Welcome to Small Arms Defense Journal‘s digital presence! The contributors to this site come from many walks of life, but we all have common ground; the study of small arms technology and history. A few of us are military veterans going back to WWII, Korea, and Vietnam; some are modern-day veterans of U.S. and other countries’ services. Some are small arms engineers, museum curators, advanced collectors and some are plain old every-day enthusiasts about weapons. This site is our ‘Holy Ground,’ a place we can go to present and preserve the knowledge we’ve gained. Here we can share, and learn from each other, and keep the flame alive for others who understand The Riddle of Steel, and the heritage our weapons represent.

If we don’t pass on what we know, that flame flickers, fades, and goes out. The knowledge is lost forever, and the purveyors of revisionist history can do their work on future generations. The weapons used in the battles for freedom, how they were used, the designs that saved lives, the FUBARs that lost them. All of this needs to be preserved, and knowledge shared. We like to enjoy ourselves in the process, where possible, of course!

While our publishing experience dates back into 1997 with Small Arms Review, and our experience with technical writing dates back to the 1970s, the combined experience of the writers represented on this website is hundreds of years of serious study. We’ve been online since the Internet was a gleam in Al Gore’s eye as well, but never tried to do anything quite like this website.

We’ve thought about doing this for years, and talked with others about it, and it’s a massive undertaking; very expensive and very long term. Eventually, there will be hundreds of thousands of pictures on this site, as well as countless articles and small ‘bites’ of information about small arms minutiae. Every bit of it is peer reviewed, edited, and peer reviewed again. Will mistakes be made? Of course. If you read the authoritative books from the 1950s you’ll find mistakes that came from great minds, but, that’s what was known at the time. This site can grow, can live, and get better as we go.

Chipotle Publishing, LLC is also pleased to bring you Small Arms Review, a website covering all aspects of military small arms including collecting and is somewhat U.S.-centric; and Small Arms Defense Journal, a news publication, both printed and digital, that focuses on the military and the military industry featuring a global perspective and is handed out around the world at trade shows. We believe we’ve covered the subject in a thorough way, with our best foot forward. Combine that with the special books we publish and bring to you, and you, the reader, should be well served. We hope you participate in this great undertaking, and enjoy this site.

Once again, welcome to sadefensejournal.com!

Sincerely Yours,

DAN SHEA
Editor-in-Chief
Small Arms Review
Small Arms Defense Journal