James Morgan Ayres served with the 82nd Airborne and the 7th Special Forces Group (Green Berets); he has also worked as a private contractor with various US government organizations. He graduated from the US Army’s jungle survival school in Panama and the winter survival school at Camp Drum, New York. During the past decade, Ayres has written dozens of articles and stories for Blade Magazine and the Knives annuals. His books include The Tactical Knife and An Introduction to Firearms. He resides in Southern California.