The term technical as a designation for light improvised fighting vehicles is quite the neologism (a word or term which has entered use relatively recently), which has increasingly entered common vernacular, though not yet fully accepted into mainstream military parlance of professional First World armies. The latter often speak instead of a Non-Standard Tactical Vehicle (NSTV), which quite sufficiently covers what a technical actually is. In this article we’ll examine the etymological origins of the ‘technical’.
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Podcast V25: Ali – A Pakistani Firearms Collector
In this episode, we interview a small arms collector in Pakistan, Mr Ali. Ali has vast experience in the small arms market of Pakistan and was willing to share his knowledge on how it operates, the availability of certain weaponry and the price ranges, as well as the legal regulations and laws that are getting stricter in Pakistan.
He also runs an Instagram page, guns_pakistan, which shows his collection of armament and that of dealers he knows. Do check it out, you will not regret it.
The public SoundCloud version below includes the first thirty minutes of the podcast, our supporters on Patreon can access the entire interview, which is over an hour long. So if you haven’t already please support us in our mission to bring you the best examination of MENA small arms culture we can!
V19: A Volunteer from the West in the YPG Part 1
In this amazing 19th episode of the Silah Report Podcast, we were joined by our guest Rizgar, a European who volunteered with the Kurdish YPG in 2016. He gave us some insight on his journey from being your everyday civilian in Europe to a fighter battling beside the Kurds on the frontlines against ISIS militants. He shares with us some fantastic pictures he took over there and his experience with fellow Kurdish comrades and Western volunteers.