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Arriving with low expectations due to the struggling economy, the March 15-18 edition of the ASD Military Outdoor Show pleasantly surprised the bulk of the exhibiting masses - and not just in the military surplus aisles.

The popular consensus was that buyers who felt they could afford the time and money to attend the show intended to make the visit worth their while by conducting a very healthy amount of order-writing with exhibiting firms.

In addition to the multitude of smiles in the aisles, a sense of optimism filtered through the show halls about the positive news from the show possibly jump-starting a more economic open-mindedness among the buyers back home.

The return of the winter show to the Las Vegas Convention Center after its Mandalay Bay March 2007 cameo introduced some changes to the show configuration. Exhibitor and buyer registration was moved to the upstairs lobby and the entrance to the lower level was wide open and far flung from left to right. The Military Tactical Outdoor segment of the show began at the left front of the exhibiting aisles and was neatly demarcated and easy to navigate.

We have part one of a written and pictorial review later in this issue.

We would like to extend wishes for a speedy and complete recovery from surgery for retailer Marty Cohen of Mickey’s Army Navy in Warren, Ohio. Get well soon, Marty, your Beatles tribute band needs its Ringo back.

Other than that the army/navy industry continues to hold the line against these horrific economic times. Maybe there's a glimmer of hope in the success of the ASD show that we're closer to a turnaround than we think.

Unfortunately, though, there is not much else to pin our hopes on these days. Banks are still not lending, corporate greed still rides herd over the reform that's needed to correct how terribly wrong our priorities have become, and ideologies still run rampant over common sense.