Eating All the Crow – We Were Wrong About Salient

salient arms logo
September 13, 2017  
|  6 Comments
Categories: Op-Eds

We Were Wrong About Salient

And now the boss is gonna eat some well-deserved crow.

David Reeder

There are few things less tasty in life than crow, and now I gotta eat it.

For years I’ve said, “Initial reports are always wrong,” and “You can be first, or you can be right.” Last night I published a story about Salient Arms International that violated both of those basic tenets. I could go into a long spiel about trusted sources and misunderstanding the California company vs. the Nevada company, but that doesn’t change the fundamental nature of my glorious fuckup.

My information was inaccurate, I didn’t try hard enough to confirm hearsay or get a comment from SAI, and I completely misinterpreted what I thought I was seeing. In short, I went about the entire thing like a hack. I wish I had a way to rationalize it, excuse it, or explain it away, but sometimes you just have to admit you fucked up.

I dicked the dawg. What’s worse, after I dicked the dog, other publications took my erroneous information and ran with it — and they didn’t confirm it either. Now not only have a I screwed the pooch and possibly damaged this company and its crew, I’ve started a landslide of social media fuckery that exacerbates the entire thing.

I have to apologize unequivocally to Salient and their employees, but even more so I apologize to Breach-Bang-Clear readers. For fuck’s sake, I’ve just done what I’ve smugly excoriated and ridiculed other publications for doing for years.

Now, to preempt anyone assuming Machiavellian influence here — I haven’t spoken to anyone at SAI since last night. No one has threatened me with lawsuits and a knee-breaking, there has been no effort on anyone’s part to put pressure on me or the organization. Nor does it matter (as some will no doubt suggest) if someday, a week or a decade from now, SAI does declare bankruptcy. So the fuck what? No amount of conjectured vindication changes my mistake now.

I was wrong, I’m mortified to have made such a rookie mistake, and sorrier still to have stirred up a shit-show for the people involved.

This is on me. Lay off of Salient. They’re not going anywhere.

One last thing. Misinformation and fuckery always spreads faster than the truth, or a retraction. I would appreciate readers sharing this post, and I’d appreciate other media outlets doing the same.

Read this, and avoid being this sort of fucktard.

Here’s another example.

(Note: the cover image is the logo and panda, not out of irreverence but so I could boost the post on social media…the image of a gun would get us flagged.)

That’s it for now. Go forth and conquer.

Salient Arms International, Inc. can be found on their website, of course, and also on Facebook here; follow ’em on Instagram @salientarmsinternational.


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Reeder Profile Picture 5About the Author: It might not be too surprising that David Reeder, who never met a $50 word he didn’t like, one of the “leaders” of the pedagogic and frequently obstreperous Breach Bang Clear team — insomuch as they have a leader (the terms orchestra conductor and rodeo clown are equally apropos). A former POG who tastes like chicken, Reeder cannot play the harmonica. He founded Breach-Bang-Clear quite accidentally at his young son’s behest several years ago. He is the Mad Duo’s Chief Wretched Flunky and Breach-Bang-Clear’s HMFIC. A LEO for many years and former AF Security Forces SNCO, he was an O/C at the National Homeland Security Training Center for many years and a longtime MOUT instructor at the Bold Lighting UWS. Reeder has appeared on Fox News Business and written for a number of publications, from US News & World Report and Military.com to RECOIL Magazine and Soldier Systems Daily. All of that sounds way cooler than it actually is. You can read more about him here. Follow his banality on Instagram, @davidreederwrites.

“I have no taste for either poverty or honest labor, so writing is the only recourse left for me” Hunter S. Thompson

“Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.” T.S. Elliot

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Benjamin Franklin

Firelance-Reeder

David Reeder

David Reeder

About the Author

6 Comments

  1. LSWCHP

    This is how men do it. My hat is off to Mr Reeder.

    Reply
  2. strych9

    Owning it like a man. That’s why I read this site, because it’s professional as fuck.

    Reply
  3. Reltney Mcfee

    I certainly agree with you, I also hope your (present) epistle gets widespread coverage. What I’m ambivalent about, it whether In hope so for Salient’s sake, or as an example to Duh m

    Mediur of how a grown-up confronts (inevitable) errors. No bullshit, no hemming, no hawwing, no responsibility diverting, no passive voice. Strong work with this, sir! Too bad you earned the opportunity to show others how it is done! Thank you for the example.

    Reply
  4. David Bruce

    Way to own it. If more media outlets owned mistakes like this the trust would be much higher with the public.

    Reply
  5. JR

    Awesome article. I missed the whole thing, but I’m impressed at the OWNAGE of the mistake. I’m so tired of lack of ownership so many express these days. It is refreshing to see someone own their mistake and say so. Lots of people could take a lesson on this concept. Keep up the good work, mistakes happen and you admitted to one. Good on you.

    Reply
  6. J. B.

    I’ve had the good fortune of working with the some of the Salient crew and I have been extremely impressed at every turn with their professionalism and integrity. It takes a big fella to eat crow and glad to see it on this occasion they really are a great crew and I hope this doesn’t have a negative effect on them.

    Reply

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