After retiring from the Army Reserve in 2014 (23 years) and the NRA in 2016 (25 years), I returned to my home state, Texas. Since then, I have written articles for The Federalist and several other publications (see “Published Articles,” above) and have been looking for land on which to build a range capable of supporting firearm training as I think it should be conducted.

For the business end of things, I formed Panoply Tactical, LLC. I call it “Panoply” (pronounced PAN-o-plee) because of the etymology of the word. During the Greeks’ wars to defeat the invasions of their land by the Persian Empire in 490 and 480 BC, saving Western Civilization for the time being, the primary Greek soldier was a heavy infantryman called a hoplite. As with cavalry, “heavy” indicates that the soldier wore and carried armor. The hoplite’s shield was a “hoplon.” Because “pan” means “all,” the word for the hoplite’s array of weapons and armor was “panoplia,” which in English is “panoply.” Notably, the most widely used dictionary when the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights were adopted defined “arms” as “weapons of offence and armour of defence.” Thus, the Second Amendment, which was adopted to  guarantee the right to keep and bear “arms” against tyranny, guarantees the right to weapons and body armor or other devices to protect against enemies’ weapons.

In common use today, “panoply” also means “all elements” of something. In a situation of the type for which the Second Amendment was adopted, one would likely need more than firearm skill. Physical fitness, medical training, and expertise in land navigation, fieldcraft, defensive strategies and tactics, and many other topics could also be essential. Thus,  Panoply Tactical, LLC will, to the extent possible, promote training in other areas, as well as in the defensive use of firearms.