RMJ Tactical

January 6 UPDATE

Administrator — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:03:18 +0000

January has started in a flurry of activity. We are shipping the last of the Kestrels from this production group and have started shipping Eagle Talons from the first group of 50. We will be taking another 50 Eagle Talons to heat treat with a couple of weeks. We just delivered 100 Shrike forgings (the forged steel) to begin the blanchard grinding process, which makes the faces smooth and level. Once that is done we will begin the CNC milling of the bevels and edges. We will be starting another round of Kestrels and Talons in about a month. - Richard

RMJ Tactical at the SHOT SHOW in Las Vegas

Administrator — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:03:08 +0000

We will be at this year’s SHOT SHOW January 19-22. Our booth number is 6603 in the Law Enforcement and Tactical section of the show which is at the Sands Expo center. We will have our new Kestrels and Talons on display as well as our Shrikes. We also will have a hands on demo using one of the Shrikes to cut into a steel drum, just to show how easy it is. And ask about our new Challenge Coins for 2010 when you drop by. -Richard

Beanies and Challenge Coins are now avaialbe!!!

Administrator — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:28:35 +0000

Beanies with our “Angry Steve” logo have been requested for the cold weather and we now have Challenge Coins available!. Since our logo is kinda “pirate”, Ryan designed our coins as a pure copper dubloon. Heads is Angry Steve & 2009, tails is a crusader’s cross, Psalms 144:1 and Made in USA.

“Cutting Edge Tactical Tomahawk Roundup” in the Army Times Magazine

Administrator — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:57:12 +0000

The October 13 issue of Army Times Magazine (Military Times) has a nice article comparing four tomahawk offerings. The SOG Fusion, American Tomahawk’s Vtac, RMJ’s Shrike and the Sayoc/Winkler R&D Hawk are compared by Rob Curtis. You can view our recommended links on the sidebar to the right to jump to the article or cut and paste the link.

http://militarytimes.com/blogs/gearscout/2009/10/13/cutting-edge-tactical-tomahawk-roundup/

From Rob in Bagdad (via the Usual Suspects Network)

Administrator — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:27:57 +0000

9-4-09 A note from the sandbox, I have several guys here with shrikes as an all around breaching tool, much easier to carry than the entire kit and is just as effective. We have chopped through both wood and metal doors with it and even on occasion helped open a hole on a cinderblock wall. We use the spike to open a hole in the door and to pry it open. I have several friends in Afghanistan who prefer since most of the buildings are made of mud or brick (also made of made) and they are had as a rock. But they are easily able to chop through. They use the spike to start the deep hole and then the blade to open it up. I am a team lead and have the younger guys breaching now, but still missed the need for a hawk and recently picked up a kestrel from one of our brothers here on the forum. I used my DMT and put an edge on it that will shave my arm and used a jewelers file and the DMT to sharpen the spike. I have a new sheath coming (thanks Joe and thanks RMJ) so that I can attach it to my gear. I believe it will see a lot of use and the same when I get home. I live in the mountains of northern Idaho and plan to carry it on every outing. I see a need in some case for the spikeless model, but personnally I feel the spike is much more useful. If I need to hammer something I will just use the side. A useful model would be a kestrel without a spike and a wide back, however if you want something like that go with a belt axe. My humble opinion,

Thanks Rob

Law Enforcement Use of a Tomahawk - by George Mathies of Modern Combative Systems

Administrator — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:35:41 +0000

When you ask people what tool they associate with police, they will say a gun. When you ask the same about a fireman, they will likely say an ax. Why is that? I believe it is a combination of tradition and misunderstanding. The truth is that law enforcement now more than ever put in a position to save lives during rescue situations.

Several years ago, there was a huge push to put Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in police vehicles. The reasoning was that police are on patrol and are the true first responders, since fire / EMS often has to respond from their house or another part of town. The issuance of AEDs to police is responsible for saving the lives of others who would have otherwise died. The key is getting to victims as fast as possible. Arriving at the scene is only one part of making that happen. They need to be able to get into the structure where victims lie helpless. This supports the case for individual patrol officers having breaching tools at their disposal. Because of size, weight, design and price, I believe the best option is the tactical tomahawk by RMJ Tactical called the Shrike.

Officers are the first responders to a myriad of emergency calls including motor vehicle accidents, structure fires, check the well being calls, and the ambiguous 911 hang up. While serving as a policeman, I had an affinity for “kicking doors” as they say in the business. Having served both as the breacher for our SWAT team and as a patrolman, allowed me to be involved in several different breaching scenarios. Being slow or unsuccessful when breaching a door during a narcotics warrant may result in lost evidence. Doing the same during a house fire or domestic disturbance or working fire may result in lost lives. Imagine responding to a house fire at 3 AM and seeing a victim laying motionless just inside the door and not being able to gain access to help them.

As I already mentioned, the most common way for a patrol officer to gain access to a residence during an emergency is by kicking a door in. Most of the time this does little damage to the door but devastates the frame of the door. Think of the time and money you could save the property owner by using the tomahawk and measured response to pop the door open.

Ask the average patrol officer what he used to break a window at the last motor vehicle accident he responded to and he will most likely say that it was his expandable baton. Not only is the baton engineered and carried to be used as a defensive weapon against people, there is no training that I am aware of where they advise that it be used for an entry tool. It can be very frustrating to beat on a window with your baton while people are trapped inside with the distant sound of rescue vehicles sounding miles away.

By now most officers have received training in reference to responding to an active shooter scenario. Often these incidents take place in schools and other government buildings. These structures usually have heavy exterior and interior doors with windows reinforced with chicken wire. We know from experience that these incidents happen fast. The best-trained, highly motivated officer, carrying the best weapons will be of no use to stop the carnage if he cannot get into the structure.

The tactical tomahawk should be issued and labeled a breaching tool along with other rescue equipment such as the AED, first aid kit, and fire extinguisher. Being able to pierce, pry, pull, and push your way into where victims lay may mean the difference between life and death.

RMJ goes to The Gathering of the Usual Suspect Network

Administrator — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:38:31 +0000

Over the Labor Day weekend, Ryan and Richard attended the first annual Gathering of the USN. The Usual Suspect Network is an online forum of gun and knife aficionados and for the first time they held a conference of their own which was held in Las Vegas. Great knife makers and manufacturers attended and it was great to meet the Suspects. One of the great moments for us was the opportunity to meet Sargent Major Christianson of the Stars and Strips Foundation. We are highly impressed by this group and the work they do for the wounded troops and their families. We understand that 100% of donations go to the troops they help. Everyone who works for the Foundation is a volunteer. Their motto is Mission First, Troops Always. And “Being Forgotten is not an Option”.

Richard, Ryan, Sargent Major Christianson, and George Mathies

In the picture, the Sargent Major is holding a Shrike with serial # 911, which is going to a special forces operator who is about to be deployed.

A couple of phone conversations to relate.

Administrator — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:17:02 +0000

Two phone conversations that I have had over the past few weeks. The first was from a father of a serviceman who was preparing to go back for his second tour in Iraq. He said, “You may think you know how important what you do is, but you really don’t know. My son, the last time he was in Iraq, he and his team had been pinned down in a building for three days. He used his tomahawk to cut a hole in a concrete wall that allowed his team to get out of the building and escape through a back alley.” I asked him why he needed another tomahawk and he told me that his son left his with the guy who replaced him.

Last week, we received an order from a young man who just graduated from Ranger school. He said he was ordering one because his platoon Sargent gave them a list of non-issue items that they needed. The first item was one of our tomahawks. The second was “lots of handi-wipes.”. I asked if he knew how his platoon Sargent knew of our hawks and he said that he carries one of our Kestrel tomahawks”.

RMJ goes to DARC 1

Administrator — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:54:52 +0000

8/10/09 During the first week in August, Ryan, Richard, and Richard’s sons Jonathan and Reid, were invited by DARC to observe and participate in a week of urban warfare training. A group from AFSOC and a two of the 82 Airborne were going through instruction during the day and then at night participating in simulation exercises in the “kill house”. The simulations were run with groups of between 5 and 18 students (the “heroes”), full gear and gas masks, outfitted with M4s clearing the “kill house” of role players (the “zeroes”), who were also equipped with M4s. As role players we were covered with various types of body armor suitable for simulation rounds and a Darth Vader style helmet. It was like wearing a pressure cooker. And the sim rounds still hurt. We each were given between 8 and 12 mags of simunition and were placed in the house. Several of the players were positioned in specific rooms while others were free roaming. The first night there was a lot of chaos, as the “heroes” were learning the procedures. They were in the dark using their mounted flashlights to “see”. I gotta tell you, as a roll player, knowing they were coming got my body reacting like I had just run a wind sprint. Heart pounding and heavy breathing. Then the shooting would begin. Room after room, the teams would search. Exchanging fire whenever they encountered a “zero”. The firefights that occurred as down hallways was fierce. Thousands of rounds of simunition would be fired during each simulation.

The first simulations you could hear the communication between the team members over the gun fire. Then, the trainers of DARC added some music to have firefights with. White Zombie and Metallica were the music of choice. And it blared throughout the kill house. Gunfire and heavy metal. It was like living a video game. As the players would get hit, you died. Until you were notified that you came back to life. Then the player would begin harassing the rear guard of the heroes.

Each simulation would last an hour to an hour and a half. Then, the role players would go back to their building, re load, cool off, and re hydrate in preparation for the next team to engage. So from about 9pm till 3am each night, the simulations would run.

Each night the hero teams got better. At first the players had the upper hand and caused lots of damage. But as the week progressed, DARC gave them more techniques and the last two nights they got to use their night vision. I was awesome watching the groups working smoothly as a unit go through the house cleaning it out. Watching was inspiring, but sitting waiting for them to get to me was hear pounding, as they rolled through the house.

We would see the next day the damage the sim rounds made when the trainees would be in shorts and t-shirts and the marks left on their arms and legs were visible. Some of their legs looked like hamburger. And since they didn’t “die” they received many more hits than the role players did. And the hits taken through just pants or shirts leave circular bruises and many times drew blood. I got a burst of five across my back as I was backing out a window. Ryan took several in the stomach below his mag pouch that drew blood. And we all took hits to the arms and legs. Reid decided to opt for cool over protection the last night and went with short sleeves. He had 5 hits to his forearms that left 1/2″ bloody circles.

We were so impressed by the training, the attitude of the guys from AFSOC and the 82nd, and the situations that they are trained to handle. Kudos to those who provide our servicemen with this kind of training. By participating we have a new level of appreciation of what our warriors are facing.

We were asked several times while we were there, “why are you guys here?”. Answer: to watch and learn. By seeing the situations that come up during the urban warfare situation, we are better able to design our tomahawks to meet the needs of those who are carrying them in these situations.

I will get some pictures up soon.

Richard