Benchmade SOCP Dagger

The Benchmade SOCP was designed to give the troops in the field a means of transitioning from a close-combat edged weapon to a firearm without releasing the knife from their hand. Benchmade also provides a manual and unsharpened trainer to go with the weapon.In this world of asymmetrical threats, the military troops need as many tools in the kit as they can find. During an operation, “humping” close to 100 pounds of gear and guns has a lot of pros, but also major weaknesses. Movement and reactions can be greatly impeded and your back is constantly open. In Afghanistan the military’s role has been to put the troops inside the enemy’s “homes,” conducting sweep and clear operations–with bad buys behind many doors. The enemy has adapted to your use of force model. Getting into a wrestling matches or being jumped from behind is a common occurrence, made more deadly by the presence of an M4 and other weapons.

With the help of Greg Thompson, Benchmade has created a solution for these CQB type situations where an operator needs an accessible and functional tool to solve a “problem”. Their new “Special Operations Combative’s Program (SOCP) 176″ is a skeletonized dagger with a ribbed ring on the end of its thin dagger handle. Its specially designed handle allows the user to be able to grab it with either hand. A dull, unpointed training version is also available to aid in learning the proper deployment of the weapon. Totally MOLLE compatible, the SOCP sheath covers the dagger up to the ring making it very difficult for anyone other than the owner to grab it.

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