About Us

About Us

Welcome to "The Everyday Operator". Thank you for taking the first steps to be better prepared in this world of ever growing threats and taking accountability for your life. My Name is Brent Forney. I am a veteran, a survivalist, a pepper, and a grayman. This drive and this interest came to me when I was very young and has been crafted and tested greatly in the modern world and professionally in the Marine Corps.

Why Listen To Me?

So, let's ask the most important question that should be asked when dealing with this type of content. "Why Listen to Me?.... What makes anything I say Credible?" Well let me break it down for you Barney style. So I have two details about "why" and ones from a professional standpoint and ones from a hobbyist standpoint. First let me give you from a hobbyist standpoint then I will give you my credentials from a professional standpoint. I have full confidence I will give you certainty and clarity to hold what I say of value to you.

Hobbyist Standpoint

Let's cut to the chase, I was not your typical kid. I am from the millennial generation and am 25 years old. Don't let this fool you, Im confident I have more life experience than most modern day 40 year olds. Growing up we really didn't have TV do to living in the boonies along the Appalachians in Pennsylvania. We had dial up internet and I never had a gaming console growing up. So what did I do?

Well, living so far from town it was hard to see my buddies so I spent a lot of time in the woods alone. Everything from hunting to fishing to trapping you name it I did it. I was always in the woods. When I was in 5th grade I became obsessed with survival. Due to the fact I was obsessed with the art of self reliance and "off grid living". I researched everything from primitive hide tanning, to medicinal plants in my region, to primitive hunting and trapping, and just surviving in the elements long term with very little gear.

With the knowledge I learned, id lay in bed at night anticipating what I was going to test and try out in the woods the next day. I went to extremes as well. For instance I was running a trapline on the creek with a canoe over thanksgiving break this one year. well, my genius self decided it would be a good idea to pack a bag in a manner that was buoyant and waterproof. Then flip my canoe in freezing temperatures in the creek and see if I packed it right in order to survive.

Long story short I obviously packed it right being that I can tell the tale, but that's the extremes I took things. I always used the motto "train as fight", meaning essentially, put the skills to the test in the most realistic manner possible. Eventually my interest for these hobbies grew and then got obsessed with tactical gear and SERE tactics, and applied them to the art of self reliance mindset. which brings me to the professional reason of why to listen to me.

Professional Standpoint

I enlisted in the Marine Corps when I was 17. I Spent a year in the delayed entry program until I was able to ship to boot camp because of my age. From boot camp went to MCT, for those of you that don't know, that stands for Marine Combat Training. From there I was sent to my MOS school to learn to be an armorer. An Armorer is a small arms repair technician. meaning if the gun doesn't go boom I make it go boom again.

I excelled greatly in this trade, it was something Ive been doing since I was little and was very mechanical minded. Long story short I got honor graduated out of the school house and was meritorious promoted. Where they sent me next, will always be the highlight of my life.

They sent me to 2nd Marine Raider Battalion (MARSOC). MARSOC is a special forces group within the marine corps. There I was assigned to the HQ element and moved my way up the chain very fast, do to my craving knowledge of that lifestyle. I eventually became the Armorer chief of my own company of guys (Marine Special Operations Command Golf Company). This was very unheard of because the billet was made for an E-6 2112 and at the time I was an E-3 2111. I excelled greatly in this positions, I was awarded many awards and had many write ups.

While serving as an armory chief I got to do a lot of specific training with my guys. This vastly expanded my knowledge of top tier gear and what works and what doesn't work. I even had the privilege of attending the military's highest form of SERE school that covered urban evasion and woodland evasion and survival. For those that don't know SERE stands for (survive, evade, resist, escape) essential trains you what to do if you get rolled up in another country.

The greatest take away from this course though was the urban survival and woodland survival portion. It test everything I ever knew about survival and was the final crucible to all the skills and knowledge I know today because they were put to the test in most realistic scenarios possible.

While serving I had the privilege to deploy to Iraq. I was the armorer for all of Special Operations Task Force North out of Erbil. I was in charge of two MARSOC teams , two ODA teams and two SEAL teams. There I got to go on many missions and raids and was able to put gear to the test in real life scenarios.

Conclusion

As you know our world is not a friendly place. At any minute, any time your life could change for good. As humans we get stuck in a sense of complacency. When we are safe and comfortable for too long we fail to realize one little action could end that, that's the reality we live in. Its up to YOU to take action for your own life. Wether that's carrying asprin for a heart attack. Or carrying a concealed weapon to stop a mass shooter. You're responsible for your own person and your families lives.

That there is reality, evil and disaster will always exist. No law will stop it. What will stop it is good people with the means to stop it. Wether that's applying a tourniquet to a car accident victim or applying trigger pressure to stop a threat. YOU, my friend are the difference. Your actions and your knowledge mean the difference of life or death in these scenarios. Don't be another statistic, be a survivor. A well rounded person capable of taking accountability for your life and for others with gear and knowledge to do so.

Respectfully,

Brent Forney