{"id":536,"date":"2012-02-20T08:57:10","date_gmt":"2012-02-20T13:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/?p=536"},"modified":"2014-11-11T19:25:49","modified_gmt":"2014-11-12T00:25:49","slug":"what-do-you-carry-in-your-swat-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/?p=536","title":{"rendered":"What Do You Carry In Your SWAT Gear?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I was rummaging through my very old SWAT ballistic vest the other day in the garage.\u00a0 Some odds and ends in the main MOLLE pouch included:<\/p>\n

A Gerber Multi-Plier, Benchmade A.F.O. autofolder, two AR-15 mags, two Sig .40 cal. mags, flex cuffs, Streamlight Stinger, two spare TASER cartridges, ballistic glasses, ear protection, Nomex gloves, Nomex balaclava, latex gloves, window punch\/seat belt cutter, lensatic compass, AA Mini-Maglite with red lens, notepad and pen, about 50′ of black paracord, spare flashbang pin, chalk, and a black Sharpie marker.<\/p>\n

Most of this gear, or older stuff just like it, had been my standard load-out for over twenty years of tactical operations.\u00a0 Though I technically retired from the Team a couple of years ago, I am still the team coordinator and an advisor, so I still have my gear.\u00a0 Looking back at my equipment, there are things that are missing.<\/p>\n

Where’s the med kit?\u00a0 We have had certified SWAT medics on the Team for over 15 years, but I know darn well they can’t get into every situation with us.\u00a0 In my area, they are unarmed firefighter\/paramedics, so we have to protect them on ops.\u00a0 Having a medic does not preclude carrying self-survival medical necessities.\u00a0\u00a0 Funny that I have a 6X6 trauma kit on my street bailout vest in the cruiser trunk, but not on the old SWAT turtle.<\/p>\n

Just two AR mags?\u00a0 Hmmm.\u00a0 Should be four.\u00a0 The two pistol magazines I can live with.\u00a0 A total of only three rifle mags seems too light nowadays.<\/p>\n

No dedicated baton holder.\u00a0 I carry a Monadnock Auto-Lock daily on duty.\u00a0 I have used one to break out sliding glass doors on TAC callouts or fend off dogs on warrant services.\u00a0 I usually added the stick when I knew I’d need it, though I do think it is the most basic of \u201cmulti-tools.\u201d\u00a0 It should ride along all the time.<\/p>\n

I have a 10″ X 12″ Level III rifle plate upfront, but not one in back.\u00a0 I was only issued the one.\u00a0 And the carrier I have is a bit aged, so there’s no provision for the rear plate anyway.\u00a0 Doubtful a Camelbak full of water will mitigate that high velocity threat.<\/p>\n

Door wedges and something like the Blackhawk Small Pry tool would be nice.\u00a0 I picked up a Small Pry on sale for $50.00 last year.\u00a0 Probably should mount it on the vest.\u00a0 Door wedges are just gravy and not needed often.<\/p>\n

Wish list?\u00a0 I would love to have a short-barreled pistol grip Remington 870 in a back scabbard, ala Cpl. Hicks in the movie Aliens.<\/em> “I like to keep this handy…for close encounters.”\u00a0 Clack, clack.\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, unfortunately, that’s about seven pounds over the top.\u00a0 Well, there is only a remote possibility I’d need it for alien xenomorphs, anyway.<\/p>\n

Randall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was rummaging through my very old SWAT ballistic vest the other day in the garage.\u00a0 Some odds and ends in the main MOLLE pouch included: A Gerber Multi-Plier, Benchmade A.F.O. autofolder, two AR-15 mags, two Sig .40 cal. mags, flex cuffs, Streamlight Stinger, two spare TASER cartridges, ballistic glasses, ear protection, Nomex gloves, Nomex balaclava, latex gloves, window punch\/seat belt cutter, lensatic compass, AA Mini-Maglite with red lens, notepad and pen, about 50′ of black paracord, spare flashbang pin, chalk, and a black Sharpie marker. Most of this gear, or older stuff just like it, had been my standard load-out for over twenty years of tactical operations.\u00a0 Though I … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[48],"tags":[76,77,833,75,79,80,38],"class_list":["post-536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-swat","tag-molle","tag-pouches","tag-swat","tag-swat-gear","tag-swat-team","tag-tac-team","tag-tactical"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t