The Anatomy of a Violent Nomad: Three Layers of Everyday Readiness

When I was on active duty in the Marine Corps and deployed to the Med for 6 months, I had some downtime for reading. Back then, one of the more popular book series to read amongst military guys was either Tom Clancy’s or the Rogue Warrior series.

What really intrigued me while reading these books was the ability for the characters to immerse themselves in their environments, acquire the needed tools/weapons, accomplish the mission, and then disappear.

The Origin of the Violent Nomad

Fast-forward several years, and we now have the concept of the Violent Nomad. Clint Emerson (Author of 100 Deadly Skills) came up with this concept while still active with the SEAL Teams. On paper, Clint developed a list of skills that every operator would need to transition to the operative world. Once that list was completed and the sensitive skills were redacted, you had the beginnings of his first 100 Deadly SKills book.

In short, the concept or idea was to develop a government program that we could put guys through to make them literally 100% ‘naked warriors’. By that, I mean they can be inserted into any environment with minimal weapons and a minimal loadout and still complete the mission by leveraging the environment around them. This would make for a very low-investment, high-profit-margin approach to striking high-value targets on behalf of the U.S. government. Plan, Execute, and Vanish.

Even though many of us have never been tier 1 operators or have served as a member of JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) teams, we can still adopt that mindset, get a certain amount of training, and start to become more self-reliant and rescue-oriented. We need to stop relying on 911. When seconds count, law enforcement and first responders are minutes away.

One of the first orders of business in the first 100 Deadly Skills book is the anatomy of the Violent Nomad. In other words, the gear is carried and used to accomplish the missions. Let’s take a closer look at what the anatomy looks like when broken down into 3 levels or tiers. Keep in mind that your skill level, environment, and threats will dictate what gear you should carry and train with.

The anatomy (EDC) of a Violent Nomad | 3 layers

Pocket kit

The pocket kit is exactly what it says; the contents that you carry in your pockets every day otherwise known as your EDC.

If I’m traveling, my pocket kit would obviously change a bit. For legal reasons, I would not be carrying a concealed fixed-blade or my folding knife. For air travel, my pocket kit is slimmed down quite a bit.

I only have a handheld flashlight, SWAT T Tourniquet and Zebra Stainless Steel Pen. Most ‘tactical pens’ on the market look just like the name implies: tactical. The Zebra pens are just that, a pen, that is available from most stores that sell office supplies.

SERE Survival kit

A small kit that can be thrown into a desk drawer or any bag that you choose to take for the day. In other words, this small sere survival kit can turn your existing bag into a go-bag that helps you get out of a bad situation.

I’ve come up with a TSA-compliant kit that I can throw in my day-to-day bag or carry-on baggage without worrying about it being confiscated. I’ve traveled many times with this kit inside my carry-on bag and have never been questioned.

The contents of the TSA-approved kit are contained in a SealLine ‘See pouch’ that not only keeps the contents dry but can also be used as a small water collection container. The fact that it is see-through on one side is a plus for the TSA, as they are able to see the contents with a quick glance.

Operational bag

The operational bag is going to be the bag you grab every day before heading out the door, whether that is a messenger style bag, duffle bag, or backpack.

The bag is what I would call ‘slick’ on the outside, reducing the ‘tactical’ signature, which is what we are trying to avoid. No molle webbing whatsoever on the outside. The goal here is to mask our capabilities by blending in until a threat presents itself.

Be violent and deadly in spirit, but you don’t need to be walking around looking like you’re violent and deadly. Blend in, look like the sheep, and be ready to hit the wolf button and rip people apart.