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Soldier Systems Daily (SSD) is an online news site focused on the defense industry. It was started in 2008 by Eric Graves, a retired SOT-A and later US Air Force officer. SSD describes itself as "the premier daily web publication covering the tactical industry".

Overview
Soldier Systems Daily focuses primarily on the defense industry. Many of its posts are about weapons systems, tactical gear, vehicles, training opportunities, etc. and aim to inform government or military officials about recent advances and innovations. They also post news of contracts (including RFI, RFQ, RFP, sources sought, and awarded contracts) as well as insightful commentary and predictions about the industry and upcoming decisions. A number of the articles are also written for civilian readers who may be interested in the tactical industry, outdoors activities, or other similar pursuits. The blog also posts about current events, historical events or groups, nonprofit groups, and information relevant to current service members.

Most blog posts are written by Eric Graves himself but some posts may be written by Richard Graves (his son and primary backup writer), guest authors, journalists of the official US military, or are corporate press releases. Some of these are from guest article series which make cover specific subjects like diving, leadership, and fitness. SSD did not initially post press releases verbatim as Graves would rewrite these releases in his own words, however, after 5-6 years, he began to post the press releases as is (with attribution) since he often made minimal changes to them. SSD is primarily funded by commercial advertising on the site and does not charge readers or businesses to read or have news posts published respectively. They also carefully make clear that none of the news posts provide endorsements for particular brands or products unless specifically stated as such and, in those cases, such comments are not solicited or monetarily rewarded. They do, however, carefully choose their advertising partners and fully support those companies.

Soldier Systems Daily has been acknowledged as a leading source of news for the tactical industry and has broken many important stories. These include news of SOCOM adopting 6.5mm Creedmoor, Leupold's successful protest over SIG's win of an optics contract, a modernized FG-42, the components of the ECWCS Block 2, NSWC testing of carbine-length and mid-length gas systems, the optic chosen for the M110A1 SDMR, SIG's submission for the Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle, the US Army's enhanced performance magazine, consideration of using 7.62mmx51mm NATO as an interim cartridge, the first fieldings of the M17/M18 MHS (Modular Handgun System), the updated rifle qualifications tests in the military, among many others. Eric Graves, the founder of SSD, has also been consulted on numerous stories by US News and the Chicago Tribune.

The blog is run on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, also called "Zulu" time), due to the editors' travel schedules, and is typically updated with 7 articles per day Monday through Friday, 3 articles on Saturday, and 5 articles on Sunday. As a result, SSD has published thousands of posts over the year, marking its 32,000th post on 10 November 2021.

Soldier Systems Daily's logo depicts da Vinci's Vitruvian Man illustrated in a style reminiscent of Olympic Games pictograms. The logo was created by Mil-Spec Monkey in 2008 shortly after the blog's launch and is meant to illustrate the combination of art and science necessary to equip the modern warfighter. The use of the pictogram is also a nod toward the athletic nature of warriors.

History
The blog was founded on 17 May 2008 by Eric Graves, a former SOT-A who had been embedded with 3rd SFG. Graves had subsequently been commissioned by the Air Force and assigned to the 720th Special Tactics Group, serving as an intelligence officer with the 21st STS and 23rd STS before later being appointed as a technical adviser to an unnamed/unspecified AFSOC unit. After retiring from the military, Graves worked in the private industry for a short time, including doing IED testing against armored vehicles for Blackwater. He had done some writing while in the military and had maintained a gear website in the late 90s called the GearGuru but was reluctant to attempt coding and maintaining a complex website on his own. However, after reading an article in Wired about the tech blog Gizmodo, he decided to begin a blog about tactical gear and committed to making at least one post per day. As of 2018, Graves reported having missed posting only on one day in 2008 while at a family reunion where he did not have access to Wi-Fi.

The blog was originally named Soldier Systems but this was less than desirable given its acronym's similarity to the Schutzstaffel. Approximately 6 months after its start, Graves added "Daily" to the blog's name; though he worried that some might confuse SSD with the USMC Force Recon's motto "Swift, Silent, Deadly", most problems actually arose from confusion with Solid State Drives (SSD). He did not initially advertise the blog but word of it soon spread. When Graves was laid off from Blackwater in 2009, he decided to devote himself to the blog full time.

On 18 July 2021, SSD closed its comments section to any readers who did not already have an approved account. This was in response to longstanding issues with disruptive behavior and trolling by commenters who did not contribute to meaningful discussion.

Tactical Fanboy
Tactical Fanboy is a spin-off blog from SSD which is edited by Richard Graves, the son of Eric Graves. It was launched in January 2011 and posts recreational tactical-related content appealing to their core readership. This also includes humor and mildly risqué topics which might not be relevant for the strictly government readers.

Keep Calm and Return Fire
Soldier Systems Daily's informal motto "Keep Calm and Return Fire" (KCRF) was first seen in February 2012. The phrase is a callback to the pre-World War II British "Keep Calm and Carry On" motivational posters and is often represented alongside SSD's logo (see Overview). The motto and logo are used in several T-shirt designs and morale patches. A longstanding tradition has been for SSD to post user-submitted images of the KCRF patch at various places throughout the globe. These locations have included the Vinicunca mountain, on a flight 20,000 ft above over Afghanistan, underwater, and in various countries worn by service members of different militaries.