Strap in for a new episode of TacticalPay radio! This week we’re talking about guns in a place far from the United States… the Middle East. Our guest is Miles Vining, who believes gun knowledge is necessary for understanding much of the news coming out of the Middle East, specifically conflict-related news.
Miles is the founder and editor of Silah Report, which is a website dedicated to analyzing small arms history and news out of The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Central Asia. Miles researches and writes about small arms design, use, and trade within the MENA and Central Asian regions. He also writes and does videography for The Firearm Blog.
Listen To The Show
Episode Highlights
- How his tours in Afghanistan led him to start the Silah Report.
- What it’s like to be a combat marine in an undergraduate classroom.
- Why Miles chose to study Farsi and Pashto at Indiana University at Bloomington.
- How the Silah Report gets inside scoops on arms trafficking.
- And so much more!
Featured on the Show
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Industry Spotlight
Silah Report
Founded in 2017 by Miles Vining, the Silah Report dives deep into firearms in areas outside the United States.
“Silah is the Turkish word for “Weapon”, coming from the Arabic and Farsi, “سلاح”. Silah Report is dedicated to providing up to date news and discussion of the indigenous manufacture, trade, and use of small arms and light weapons in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) and Central Asian regions of the world from the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement until today.” Posts often dive into the history of weapons used in MENA and Central Asia, and are crafted in booth an informative and entertaining way.
Furthermore, for those interested in learning more about the countries that make up MENA, the Silah Report offers a region country database. In order to understand the news coming out of those nations, as well as better understand conflicts in those regions, knowledge of the countries is crucial. Miles Vining’s time in the military has had a tremendous impact on him, and informs everything written on the Silah Report.
TacticalPay Featured Community Organization of The Week
Each week, we select a “TacticalPay Featured Community Organization of the Week” from our listener submissions! Created to showcase a community organization that is doing important on the ground work related to the firearms community, nominees are selected by our listeners from hundreds of local clubs, shooting groups, hunting and wildlife organizations, education and advocacy organizations, and other firearms related community organizations.
We want to hear about organizations that deserve to be recognized, so if you know of a community organization that you believe is doing excellent work on behalf of the broader firearms community that you’d like to see recognized, drop us a line!
We’ve got a great one for you this week!
Quality Deer Management Association
This week we’re proud to recognize the Quality Deer Management Association or QDMA
Since 1988, QDMA has worked to promote sustainable, high-quality deer populations, wildlife habitats and ethical hunting experiences through research, education, advocacy, and hunter recruitment. QDMA teaches deer hunters how to improve local deer populations, habitat and hunting experiences.
To enhance the fun and excitement of deer hunting, QDMA encourages the protection of most or all yearling (1½-year-old) bucks combined with an appropriate harvest of does, when necessary, to maintain a healthy population in balance with habitat conditions and hunter desires.
The QDMA has more than 60,000 members in all 50 states and several foreign countries.
Since the beginning, QDMA has worked to educate its members and all deer hunters about the benefits of the Quality Deer Management (QDM) philosophy. This effort – aided by the support of numerous member-volunteers, corporate sponsors, and other QDM advocates – has rapidly increased awareness and implementation of QDM throughout North America, resulting in healthier, more balanced deer populations and more rewarding hunting experiences.
If you’d like to learn more about them you can click here to connect with them on Facebook.