Karambit. The Karambit in comparison to the other blade looks silly. But!, its just a movie, Annnnnd, Im no expert. Either.

Im not a big fan of the Karambit. I have found it difficult to use and hold and be of no practical purpose. It was originally designed as a tool in the 11^th century or so then introduced throughout all of the Island countries in SE Asia. The origin of it as a tool has been lost to history.

As I said I do not personally like this type blade but, of course, I do own several. Some I have acquired in the Philippines and Malaysia, and others were purchased from modern knife makers and sellers.

There are a few guys in the Knife and TV industry who claim to be experts in the use of this blade. Well, maybe they are....But in reality, If I was to look for an “expert” in the use of a Karambit, I would find a street kid from a Manila slum and ask him to teach me how to use it before I would ask one of these so called “experts” on Yt or TV.

The Sanggot blade , more commonly called the Karambit or Korambit (by modern euro types) is an all purpose utility knife. It is believed to have originated in the Indonesian Archipeligo in the 11^th century. No one really knows when it was introduced to the Philippines. However, this blade can still be seen in certain provinces throughout the Philippines. The filipinos call it “Lihok”.

The Indonesian fighting art of Pencak Silat, featured this type knife. Its roots can also be traced to the Malasian martial art of Bersilat and Filipino Kali. It was Actually not meant to be used as a combat blade. The “Lehok” was designed as a tool originally. The use of the Lehok or Karambit evolved as a fighting blade through the common peoples need throughout the SE Asian Islands to protect themselves from not only foreign invaders but local thugs and pirates.

"The pack that walks like a man" Norman Clyde

Norman Clyde (April 8, 1885 – December 23, 1972) was a mountaineer, mountain guide, freelance writer, nature photographer, and self trained naturalist. He is well known for achieving over 130 first ascents, many in California's Sierra Nevada and Montana's Glacier National Park. He also set a speed climbing record on California's Mount Shasta in 1923. The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley has 1467 articles written by Clyde in its archives.

Life in the mountains

Clyde began climbing in the Sierra Nevada in 1910, when he visited Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, writing to his mother that "I climbed the highest mountains in the region". He also visited McCloud, near Mount Shasta, that summer. He began a regimented program of mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada in 1914, including the first of his first ascents. He also joined the Sierra Club in 1914. He first climbed Mount Shasta in 1916, and climbed that peak a total of 12 times. While living in Southern California during his wife's illness, he climbed Mount San Jacinto in 1917. Following his wife's death in 1919, he climbed extensively in the Kings-Kern Divide region of the southern Sierra.
In 1920, Clyde journeyed with a Sierra Club group from Yosemite Valley to the Evolution Basin, completing many climbs along the way. He set a speed climbing record on Mount Shasta in 1923, ascending from Horse Camp at approximately 8,000 feet (2,400 m) to the summit at 14,162 feet (4,317 m) in 3 hours and 17 minutes. That year, he also spent 36 days in Glacier National Park, Montana, where he climbed 36 mountains, including 11 first ascents. The National Park Service issued a press release praising his accomplishments in Glacier National Park. He returned to climb in Glacier National Park in 1924 and 1937.
In 1925, he completed 53 climbs in the Sierra Nevada, and told Francis Farquhar that "I sometimes think I climbed enough peaks this summer to render me a candidate for a padded cell—at least some people look at the matter in that way. However, I get a lot of enjoyment from this rather strenuous form of diversion." In 1926, he climbed in Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, the Beartooth Mountains and Absaroka Range of Montana, and the Sawtooth Range of Idaho. He made several additional first ascents in California that year.
In 1928, he was a leader of the High Trip to the Canadian Rockies organized by the Sierra Club, the Mazamas of Oregon, and The Mountaineers of the State of Washington. During this trip, he encountered professional mountain guides, and probably decided on this as his own career path. He spent six weeks traversing the San Gabriels of Southern California, probably in 1929. In 1930, he wrote an article describing his trip from the summit of Mount Whitney to the lowest point in Death Valley between sunrise and sunset.
Clyde's first published works appeared as a series of articles entitled "Close Ups of the High Sierra" in 1928, in the Automobile Club of Southern California's magazine, Touring Topics, and were later republished as a perfect-bound edition in 1962 by La Siesta Press (Glendale, California), edited by Walt Wheelock.

1931 was a seminal year in the history of mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada, and Norman Clyde was in the midst of it. Sierra Club leader Francis P. Farquhar invited Harvard philosophy professor and Appalachian Mountain Club member Robert L. M. Underhill to come to the Sierra Nevada to teach the latest techniques of roped climbing. Underhill had learned these techniques in the Alps, and had practiced them himself earlier that summer in the Tetons and the Canadian Rockies. After some young climbers were instructed in the techniques, a group including Clyde, Jules Eichorn, Lewis Clark, Bestor Robinson and Glen Dawson traveled south to the Palisades, the most rugged and alpine part of the Sierra Nevada. There, on August 13, 1931, the party completed the first ascent of the last unclimbed 14,000+ foot peak in California, which remained unnamed due to its remote location above the Palisade Glaciers. After a challenging ascent to the summit, the climbers were caught in an intense lightning storm, and Eichorn barely escaped electrocution when "a thunderbolt whizzed right by my ear". The mountain was named Thunderbolt Peak to commemorate that close call.#california sierras,#Norman Clyde, #wilderness, #Backpacking.

Cambodia Adventure tour 2014

A few years ago I use to run Adults only adventure tours in SE Asia, Mostly in Cambodia. These tours included Local night life, Trekking, Survival, Shooting, and a host of other adult type entertainment.

Might start them up again someday.

Tomahawk

The Peruvian scandi

The Colonel did me need or really even want another knife  but, last night I got drunk as an English Lord and as penance today I walked my fat ass up to the market about 3 miles away to buy cigars and a bag of coca leaves from the most delightful Inca lady. She is about 4 feet tall,  and  rounded out like a cask,  She has the friendliest face and the most appealing personality of anyone I have ever met in my travels. We stood there chatting for a bit about how to cook the Inca whole dried potatoes,  Then I fired up a cee-gar and began the walk back to my flop house.

I cut down a side street through the market and came upon a dour faced old hag selling household items. I dug through her box of junk knives and unearthed this old scandinavian style blade. The handle is loose as is typical of this style blade,  but I bought it for  .25 cents. I wrapped it in paper and tied it with a string I made from a plastic bag - A La Joe Garza - and stuck it in my back pocket. 

I made one more stop to buy cactus tunas from and old man then continued my walk. I will eventually reset the handle and make a sheath for it or send it to my good buddy Joe Garza for one of his quality sheaths

The end.