BORELLI CONSULTING: Tactical Equipment Reviews

3rd Annual 90MPH With My Hair On Fire Counter-Terrorism Conference
By: Frank Borelli, 29 August 2005

OK, all. This is the longest review I've written in forever, but it's about one hell of a great event, true warriors, fantastic training and general good times. It's this long because that's what it takes to even get close to doing it justice. Read on...

I had the great pleasure this past week of attending the 3rd Annual 90MPH With My Hair On Fire Counter-Terrorism Conference along with the Neil Roberts Awards Banquet. For this week's review I want to tell you a little about the Conference, a fair amount about the Awards Banquet, and give you some ideas of the manufacturers that were there whose products we'll see in upcoming reviews.

This Conference and Awards Banquet is the brainchild of "Chief" Steven C. Bronson, USN retired, owner of Tactical Waterborne Operations. I attended the first 90MPHWMHOF Conference and had the pleasure (in '03) of listening to LtCol Dave Grossman give his presentation. The Awards Banquet was emotionally stirring and I didn't see how it could be repeated. I missed last year's, but made sure to be on hand for this year's. Remembering how fantastic the first one had been, I was looking forward to a good three days, but I wasn't really expecting the same emotional impact that I got in '03. Little did I know...

Before I go on, let me call your attention to something: throughout this review of the event, the sponsoring companies will be highlighted. Anywhere you see a company name that has a link, the link will take you to that company's website. Those companies supported this event through their sponsorship and this is a small way that they can be recognized. After you've read through - or as you go - take a moment to visit their websites and see what they are about. They did an awful lot to support our communities (military and law enforcement) through this conference and I encourage you to give them a little payback.

The conference was held at the Ramada Plaze Resort Hotel & Conference Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A better location couldn't have been found. The hotel sits right on the beach at 57th Avenue, and the Hospitality Suite (more about that later) opened right onto the beach. Perfect setting. Perfect weather.

The conference itself ran from August 23rd through August 25th, divided into two days of presentations and one day of training at Blackwater's training center in Moyock, NC - just a short drive down the road. Day 1 started early (0700) with registration for those who had gotten in late the night before. At 0800 the Conference opened with the presentation of colors; an invocation from Chaplain Don Staton (well known to most of you for his Chaplain's Corner in the Blackwater Tactical Weekly); welcome comments from Chief Jacocks of VBPD; and all the rest of the usual administrative stuff that goes on at the beginning of a conference.

It should be recognized that Virginia Beach PD (VBPD) supported this event with enthusiasm. Not only did Chief Jacocks attend both days, but he also had his entire SWAT Team on hand for security and support.

At 0830 the "Lest We Forget" presentation from several officers of the NYPD Emergency Services Unit began. I've seen other presentations about police response to the nine-eleven attacks, but nothing as personal as what we were given by John Lambkin, Kenny Winkler and Paddy McGee. To see the pictures they had, supporting the stories they told, made it all much more real. If anyone had any doubts about why we have to fight terrorists before the presentation began (a small likelyhood given the crowd), there certainly weren't any doubts after it was over. Time frames, the number of hours officers were working, and the kind of conditions they were working under were described in detail and forced a new level of respect from me toward my brothers in the NYPD ESU. Tears boiled up in my eyes more than once...

At 1000 hours the World Trade Center Traveling Memorial opened to the conference attendees only. Half an hour later it opened to the public. I didn't get a chance to walk through it until near the end of the second day of the conference and I'll address that in due time.

At 1030 the second presentation began. Carl Hospedales made a pre- and post-lunch presentation about his experiences fighting terrorism as a part of Her Majesty's Royal Air Force Special Services. While we all enjoyed picking on him for his accent (which he insisted he didn't have, clearly stating that we all did), his presentation was first rate. A few of the images were quite graphic and that only served to truly bring home how lucky we've been in this country so far. Yes, I said we've been lucky. Attacks such as those that occurred on nine-eleven have been a rare occurence here. England has been fighting (their) domestic terrorists for decades and the price they've paid is high. The terrorists they fight are so utterly merciless that even retired / former operators like Carl spend a life without wives and children rather than risking the safety of those families. After Carl's presentation I was able to get a few minutes alone with him to thank him for his time and information. His responding statements made it clear that his warrior heart is fully intact and I count him with honor as a fellow peacekeeper (tipping a couple drinks together in the hospitality suite helped tighten this bond for some reason).

After that, Bart Bjorkman gave an informative presentation on covert weapons. Every conference attendee got a copy of Bart's book as part of their registration package. This will undoubtedly serve as a good reference manual for months and years to come.

I tip my hat to the next presentor: Rodney Cox, a National Guardsman who has already performed two seperate tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. As a special forces operator, Rodney exemplifies the Citizen Soldier that comprises so much of our military might today. Not only do these soldiers serve their country well, but they do so by making additional personal sacrifices at home. When I see or hear National Guard troops refered to as "weekend warriors" it really irks me. Not just because I served five years in the Guard, but because I know all too well how much more difficult it is for these warriors to go on active duty. Their entire life has to be reorganized and service often means a substantial pay cut that leaves their families with financial challenges as well. Rodney's presentation was full of pictures he took while in theater, and the experiences he related to support the images shown were just incredible. A great big thank you goes out to Rodney.

A well known name in military and law enforcement training is Wes Doss. I had the priviledge to speak with Wes during a few free minutes that first day and it amazed me, after the fact, of how much you can tell about a person in just a few minutes of conversation. In this case I don't mean Wes' personality, but his knowledge and skill as an instructor. Our brief few minutes showed him to be articulate and full of information that he is moved to share. Probably the most credible part of his presentation is when he sights the lessons he's learned from his own mistakes. Trial and error is a truly unenjoyable way to learn. If we can learn from the mistakes of others we are far better off. Wes gives us that opportunity and I look forward to more communications with him in the future.

The training day (1) closed with a video presentation prepared by Kevin Gors. The video showed terrorists in action from different global locations, and some of the aftermath. The video really made me think about how some people seem to think we shouldn't be fighting this war against terrorism. They need to wake up and smell the coffee... or, more realistically, the blood of innocents. When preparing any contemporary warrior for training, this video should be shown. It would certainly motivate them to sharpen their skills for the hunt.

End of Day One was the raffle and auction. At the end of this review I'll list all of the sponsors (that I know of) and those who donated gear for raffle / auction. Suffice to say (for now) that over $7,500 worth of kit was raffled off, and that proved to be significantly less than what was raffled off Wednesday night. As much as I'll list all contributors later, I have to recognize Tony Oxford from National Security Associates. Tony originally promised "a few thousand" dollars worth of kit to be raffled off. That "few thousand" became more than $5,500 worth of gear. The funds from the raffle went to benefit the Naval Special Warfare Foundation (as did virtually all raffles and auctions) to support the surviving family members of Navy Special Warfare operators. That's one hell of a good cause. I can't think of a better way to say "Thank You" to these men who make the ultimate sacrifice than to insure the future of their families. Chief Bronson shared with me that the raffles were able to deliver more than $2,000 in cash to the NSW. HOOYAH! The Hospitality Suite was then open and it was grand. Ben Kimbro of Tactical Electronics provided snacks and drinks for the duration and we never even got close to running low. The Hospitality Suite was open every night, Monday through Thursday, and it stayed well stocked the whole time. Gear is always good, but at the end of the day, warriors enjoy sharing stories and experiences over good food and cold drinks. Both were available in significant quantities. Thanks, Ben.

Day Two (Wednesday morning) started out with a presentation from a true warrior - and I know a few close-minded people who wouldn't have even called her such: yes, I said "her". Deputy Jennifer Fulford from Orange County (Fla) Sheriff's Office described in plain language, step by step, how she responded to a call for service that resulted in her being shot ten times. During the course of that gunfight she fired 21 return shots killing two opponents while injured. Why was she where she was? Upon arriving to the location of the call she found out that three children were in a van in a garage and the garage was attached to the house involved in an armed home invastion. Three armed men were in the house and the children were in the van in the garage. Mom was out front and Dad was (if I recall correctly) in jail. Deputy Fulford ("everyone just calls me Jen") entered the garage to see if she could extricate the children and found herself under fire. Fifty-eight (58) seconds later she had seven bullet wounds and had killed both her attackers. The third armed man gave up without a fight inside the house. Deputy Fulford's briefing on the event as it unfolded showed just how an unknown call for service can turn into the challenge of your life. Now, I've been a cop 23 years (counting my time as an MP). I know plenty of guys who think women have no business in law enforcement. To hell with them. I was honored to shake Jen's hand and would be proud to work beside her every day of the week. I salute this contemporary warrior who showed us how it should be done.

The second presentation of the day came from two SWAT officers who were part of an operation to make a forced entry and were engaged by a gunmen with an automatic weapon. Through the course of the event two officers were killed and three wounded. This presentation about the hows and whys was invaluable - most especially for those in the room who put on their gear to go kick doors as part of their duties. Once again we see: lessons learned from the experiences of others is far better than having to learn those lessons ourselves.

After lunch the attendees were given a four hour presentation by Chase Sargent - a paramedic / firefighter in Virginia Beach - on the current status of terrorist operations today. Why a guy from VA Beach? I can only say this: Chase is qualified. His background and experience have thoroughly familiarized him with how terrorists attack, and how to deal with the aftermath. I'm glad he's on our side.

Wednesday evening saw another raffle, silent auctions, public auctions and the Neil Roberts Awards Banquet. Where to begin... A good friend of mine said it best: "Very inspiring and motivating being with guys of like mind. Great recharge for the tactical batteries...". I had the honor of sitting with two close friends of mine, both of whom are police officers, SWAT operators and police trainers. Both of these men will make fun of me because I'm not "a full size man". They are both BIG TOUGH guys. Both of them had tears in their eyes as the evening moved on.

The Neil Roberts Awards Banquet is named in honor of the first Navy SEAL killed in action in Afghanistan. Neil's widow Patty and son Nathan were both there along with other widows - all having recently lost their SEAL husbands to the War on Terror. It was, in fact, Nathan's birthday and as proud as I was to be able to join in singing Happy Birthday to a warrior's son, it was difficult to do without my voice cracking. That was but one emotionally overwhelming moment that occured that evening.

The raffle saw more than $15K worth of gear being distributed. The auctions raised well over $10K of funds. The Keynote speaker was Petty Officer Mike Thornton (USN, ret), Congressional Medal of Honor winner. He and JJ Marie (President of Zodiak) were competing back and forth during the auction. JJ finally won, but Mike stood up and said he'd write an accompanying check anyway. Just between the two of them more than $10K was raised for the Naval Special Warfare Foundation. During the raffle I was lucky enough to win a Neil Roberts Warrior Knife that came with two Neil Roberts Warrior Coins. Information on both can be found at http://www.twoboatguy.com/neil_roberts.html. I have already received several Neil Roberts Warrior Coins from Chief Bronson in the past and I passed one each to my SWAT Operator guests at the dinner. Another tearful moment as they held the coins, looked over at Nathan, realized what those coins actually memorialize, and then realized just how big the sacrifice was that Neil had made.

Mike Thornton's speach was patriotic and motivational. He spoke about God, Duty, Country and Sacrifice. He spoke about warriors of the past, present and future. It was humbling to hear a CMH winner say that HE was humbled to be in a room among so many warrior peacekeepers. After his speach, Mike helped Chief Bronson distribute the awards.

There were three awards given:
The In the Line Of Duty (ILOD) Award - given by T.W.O. and 5.11 Tactical
The Neil Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award - given by T.W.O. with input from members of the affected community
and a special recognition award - from T.W.O. and Leupold
There was also an appreciation award given that I'll get to in a moment.

The ILOD was given to Deputy Jennifer Fulford and it was a delight to see the surprise on her face. She thought she was attending the conference only to deliver her presentation. She had no idea that she was getting this award. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that she deserved it. I tip my hat to her once again.

The Neil Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award was given to JJ Marie, President of Zodiac "for a lifetime's commitment to the maritime Special Operations Community". It's my understanding that at last year's Awards Banquet a silent auction was held for a numbered Neil Roberts Warrior Knife. JJ won and then gave the knife to Patty Roberts. That is indicative of the kind of man he is. The award was well earned and well delivered.

The special recognition award was given to Brian Sain of American Snipers. Brian was the spearhead in an effort to provide much needed supplies, gear, equipment and general support to operational military snipers. To date American Snipers has delivered over a quarter of a million dollars worth of equipment to snipers overseas and they currently support 204 Sniper Platoons. Brian himself is a police sniper who was simply out to help a brother sniper. Look what it became. Good job, Brian. Ya' done good. I'd like to recognize Leupold for picking up Brian's expenses for this trip. Once again, we see a warrior who didn't know he was getting anything. He was invited and enjoyed the conference. He was left quite speachless and tearful like the other award recipients. He specifically thanked his "computer guru" Ken Good of Strategos International. Ken is a former Navy SEAL himself and I'm sure he's proud to see Brian get this recognition.

The other special appreciation award was given by Chief Bronson to Chaplain Don Staton. I count myself lucky to call Don a friend. Make no mistake, Don might be a Chaplain, but he is also a WARRIOR. Don recently retired (against his will) from the Virginia Beach PD but continues to serve and lead their Chaplain program. Chief Bronson presented Chaplain Staton with a Gerber Silver Trident knife mounted on a paddle of red, white and blue. I know Don Staton to be a strong man, but he was left both speachless and tearful with honor and appreciation. Don, you earned it many times over and you certainly deserve it. Let it continue to motivate you in the fantastic service you provide. OUR Commander-In-Chief wouldn't want it any other way.

Day Three (Thursday) was spent at Blackwater. Training was provided by:

Ron Avery who gave great instruction on pistol craft. Everything Ron had to say seemed like it was only common sense, but if it was so easy, why did it take a Nationally Ranked Competitor to say it? It was a pleasure to see those in attendance hanging on his every word.

Chattanooga SWAT officers Kevin Kincer and John Chambers presented a rifle class. I didn't get to attend but I did get to observe some of it. The guys who WERE in the class had BIG smiles on their faces (because that's how warriors usually react to shooting) and they were having a good time doing transition drills. I wish I had my camera with me because I could have gotten pictures of several thousand dollars worth of kit in the hands of these operators. Kevin and John did a fantastic job (based on the comments I received) and I know Chief Bronson has extended to them his thanks.

Tony Blauer is an overwhelmingly energetic trainer and it was a pleasure to take his class (even with the bruises that resulted from an enthusiastic training partner). Everything Tony had to say made sense and had a scientific base. I will be writing a longer article about Tony's training in the near future. In the meantime, check out what info you can find on his website at http://www.tonyblauer.com. And did you know that S.H.I.T. is an acronym? I learned this from Tony. It stands for Seriously High Intensity Training. Can you say creative and imaginative? Now you can say that word in front of your boss and cover your backside instantly. I need to mention that Tony busted his own backside to get to this event and provide us this training. He flew in from California just to be there for the training day. That speaks to his commitment to contemporary warriors and we should thank him for that.

And finally, Zodiac got a few people wet giving them rides around Blackwater's lake. It still amazes me that Blackwater actually had to put in a man-made lake when they're so close to the ocean, but water isn't always where you need it. The water at Blackwater - like virtually everything else there - was put in to increase their ability to provide training. It is an integral part of the maritime training they offer (or will offer) and it served well for Zodiak to make a few people's day. I didn't get a boat ride but I saw a few people drying off in the sun afterward.

All in all it was a full three days. From the presentations to the raffles to the auctions to the comraderie to the hospitality suite - I was going from well before 0700 to well after 2300 every day. I saw old friends and made some new ones. I was humbled to meet some folks who have done so much more than I think I'm capable of, and they talk about it like it was just another day on the job or on duty. I was honored by the gentlemen who work the World Trade Center Traveling Memorial, Lt. Chet Weekes and Lt. Gene Smith, when they said they would make a photo collage of mine part of the memorial. Talk about an ego boost - that gets immediately brought back down to reality when I remember the men and women that memorial honors. Lest We Forget...

Now for the sponsor list. Everyone below supported the conference in some way. I'm not sure who gave exactly what so I'm not going to try to get it all right here. What I do know is that every person or organization listed contributed something and it's only through their combined efforts - with the driving force of Chief Bronson behind it all - that the conference and awards banquet is what it is.

5.11 Tactical

BlackHawk Products Group

Blackwater USA

Borelli Consulting, Inc.

CamelBak

Chris Reeve Knives

Extreme Outfitters

Exxcess Quality Products

First Choice Armor

Global Protection Group

International Association of Counter-terrorism & Security Professionals

Lendy's Cafe & Rawbar

Mad 4 Art

National Security Associates

National Tactical Officers Association

Naval Special Warfare Foundation

Original SWAT

Ramada Plaza Resort & Conference Center

SPEC-OPS

Strategos International

Tactical Electronics

Under Armour

Zodiac

If you have been but missed this year, don't make that mistake again. If you've never been, watch TWO's website for info on next year's. I hope to see you there!!

I have a comment on this article.

Also, don't forget to read the new Recreational Equipment Evaluations:

Winchester 94 .30-.30 Lever Action Rifle-----29 August 2005
Plus others!!!

Check out this week's Highlighted Training Article about how using Police Chaplains as part of the selection and hiring process may help us to weed out terrorist infiltrators.

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