SAGE M14 EBR, M1A, Mk14, MOD 0, MOD 1, MOD 2, M39 EMR, M4, SOCOM II, TACOM-RI, M14ALCS, PMRI, EBR,
Safe Buying Guide
In the next up coming weeks, I will be adding commentaries and a new side bar about information regarding rifle safes and the Do's and Dont's about them. Also the other related topics will be added as well.
The Do's and Dont's of Safe Buying
DO purchase a safe that is bigger than you think you need.
Your gun collection is bound to grow over time. A good safe is more than just a gun locker--it becomes a secure storage device for your family's other valuables as well. You'll find you quickly fill up even a large safe. Spend the money for the size, protection, and features you want. Your gun collection may be worth many tens of thousands of dollars. Some people who visit this site wouldn't hesistate to spend $1100 for a custom action or $1400 for a NightForce scope, yet they don't want to spend more than a few hundred dollars on a safe. That's not common sense. If you're on a tight budget, consider a used safe. Unlike many other products, safes don't really wear out over time. When businesses change locations, you can get a very high quality commercial safe for little more than the cost of removing it.
DO spend more for a safe that offers fire-resistance.
But you have to do your homework--you can spend a lot of money for "fire-proofing" that actually is not very effective. Make sure if sheet-rock is used that it is properly installed. If you have valuable documents and media files, it's not a bad idea to purchase a smaller, commercial-grade fire safe to put inside the gun safe. This gives you double protection.
DO look at many different brands of safes before you buy.
There ARE significant differences among brands. For example, Browning offers a unique (patent-pending) door-mounted rifle rack. Zanotti offers slide-out drawers and a modular design that is much easier for an owner to move. Ft. Knox uses an advanced method to secure and stabilize its fire-proofing layers within the safe. Brown offers custom exotic wood interior shelving and safes with commercial-grade burglary protection (much thicker steel with heavy composite doors and walls). Amsec offers a proprietary "DryLight" poured concrete-type fire insulation with greater structural strength than typical sheet-rock panels.
DO investigate the safe's specifications.
Just because a safe is big and heavy doesn't mean it's particularly secure. Heavy-gauge steel is much more resistant to cutting and drilling than light 12- or 14-gauge steel. Some safes on the market have walls so thin they can be penetrated with a fire ax. We recommend 10-gauge steel at a minimum, and 8 gauge is much better. The safe should carry a UL RSC (Underwriters Laboratories "Residential Security Container") or better rating.
DO ask about the safe's safeguards against tampering.
A quality safe will feature extra armor or devices to defeat drilling. Low-grade safes can be opened in a few minutes with simple, battery-powered hand tools. All safes should have relockers to help ensure the safe remains locked in the case of a burglary. Relockers are hardened pins that are triggered during an attack, and cannot be retracted without hours of drilling. The number of relockers on a safe ranges from 2-10+ depending on the safe's size and burglary grade.
DON'T store powder in your safe. A tightly-sealed metal box with a large quantity of powder inside is a bomb. Store powder in a separate, lightly-constructed cabinet or wood box. The main thing for powder is to keep it dry and away from moisture and light.
DON'T store large quantities of primers in your safe. If one primer goes off it can detonate others, causing a chain reaction. If you have many thousands of primers, don't store them all in one corner of your reloading area.
DON'T leave the wooden pallet on your safe and rely on the safe's mass alone to deter thieves. A 10-year-old kid with a rented pallet jack can move a 1000-pound safe with ease if the pallet is attached and the safe is not bolted down.
DON'T locate your safe in plain view, such as the front of your garage, or corner of your living room. This is just an invitation to theft. And be discrete when you load and unload firearms--so you don't advertise to the whole neighborhood that you have a large gun collection.
DON'T leave power tools or cutting torches near your safe.
Information from 6mmBR.com
The Do's and Dont's of Safe Buying
DO purchase a safe that is bigger than you think you need.
Your gun collection is bound to grow over time. A good safe is more than just a gun locker--it becomes a secure storage device for your family's other valuables as well. You'll find you quickly fill up even a large safe. Spend the money for the size, protection, and features you want. Your gun collection may be worth many tens of thousands of dollars. Some people who visit this site wouldn't hesistate to spend $1100 for a custom action or $1400 for a NightForce scope, yet they don't want to spend more than a few hundred dollars on a safe. That's not common sense. If you're on a tight budget, consider a used safe. Unlike many other products, safes don't really wear out over time. When businesses change locations, you can get a very high quality commercial safe for little more than the cost of removing it.
DO spend more for a safe that offers fire-resistance.
But you have to do your homework--you can spend a lot of money for "fire-proofing" that actually is not very effective. Make sure if sheet-rock is used that it is properly installed. If you have valuable documents and media files, it's not a bad idea to purchase a smaller, commercial-grade fire safe to put inside the gun safe. This gives you double protection.
DO look at many different brands of safes before you buy.
There ARE significant differences among brands. For example, Browning offers a unique (patent-pending) door-mounted rifle rack. Zanotti offers slide-out drawers and a modular design that is much easier for an owner to move. Ft. Knox uses an advanced method to secure and stabilize its fire-proofing layers within the safe. Brown offers custom exotic wood interior shelving and safes with commercial-grade burglary protection (much thicker steel with heavy composite doors and walls). Amsec offers a proprietary "DryLight" poured concrete-type fire insulation with greater structural strength than typical sheet-rock panels.
DO investigate the safe's specifications.
Just because a safe is big and heavy doesn't mean it's particularly secure. Heavy-gauge steel is much more resistant to cutting and drilling than light 12- or 14-gauge steel. Some safes on the market have walls so thin they can be penetrated with a fire ax. We recommend 10-gauge steel at a minimum, and 8 gauge is much better. The safe should carry a UL RSC (Underwriters Laboratories "Residential Security Container") or better rating.
DO ask about the safe's safeguards against tampering.
A quality safe will feature extra armor or devices to defeat drilling. Low-grade safes can be opened in a few minutes with simple, battery-powered hand tools. All safes should have relockers to help ensure the safe remains locked in the case of a burglary. Relockers are hardened pins that are triggered during an attack, and cannot be retracted without hours of drilling. The number of relockers on a safe ranges from 2-10+ depending on the safe's size and burglary grade.
DON'T store powder in your safe. A tightly-sealed metal box with a large quantity of powder inside is a bomb. Store powder in a separate, lightly-constructed cabinet or wood box. The main thing for powder is to keep it dry and away from moisture and light.
DON'T store large quantities of primers in your safe. If one primer goes off it can detonate others, causing a chain reaction. If you have many thousands of primers, don't store them all in one corner of your reloading area.
DON'T leave the wooden pallet on your safe and rely on the safe's mass alone to deter thieves. A 10-year-old kid with a rented pallet jack can move a 1000-pound safe with ease if the pallet is attached and the safe is not bolted down.
DON'T locate your safe in plain view, such as the front of your garage, or corner of your living room. This is just an invitation to theft. And be discrete when you load and unload firearms--so you don't advertise to the whole neighborhood that you have a large gun collection.
DON'T leave power tools or cutting torches near your safe.
Information from 6mmBR.com
HDTV Guide
Well here is another Off Topic Commentary that I would like to share with you all and it is about the HDTV and all its language or terminology. Reason being for this post is that I am in the market to buy a new HDTV may it be LED, LCD, or Plasma. It has come to my conclusion that while going to my favorite department store, I have asked the same questions over and over to several different sales people on such acronyms. Some of you out there may be tuned into this realm of HDTV electronics vocabulary and some of you may not be.....like my self. So here is a guide for for looking into purchasing your next HDTV and not being so lost as I was. Now that I have been doing such research and having a better understanding about this subject matter, I have the Information now and to be a smart savvy shopper to get the more bang for my Do$$ars and Yes..........why I should get that particular model/brand HDTV for me and my family.
The scan rate of an HDTV can be either interlaced or progressive. Have you ever seen video footage of a PC screen on the nightly news? If so, you may have noticed how the screen seems have a constant stream of "sweeping" lines, almost like a slide show. That is an interlaced picture, prominently found on computer screens. Similarly, interlaced HDTVs (and monitors) refresh every other line of the picture, every other time. The process is unseen by the naked eye. However, interlaced screens are known to cause the "eye distress" that adults warned you about when you sat too close to the TV set as a kid.
Progressive sets, on the other hand, refresh every line every single time, much like one long "sweep" down the screen after another. Progressive pictures are easier on the eyes, display a smooth viewing image with less "jaggies," and consequentially, cost a little more.
Summary: Interlaced HDTVs - 1080i - have basically gone extinct. All of the HDTVs you come across these days will be 1080p or "progressive."
DLP or "Digital Light Processing" is a rear projection technology for television. DLP HDTVs are immune from screen burn-in & color decay, and able to represent high speed images without ghosting or blurring effects that other television technologies suffer from. They are known to have excellent color and grayscale representation. Older DLP HDTVs were known to suffer from a condition known as the "rainbow effect," in which bright white tones projected over black backgrounds appear in a multi-color effect. However, this is no longer an issue with current day models. If you're going for a projection HDTV, a DLP one should be considered a worthy investment for its long life, great color quality and slim size. Mitsubishi continues to dominate this market.
Summary: If you're looking to buy a Projection TV, make sure it's a DLP.
Plasma is one of the older technologies that gained popularity during the early inception of HDTVs to the consumer market. This display technology uses ionized gas to form plasma (plasma is a type of gas with ionized particles) which emits photons (a basic unit of light). Thousands and thousands of cells, coated with phosphors, give off colored light when struck with these photons. This, in turn, creates the picture you see on the screen. Did you think you'd get away without a little science lesson here?
Compared to LCD, plasma screens generally have a better color spectrum and viewing angle, as well darker black/brighter white rendition and a vastly superior response time. For years, plasma screens were notorious for suffering from "burnout," which is when a static image or some text will permanently "burn" itself on the screen if it remains for too long (i.e., a logo that sits on the screen for hours until the image changes).
Plasma traditionally suffered from "ghosting," or trails that follow objects as they move around on the screen. Advances in plasma technology have worked to lessen many of these issues, as today's plasma sets have eliminated many of these old issues.
Summary: Don't let this old technology fool you - plasma is still a great choice. Their picture will have a more fluid, natural appearance than an LCD or LED. However, they use far more power and are not very energy efficient compared to other HDTV types.
Sometimes, HDTVs will be advertised as an "LED HDTV." It's a little confusing as to why they are advertised that way...here's why: LED, or "Light-Emitting Diode" is a newer technology in the realm of HDTVs. In this sense, however, it is not an LCD alternative but simply a technology that has been used to replace the HDTV's fluorescent backlighting with LED backlighting. LED backlighting claims to give HDTVs better color fidelity than its flourescent counterpart.
However, LED TVs are not exactly 100% "powered by LED" as you'd seem to think from their marketing descriptions. They are basically LCD HDTVs with LED diodes.
In general, LEDs use less power, have a longer lifetime, and have a faster response time than fluorescent lighting. You're probably familiar with products like LED pointers - it's the same technology in the little bulbs within them. Note that there is no real improvement in color, contrast nor lighting with an LED HDTV. In many cases, LED HDTVs have a more difficult time uniformly displaying brighness across an image than an LCD HDTV does.
You may have already seen terms here, such as "16:9 aspect ratio," and had no clue what it meant. Aspect ratio simply means "units high x units wide." So, a 16:9 HDTV is 16 units wide x 9 units high ("units" meaning the measurement of an original video production, a broadcasting term).
Wide sets allow you to see widescreen movies in their "natural mode," without the letterbox crop bars. They also allow you to watch the older, non-narrow shows as well, albeit with the black crop bars on the left and right. Overall, the newer, wider 16:9 is the winner over the older 4:3 analog television screens for their breadth of view, and ability to watch older formats, as well!
Summary: HDTVs have an aspect ratio of 16:9, which most know as "widescreen." This is why your old family videos from the 1980s will have large black framed portions on both sides when viewed on an HDTV.
HDTVs are always defined by the resolution, or the number of vertical pixels that they have. For instance, a 720 HDTV has 720 pixels per line going up and down (rather, vertically) the screen itself, and across 1,280 lines going horizontally to the other end of the screen.
In contrast, a 1080 HDTV has 1080 pixels per line going vertically, with 1,920 lines going across, horizontally. In these cases, the 1080 HDTV set is the better of the two - since more pixels means more detail.
Note that the resolution and the actual size of the screen in inches are not directly related: therefore, a 22" 1080p HDTV and a 22" 720p HDTV can both exist (don't assume that smaller screens are always 720p!)
Summary: If you're looking to get an HDTV that is 50" or over, make sure it is a 1080p. For screens smaller than this, the difference between 720 and 1080 won't really be noticeable to the naked eye at a distance. It's always best to stick with a 1080, but not a crisis if you don't, in this case.
All of the information reviewed above is all you'll need to narrow down your final decision...it also helps to see what current owners of HDTVs are saying about their set. Take reviews with a grain of salt, as some people tend to over-dramatize issues, or even rate a product poorly due to the price of shipping! Look for intelligent, well-written and concise reviews, regardless if they're positive or negative.
Here's a concluding list of what to look for in your next purchase:
1: Learning About HDTV Technology
What Is Scan Rate?
Interlaced vs. Progressive
The scan rate of an HDTV can be either interlaced or progressive. Have you ever seen video footage of a PC screen on the nightly news? If so, you may have noticed how the screen seems have a constant stream of "sweeping" lines, almost like a slide show. That is an interlaced picture, prominently found on computer screens. Similarly, interlaced HDTVs (and monitors) refresh every other line of the picture, every other time. The process is unseen by the naked eye. However, interlaced screens are known to cause the "eye distress" that adults warned you about when you sat too close to the TV set as a kid.
Progressive sets, on the other hand, refresh every line every single time, much like one long "sweep" down the screen after another. Progressive pictures are easier on the eyes, display a smooth viewing image with less "jaggies," and consequentially, cost a little more.
Summary: Interlaced HDTVs - 1080i - have basically gone extinct. All of the HDTVs you come across these days will be 1080p or "progressive."
What is DLP HDTV?
Learn about this projection technology
DLP or "Digital Light Processing" is a rear projection technology for television. DLP HDTVs are immune from screen burn-in & color decay, and able to represent high speed images without ghosting or blurring effects that other television technologies suffer from. They are known to have excellent color and grayscale representation. Older DLP HDTVs were known to suffer from a condition known as the "rainbow effect," in which bright white tones projected over black backgrounds appear in a multi-color effect. However, this is no longer an issue with current day models. If you're going for a projection HDTV, a DLP one should be considered a worthy investment for its long life, great color quality and slim size. Mitsubishi continues to dominate this market.
Summary: If you're looking to buy a Projection TV, make sure it's a DLP.
What is Plasma HDTV?
Color via illuminated gas
Plasma is one of the older technologies that gained popularity during the early inception of HDTVs to the consumer market. This display technology uses ionized gas to form plasma (plasma is a type of gas with ionized particles) which emits photons (a basic unit of light). Thousands and thousands of cells, coated with phosphors, give off colored light when struck with these photons. This, in turn, creates the picture you see on the screen. Did you think you'd get away without a little science lesson here?
Compared to LCD, plasma screens generally have a better color spectrum and viewing angle, as well darker black/brighter white rendition and a vastly superior response time. For years, plasma screens were notorious for suffering from "burnout," which is when a static image or some text will permanently "burn" itself on the screen if it remains for too long (i.e., a logo that sits on the screen for hours until the image changes).
Plasma traditionally suffered from "ghosting," or trails that follow objects as they move around on the screen. Advances in plasma technology have worked to lessen many of these issues, as today's plasma sets have eliminated many of these old issues.
Summary: Don't let this old technology fool you - plasma is still a great choice. Their picture will have a more fluid, natural appearance than an LCD or LED. However, they use far more power and are not very energy efficient compared to other HDTV types.
About LED and LCD: What's the Difference?
A Newer HDTV Backlighting Technology
Sometimes, HDTVs will be advertised as an "LED HDTV." It's a little confusing as to why they are advertised that way...here's why: LED, or "Light-Emitting Diode" is a newer technology in the realm of HDTVs. In this sense, however, it is not an LCD alternative but simply a technology that has been used to replace the HDTV's fluorescent backlighting with LED backlighting. LED backlighting claims to give HDTVs better color fidelity than its flourescent counterpart.
However, LED TVs are not exactly 100% "powered by LED" as you'd seem to think from their marketing descriptions. They are basically LCD HDTVs with LED diodes.
In general, LEDs use less power, have a longer lifetime, and have a faster response time than fluorescent lighting. You're probably familiar with products like LED pointers - it's the same technology in the little bulbs within them. Note that there is no real improvement in color, contrast nor lighting with an LED HDTV. In many cases, LED HDTVs have a more difficult time uniformly displaying brighness across an image than an LCD HDTV does.
HDTV Salesman Tricks
Ever wonder why some HDTVs look so much better than others at the store?
A common sales tactic that retailers use to upsell certain HDTV models
is to modify their video signal. HDTVs with a dedicated video signal are
working at their full capacity, whereas HDTVs that are all using a
split signal will have significantly less strength, and therefore, not
look as good. Be sure to look behind the HDTV to see if the cable behind
it is leading to other HDTVs around it (split), or, if it has a cable
leading directly into it (dedicated).
Wait, there's more!
Some sets are purposely displayed with
incorrect brightness and contrast balances. This is why some HDTVs look
drastically crisper and clearer than others: it's because the department
store is trying to make certain HDTVs look more favorable -- typically,
the ones whose inventory they are looking to reduce.. Don't fall for
it!
LCD HDTV Aspect Ratio
Understanding an HDTV's viewing size
You may have already seen terms here, such as "16:9 aspect ratio," and had no clue what it meant. Aspect ratio simply means "units high x units wide." So, a 16:9 HDTV is 16 units wide x 9 units high ("units" meaning the measurement of an original video production, a broadcasting term).
Wide sets allow you to see widescreen movies in their "natural mode," without the letterbox crop bars. They also allow you to watch the older, non-narrow shows as well, albeit with the black crop bars on the left and right. Overall, the newer, wider 16:9 is the winner over the older 4:3 analog television screens for their breadth of view, and ability to watch older formats, as well!
Summary: HDTVs have an aspect ratio of 16:9, which most know as "widescreen." This is why your old family videos from the 1980s will have large black framed portions on both sides when viewed on an HDTV.
What Does "720" or "1080" HDTV Mean?
It's all about the pixels
HDTVs are always defined by the resolution, or the number of vertical pixels that they have. For instance, a 720 HDTV has 720 pixels per line going up and down (rather, vertically) the screen itself, and across 1,280 lines going horizontally to the other end of the screen.
In contrast, a 1080 HDTV has 1080 pixels per line going vertically, with 1,920 lines going across, horizontally. In these cases, the 1080 HDTV set is the better of the two - since more pixels means more detail.
Note that the resolution and the actual size of the screen in inches are not directly related: therefore, a 22" 1080p HDTV and a 22" 720p HDTV can both exist (don't assume that smaller screens are always 720p!)
Summary: If you're looking to get an HDTV that is 50" or over, make sure it is a 1080p. For screens smaller than this, the difference between 720 and 1080 won't really be noticeable to the naked eye at a distance. It's always best to stick with a 1080, but not a crisis if you don't, in this case.
2: Narrow It Down - the Features You Must Have!
A Review of What To Look For in Your New HDTV
A Review & Checklist of Everything We've Gone Over
All of the information reviewed above is all you'll need to narrow down your final decision...it also helps to see what current owners of HDTVs are saying about their set. Take reviews with a grain of salt, as some people tend to over-dramatize issues, or even rate a product poorly due to the price of shipping! Look for intelligent, well-written and concise reviews, regardless if they're positive or negative.
Here's a concluding list of what to look for in your next purchase:
- LCD vs. LED: There's really no such thing as an "LED HDTV," just an LCD that uses either edge or back-lit LEDs. LED is widely a gimmick intended to make an LED HDTV sound more technologically advanced (therefore, higher priced) than an LCD HDTV; however, comparisons between the two have proven that the LED HDTV simply isn't worth paying more money for. If there's a huge jump in price between an LED and LCD you're looking at, then stick with the LCD. Note that LEDs are more energy efficient, though.
- LCD/LED vs. Plasma: Plasmas have refresh & response rates that simply blow all other technologies out of the water. That means a more fluid picture that looks great, even when something high-speed is being watched...and even at an angle. They also display darker black tones than LCD or LED, but use vastly more energy than both. As you can see, this is a choice of your personal preference amongst these sole attributes.
- 3D or no 3D?: 3DTVs have both a 2D and 3D mode, and their 2D mode is as good as any other run-of-the-mill HDTV on the market. It's up to you. Note that this is still a market in its infancy, that is constantly being improved and updated. Anyone purchasing a 3DTV today is doing so in a very rapidly changing market. If you want to watch movies in 3D, you'll also need a BluRay 3D player, and will also need to buy all of your movies over again in BluRay 3D format. There are various TV broadcasts in 3D, however, not many.
- LCD/LED/Plasma vs Projection HDTV People who buy rear-projection HDTVs do so because they want a mammoth sized screen at the sacrifice of picture quality. If you're looking for a projection HDTV, look for a DLP one.
- HDTV Size: While there are complicated diagrams showing the optimal sized HDTV for an exact room size, nobody truly follows those charts. 46" is what you'll find to be the most common HDTV size, and it fits nicely in most rooms. Why not measure out 32", 46" and 55" with your tape measure to see what makes the most sense, if you're concerned about getting something too big or too small?
- DTV Ready: Today's HDTVs are DTV ready and can receive digital TV signals without the need of an external device. You won't have to research this anymore.
- Resolution: If the HDTV is over 50", get a 1080p. If it's 50" or less, there will be no visible difference between 720p and 1080p, so either is fine.
- Refresh Rate: HDTVs with higher refresh rates (i.e., 120 Hz) will show fast scenes more smoothly than those with low refresh rates (i.e., 60 Hz). The higher the Refresh Rate, the better...both for picture quality, and on eye strain. Know that 120 Hz is pretty much your standard refresh rate.
Information by www.squidoo.com
My first M1A build! (TROY MCS)
I say 'first' because I know that I will have more M1As in the near future, I absolutely love it!
I received the rifle (SA Scout Squad) about a month ago, and have broken in the barrel, receiver and receiver with 62 rounds, with 3 cleaning and re-greasings in there.
Anyway, I got the remainder of my parts in last week, and I was able to set aside some time to assemble it a couple of days ago! I haven't been able to get out to the range as of yet, but that'll probably happen this week. Without further ado, here is Rebecca! (please excuse the horrible background)
Specs-
Springfield M1A Scout Squad
Troy Modular Chassis System M1A
SEI Extended bolt release
Magpul UBR Stock
Magpul MIAD grip
ACOG 3.5x Horseshoe reticle
Troy backup sights
UTG metal vertical grip/handstop
Old as hell harris clone that works great
Range report to follow this week!
Submitted By AndrewinCO
B-2 Stealth Bomber - Full Program
Here is a great video about the B2 Stealth Bomber and the history of using bomber missions in its early days during World War One. Enjoy watching the video.
Best Regards,
M1A96819
By jasonmedia
Best Regards,
M1A96819
By jasonmedia
USSOCOM Artist Designs Vietnam Memorial and its Surrounding Grounds
“I learned through a co-worker that Hillsborough County was going to build a Vietnam Memorial and I wanted to get involved,” Lawn said. “I met a gentleman named Bob Silmser who is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Chair for the county and we started the collaboration.”
There are 155 names from the Vietnam era with Hillsborough County, Fla., connections carved in stone on a six-foot-high wall in a park surrounded by sweeping live oaks. The wall sits at the center of a square brick plaza framed by two helicopters that flew in the war, a Huey and a Cobra attack helicopter.
On the back of the black wall is an etched mural of scenes from the fighting in Vietnam. Air Force planes fly overhead just above Army helicopters – Navy and Coast Guard ships and boats ply the seas and rivers – Marines and Soldiers doing battle – a Special Forces Soldier walking through tall grass. Below the artwork are 155 stars representing Hillsborough’s casualties in the Vietnam War.
From that first meeting Silmser and Lawn hashed out ideas on how to create the memorial. The collaboration took a year and a half until the memorial was dedicated Nov 11. Lawn described his emotions at the unveiling as having opening day jitters.
“I did a series of sketches for Bob until we both became comfortable with the design,” said Lawn. “Once the design was done, a specialized company etched it in stone – This was the nerve wracking part because taking a small drawing and blowing it up to fit on three four-feet-wide, six-feet-high panels is a very challenging problem – I was really pleased and relieved at the unveiling of the wall because I think we pulled it off.”
Silmser had total confidence in Lawn’s ability and marveled at his talent and humility.
“Tim is an absolutely amazing artist and an extraordinary veteran,” Silmser said. “He is also very humble. You can barely see his signature on the bottom right of the mural.”
Lawn, assigned to the Visual Information Center, has worked at USSOCOM for more than six years as an Army reservist and a civilian. While a reservist, Lawn deployed to Iraq and sketched combat scenes and the artwork he created for the Army can be found at the U.S. Army Center for Military History in the journal entitled Army Artists Look at the War on Terrorism.
“I spent more than nine years in the Marine infantry before I got out and went to school at Ringling College of Art and Design,” said Lawn. “I have always enjoyed art growing up so I decided I wanted to create art as a career.”
Lawn graduated with a degree in Computer Graphics and Interactive Communications, but missed the military life and decided to join the Army reserves. It was during that time Lawn deployed to Iraq and created the extensive combat art collection.
“The deployment to Iraq was professionally the most rewarding,” said Lawn. “I got to be part of the military, which I really enjoy, and I got to sketch life around me.”
Today, Lawn serves as a civilian supporting the command by building briefings for Congress and creating a myriad of graphic products designed to convey the command’s message.
“I love coming to work everyday because of the caliber of people and the importance of the mission of SOCOM,” Lawn said. “True American patriots roam our hallways and I can’t think of a better place to work than that.”
Tim Lawn, an illustrator assigned to USSOCOM, stands in front of a Vietnam Memorial created based on his sketches. The wall is part of the new Vietnam Memorial located at Veterans Memorial Park near Tampa, Fla. and was dedicated Nov 11.
Story and Photos by Mike Bottoms
Story and Photos by Mike Bottoms
The Vietnam Memorial can be found at 3602 N US Highway 301, Tampa, Fla.
Full Auto Cut-out Cover
Wow......As
the new year starts for 2012, there is a new product for the Sage EBR
chassis. Has any one ever wondered when they received their Sage EBR
stock and saw a gap on the right rear of the receiver well? That gap on
the right side of the receiver on your Sage stock is for a Full Auto
Selector switch for the U.S. Military and for the general civilian
population, It will be the Dummy Selector Switch.
This new product that is now currently available is called the Full Auto Cut-Out Cover. If you decide to option out and not adding a dummy selector switch kit and want the gap filled, there is a product from Sage International, LTD. You can order them direct from SAGE (pn # M14FACC).
This new product that is now currently available is called the Full Auto Cut-Out Cover. If you decide to option out and not adding a dummy selector switch kit and want the gap filled, there is a product from Sage International, LTD. You can order them direct from SAGE (pn # M14FACC).
Photo By EBRbuilder
