John, a military officer in Colorado (could this be at the Air Force Academy or Cheyenne Mountain?) sends in his off-duty carry for today’s EDC submission.

A Kimber 1911.  Mmm, nice.  Can’t go wrong, even if the design is approaching 110 years old.  (Perhaps just maybe it was the original “perfection?”)

Apparently John (him, not me) carries it on an empty chamber though?  Is that military training or just foolishness?  Also curious what he uses for a carry rig.  Frankly, I’d empty-chamber a 1911 if sticking it in my pants, but then again, I’m not high-speed, low-drag.  Nor am I fluent in 1911 actions.

He clips a Spyderco Delica to his pants.  I like the spidey knives too.  But the Brinkmann flashlight?  Seriously?  Beats those Eveready floating 6-volt lanterns, I guess.

The Luminox Diver Navy Seal watch is an interesting choice.  Nothing at all wrong with Luminox other than out of my budget, but I hope he’s in the US Navy!  Although last I checked, Colorado didn’t have many seaports.  But then again, the wife says I’m geographically challenged.  Baloney.  I’ve got the Google (woman) to tell me where to turn.

Good on John for carrying while off-duty.  And good on him for carrying a flashlight, even if it’s not exactly a more conventional self-defense type torch.

And lastly, but not leastly:  Thank you for your service, John.

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63 COMMENTS

      • “I think the Stargate was installed approx. 1997.”

        That would explain how so many of the operations ended up in the Delta Quadrant.

        • ” Delta Quadrant” exists in the Star Trek universe, not in the Stargate universe.

          Just saying. This would be just as annoying as referring to an AR-15 as an assault rifle.

          Yeah, i’m a nerd…… w

          • “Just saying. This would be just as annoying as referring to an AR-15 as an assault rifle.”

            Actually, the joke is conflating the two universes for fun and running nonsensical comments. Just to see how many cross connects can be used to keep the gag running.

            Sometimes nerds need to come up for air, eh?

      • Dang, I had to google both Cheyenne Mountain and Stargate…and I call myself a Sci Fi nerd. On a side note, I did a mag dump with a P90 earlier this year and am currently reading Hyperion.

        • “I had to google both Cheyenne Mountain and Stargate…and I call myself a Sci Fi nerd.”

          For shame Sir. For shame!

    • There have been changes there in the military units operating inside the mountain, but it is still a going concern.

      They have to keep it going. They need the cover of normal operations to conceal the secret, deeper levels where StarGate Command runs its off-world missions.

      • “They need the cover of normal operations to conceal the secret, deeper levels where StarGate Command runs its off-world missions.”

        Did they remove the prison for aliens? Things can get crowded in there. Or is the interior lake empty, and they put the prisoners in there?

        • “ Did they remove the prison for aliens? Things can get crowded in there. Or is the interior lake empty, and they put the prisoners in there?”

          My old high school did a field trip there last year. Lake is empty, and they said the overflow alien prison was built. Lots of aliens were there. Oh wait, sorry, that was a field trip they made to the ICE substation near Denver. Mixing things up…

          • “Mixing things up…”

            Understand, the terminology is a bit puzzling. Are extraterrestrial aliens also “illegal aliens”?

            • “Understand, the terminology is a bit puzzling. Are extraterrestrial aliens also “illegal aliens”?”

              AKA Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) Supporters . . .

    • Cheyenne Mountain is alive and well. It is part of the NORAD defense system and home to US Northern Command.

      • “Cheyenne Mountain is alive and well.”

        Happy to hear that. Still miss the bus ride into the tunnel, and walking through the blast doors to enter spring loaded steel buildings.

        • Sam you can still do the tour. How often it runs, I’m unsure. I live in C-Springs, they do the tours every so often. I have family in North-Com as well.

          • “Sam you can still do the tour.”

            I used to be a tour guide in CMC. Pretty sure that today, I wouldn’t be allowed to roam all the interesting parts of what used to be “home”.

        • “…walking through the blast doors to enter spring loaded steel buildings.”

          Seen pics of those nuke-detonation shock absorber springs, during its construction. *Massive*, as in railcar truck spring size.

          Did you ever jump up-and-down in there just to see if you could make the room move? 😉

          • “Did you ever jump up-and-down in there just to see if you could make the room move? 😉”

            OK now I’m a little intrigued and would welcome some information on this Cheyenne Mountain facility? Massif springs, moving rooms, drained lakes with aliens? Hell I’ve heard it all now. So come on help me out a little here please, what’s the scoop here?

          • “Did you ever jump up-and-down in there just to see if you could make the room move?”

            Not possible. Takes earthquake magnitude compression to make the buildings bounce on the springs (actually, “bounce” is not accurate). We did have different buildings an inch or two of different floor heights (3 floors) due to the weight of equipment in the different buildings. Not all buildings were noticeably out of alignment, but those that were had steel plates across the joints so you didn’t trip.

            One of the little oddities of the ability to disconnect the complex from the outside world was that we had a little-considered (by people not inside) limit on the amount of time we could remain disconnected; about 30 days. The limit was not food, water, electricity, fuel. it was the length of the waste discharge tubes/tunnels. When fully “buttened-up”, and disconnected from the outside world, no water flowed out of the complex. That meant that after about 30 days, the refuge/crap backup in the plumbing would spill out, into occupied areas. Disease was a lethal factor after that.

  2. Personally speaking these EDC posts should give those reading them ideas regarding what gear is out there and how people are applying it. So many of them lately don’t do that (at least completely) because so many things are missing from the equation. For example in this instance there isn’t a spare magazine or a holster. I’ve carried a 1911 on occasion (enough to just know what I’m doing with it in operation) and there is no way empty chamber or not I’m carrying one shoved in my waistband. I’m also not going to carry just 8 rounds (standard magazine no round chambered). Yeah I know if you can’t get it done in 8 you should have stayed at home, right? Well when hot lead is coming from the other direction that changes the dynamic exponentially. I don’t know if some of these EDC’s lately are serious or not but they should at least be believable. This includes the posts that look like 15 lbs of stuff that is supposedly to be carried every day.

    • Have you posted yours?

      These come from the EDC site and we know that many people will post stuff just to have on the interweb.

      Need more TTAG commenters posting theirs.

      Since TTAG has few posts on guns, we might as well get to see some EDCs.

          • There’s a couple new ones on the EDC site. One is the addition of a new watch and the other is an EDC rotation post. Other than knives, guns, and holsters everything else stays the same. The new watch I’m really liking at this point. It’s the Garmin Tactix Charlie. It has some features I’ll never use (jumpmaster being one of them, never understood wanting to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane). Save for a few the rest of the feature have proven to be useful and made the watch a good investment.

    • I tend to agree with this. To me the post is about seeing what sorts of interesting stuff people use or have discovered like nifty tools little pocket I’ve never heard of before.

      Sometimes these posts get taken too literally. I mean, they don’t usually show us their underwear or shoes are we supposed to assume the eschew underwear and shoes on a daily basis?

      Then there’s the question of what the E means. Everyday, like EVERY day or most days? Because the truth is basically no one carries a gun and a knife every single day. Eventually they go somewhere where they can’t or they get sick and barely get out of bed that day. We know this, we talk about it all the time with those damn GFZs everyone loves to hate on.

      The amount of stuff. Yeah sometimes it might seem ridiculous but is it really when you consider what some people carry for work? Would that person even notice if you added or removed a multitool from their gear (unless they needed it?) no, and no one else would either.

      • Yep good points as well. I carry everywhere I feel like I can semi-comfortably get away with it. Those that I can’t I leave it in the car. My posted EDC really is my EDC when I walk out the door. That includes the rotation of guns and knives as the mood hits me. I’m just saying these posts should be as realistic and believable as possible. Some of them over on Everyday Carry have some pretty slick stuff in them and have given me some ideas for future additions to my own gear.

      • Speaking of clothing just as an afterthought. I’ve considered posting my 5.11 pants and shorts just because of how versatile they are as well as my Merrell shoes and Danner boots. I haven’t because I doubt any of it would really be news to anyone. Plus I dress around my EDC not the other way around. A lot of folks probably care more about the fashion side of things than I do. If it’s functional and presentable it’s good enough for me. Add an Under Armour t-shirt or compression shirt to the above and I’m good to go.

        • 5.11 pants and Merrell’s shoes, good choices. I replaced my Under Armour (betrayers) shirts with Black Rifle Coffee Co. shirts or other nondescript shirts. Some people think 5.11 pants are worn by “mall ninjas” trying to be tacticool, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are damn fine pants for EDC. (Disclaimer: I do get most of my 5.11 for free through my organization.)

          • I wear 5.11 Stryke pants and shorts (I have to buy them but well worth the price). The cargo pockets have internal pockets that are great for spare magazines or flashlight. Pretty much any thing of similar size really. Keeps me from having to have a magazine and flashlight holder on my waist or at all for that matter. Plus like I said I’m not dressing to win a fashion contest. I have other shirts I just threw Under Armour out there as an example. I’m curious why you say Under Armour is a betrayer? I’m serious thinking about joining Grunt Style subscription t-shirts. They have some cool shirts for people that care about freedom. Plus they are lifetime guaranteed.

        • Dressing around the other stuff is the way to go.

          Personally I rock a T-shirt a lot because I can these days. Pants vary. Duluth, Kuhl, some old blue jeans of various brands, Arc’Teryx, North Face, Marmot, Patagucci… mostly outdoor stuff. I go for stuff that lasts and tends to blend in to my area, which Vertx, 5.11… well all tactical pants, don’t. The only thing that would stand out more would be like CRYE combat pants or BDU/duty pants. Shorts are for the gym.

          Danner makes nice boots, I have a few pairs but usually go with trail running shoes because they work about as well if you don’t need the ankle support and… blending. Plus no need to change my shoes to go for a run.

          Generally speaking if people ran into me they’d just assume I was a dumbass Boulderite/Denverite, which is what I’m going for not because I think the “grey man” thing works that well (IME it doesn’t) but because it keeps me from having to talk to the cops every 10 minutes.

          • Being from west central Missouri suburbs it’s not hard to get away with wearing cargo pants unless like you pointed out they of the military BDU type. Some around here wear military type clothing but do indeed stand out. Just goes to show that geographical location does make a difference. I am wondering what the heck a petagucci is though? North Face makes some damn fine outerwear. I’d probably own some of it if my billfold wouldn’t disown me. My Merrell shoes are what I would consider a trail running shoe. Fairly light and comfortable for what they are. My Danner boots are Ft Lewis insulated for winter wear. Although I have considered picking up the non insulated version for spring and summer when boots are the best option. Honestly there’s nothing wrong with being unassuming in my opinion. No different than the man that once said be polite and kind but have a plan to kill everyone in the room should the need arise or something like that.

        • ” I’m curious why you say Under Armour is a betrayer?”

          Apparently I blacked out there for a second and missed a line.

          I’d guess that Ragnar refers to UA “un-sponsoring” hunters last year due to politics.

          • I didn’t know that Under Armour had but honestly doesn’t surprise me with so much of everything else being politically polar these days.

        • Patagucci is derogatory term for Patagonia. People who hate on them as “hipster” call the brand that apparently never having tried any of the fly fishing gear that the company makes.

          For technical outerwear/camping/survival stuff at stupid cheap prices check Sierra Trading Post. I’ve found $600+ items there for $90-$110. Shoes, jackets, pants… hell even Mystery Ranch backpacks that retail for close to $1000. Sometimes they even screw up a price tag… got A Mystery Ranch TerraFrame 80 for, no shit, $20 because they couldn’t figure out what to charge me. The guy says “$20 sound fair?” I about fell over.

          If you can find one of their stores their “clearance” section is just dumbfounding.

          • “For technical outerwear/camping/survival stuff at stupid cheap prices check Sierra Trading Post.”

            Yeah, you probably shouldn’t have told me that. Browsed several pages of their clearance section online and they have some really good deals for sure. The wife will most likely want to kill me. The closest store to me is Omaha Nebraska so nothing close. Thanks for the tip though. Another place to go for more deals is always a good thing.

  3. There are roughly 69 different military installations in Colorado. And Cheyenne Mtn is still open, though with a far reduced role than during WW-Cold.

    • “And Cheyenne Mtn is still open, though with a far reduced role than during WW-Cold.”

      Thanx for the update. Spent six years in “the mountain”. And six winters where I didn’t see the sun for five days in a row, weekly.

      Great mission, though. Very rewarding.

  4. To answer the question: Yes, condition 3 is standard military carry unless out on patrol in a war zone, at least it was when I was in (2000-2004)

    • The 501 MP BN that my unit was attached to in 2003 Baghdad Iraq tried to tell us that we had to carry no round chambered on safe even outside the wire. It wasn’t until we were reassigned to the 82nd that that (order) went away. I let you decide if we actually followed that order or not.

  5. Well golly gee, I thought he’d have an officer’s model.,, The gunm I use has one saftey. The half cock, that’s where I keep it, chamber loaded. Also the boolits are hard to find and expensive, that helps out on just up and shootzing somebody. Just the other day I ordered a vanilla ice cream cone, SOB put sprinkles on it , if it hadn’t been for the cost of ammo and availability, I’d a shooted the guy. And them watches wilI get you in trouble,” Hey the Ice Cream store is still open” You run out the house but trip over the dead guy the cops ain’t drug off yet, because you didn’t see him on account of not having a flashlight. Life’s complicated.

    • “trip over the dead guy the cops ain’t drug off yet”

      Sounds like you need a better lawn maintainer. The ones you depend on are going to put you in the ER because you broke something by the sound of things.

      • Lawn maintainer? ,,,that wall down on the border put a slow down on that, I ain’t rich yah kno

        • “I ain’t rich yah kno”

          If you have a shovel and enough yard space, there’s always the do it yourself method. No since twisting an ankle or worse trying to get ice cream.

  6. Can’t go wrong with a 1911, though a double stack would be nice is you don’t carry a spare mag. Rock Island makes them in a 22TCM, 9MM and .45 acp. All are accurate, affordable and reliable. But my Kimber has the same quality traits, it just limited to 9 rounds and cost 1/2 again more.

  7. Boch you are as critical and nitpicky as an old woman.

    If people carry a lot it’s too much, and if they don’t it’s too little.

    Some day when my wife isn’t home I’m going to post my EDC and watch you go to town with it.

  8. Yes, Cheyenne Mountain “closed” 😉😉 a few years back. There’s still Ft. Carson and Peterson AFB. Carson’s the 10th Mountain’s home. Cheyenne is still a part of NORAD, and it’s doubtfull it’ll ever “really” close all the way down (I live 40 miles South of Colorado Springs).
    TETO, but a 1911 would be my last choice as a CC weapon. Too big, too heavy and SA. As an OpenCarry weapon sure,. I never carry without 1 in the chamber. That’s seriously asking to get shot IMO, and if you’re afraid of carrying cocked and locked, then that’s a big reason to leave the 1911 in the gunsafe. The big issue with not carrying racked, is the assumption that both hands will be free 100% of the time. It may be that on base, carrying cocked and locked is verboten, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on that.
    No spare magazine? Especially considering that magazine failure is the most likely issue with ol’ Slabsides. As others before my post pointed out very well, what’s the definition of EDC to all of us posting or commenting? Does your personal definition include every piece of gear you carry on a daily basis, whether it’s weapon related or not? Or is your definition only considering the EDC weapon and its related accessories? There’s nothing wrong with either definition of EDC, but it does point out that we don’t all have the same definition. So Commentor “A,” believes in one definition, and Commento “B” has the other definition. It doesn’t matter which, but that there’s a general consensus of what definition we’re using to critique the Poster’s EDC. I tend to lean towards weapon related, rather than everything you carry on you. Clothing, underwear, wallet, car keys and watchesare things most of us carry, even in our own homes, although I usually hang my car keys up as soon as I walk in the door.
    Other than the points I mentioned earlier on, a good basic EDC kit. I too, would ditch the Brinkman (every Brinkman I’ve owned has failed early on, their switches are crap). If you can afford a Luminox, you can afford a Surefire or Streamlight.

    • “10th Mountain’s home.”

      Having served under the 10th Mountain they call Ft Drum NY home, they have for quite a while. They may have a detachment at Ft Carson but that is not their home.

      • Yeah Carson was never a place the 10th called home. But, If I remember correctly the 10th mountain at one point did have an attachment at fort Carson, but not for long. I think it was in the 90s. When I left the Russian front *cough* Drum 10 years ago it was still 3 brigades at drum, and then 4th brigade in Louisiana.

        • That sounds right from my fading memory. I don’t know if the 10th had a detachment at Carson or not. I do believe you are correct about Ft Polk though. I’ll apologize for your hopefully brief visit to Ft Drum. I was attached to the 501 MP BN out of Ft Lewis in Kosovo 01-02 but 10th Mountain was over the entire theater at that time IIRC. The interesting thing is I had the misfortune to be under the 501st again in 03 in Baghdad Iraq.

    • “Carson’s the 10th Mountain’s home.”

      How easily we become uninformed. Last I heard, 10th Mtn was at Ft. Drum, Thousands Island, NY. Maybe I can’t really be faulted for not knowing about Army units, us Chair Force veterans tend to forget the little things.

      • Nope, you’re right. Miserable Ft Drum NY is home of the 10th Mountain. Has been for quite some time. I served under the 10th Mountain in Kosovo 01-02.

        Air Force huh? I would have never thought of you being spoiled with a holier than thou stinch. Must be old school.

        • “Air Force huh?”

          Yep. SAC trained killer; blue steel, treated for rust.

          “Peace is Our Profession”
          (war is just a hobby)

          As for “holey-er than thou…” you gotta understand the nomenclature. In SAC, you were either a Bomber Puke, Tanker Toad, or Missile Weenie. Kinda hard to be haughty with tags like that.

          • “(My pop was a 130 turboprop tanker puke…)”

            My respects to him, please.

            But the terms are “Bomber Puke”, “Tanker Toad”, “Missile Weenie”. However, for Chair Force, the -130 “tankers” were run by TAC (Fighter Pilots Do It Better), Tactical Air Command (no idea how those guys were perceived/tagged). Was your dad Chair Force, or Navy/Marines?

    • Thank you! I am surprised the time I spent in the military this never came up that I remember. The Cold War was before my time though so maybe that’s why.

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