Una Stamus Combat (previously known as Una Stamus
American Combat Systems (USACS)) is an organization designed to
research, evaluate and refine training and equipment used by today's
law enforcement, govenment and federal agencies, and military law enforcement. The main purpose is to develop systems for use in the field by patrol officers and field operatives and agents. Through research and evaluation,
Una Stamus Combat can develop better training methods that will make
operators and personnel more efficient, as well as more proficient. The main objective of Una Stamus Combat is weapons development and testing. We strive to create weapons that are custom-tailored for mission-specific usage. Modular weapon systems are the cornerstone to our development standards.
It all started out as a dream in my early days in the US
Army when I was a young corporal. I was happy to finally have
stripes, but I was upset that we were training for failure. We
were being taught techniques and doctrines that were based on the Cold
War, and we were getting ready to fight a new war in the Middle East
that would turn out to be anything but conventional. I was
deployed to Iraq in 2003, where I saw much of our training help us;
however, I saw much of our training hurt us too. As the war
shifted from conventional operations to unconventional anti-insurgency
warfare, we started lagging behind in our capabilities. After
that, I made a vow to do everything I could to make sure that we changed
our training. In 2005 I was promoted to Staff Sergeant, and I finally had the
rank and power to affect necessary change in the way we trained. I began training my company on proper marksmanship and I started pushing for more intensive and realistic training. Not the "hip-pocket training" that so often occurs in many organizations and agencies. I met several obstacles to my initiative,including opposition to what some felt were unfair tactics.
As the great Col. Jeff Cooper often said: "If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!"
From 2005-2007, I spearheaded a team of like-minded soldiers with the
goal of developing new and effective training methods that would make us
more effective (and that didn't suck), while also keeping us safer. Unfortunately, the team never saw full operational
fruition, and many of us parted ways from the Army to pursue our lives.
The dream lived on. I retained the knowledge we developed, and
I continued to perfect the combat skills we worked hard to refine.
As a full-time police officer, I've experienced many of the dangers
that often face other law enforcement professionals, government
agents/operatives, and military service members. I have made it my
mission to work to develop a new way to fight and survive in any of the
ever-growing hyper-violent or lethal encounters that many professionals
face today.
Enter: Una Stamus Combat.
But why Combat? I say combat because I mean it. FBI
statistics show that 48 peace officers were feloniously killed in 2009.
Thousands more were assaulted and/or injured on the job as a result of
encountered criminal activity. Many people believe in TACTICS.
I believe it's time that we evolved to COMBAT. Working is
tactics. Fighting is COMBAT.
Tactics are what you use to diffuse a hostile situation. Combat is
what you do to counter a hostile situation that has become active.
It's no longer a matter of a fair fight or a simple show of force.
What police officers today are experiencing is full-on street combat.
We are fighting for our lives. We encounter criminals with heavy
weaponry, body armor, advanced training, narcotic and alcoholic
influence, and emotional disturbance at a rate higher than we've ever
seen.
Officers are being ambushed and executed in public places in
broad daylight. Now is the time to fight. No longer will we
work to survive; instead, we must fight to
WIN.
