S.W.A.T. December 2007 - McKeesport Police Department

include some or all of the above. Another
use would of course be trauma management.
Back to the snagging of the light. A
fact of life is that anything you wear or
carry is likely to be snagged or caught on
something. The light would not necessarily
be mounted on a two-klick movement
to the crisis site (there would be no
reason to). The light could be kept in a
pouch or pocket until you were on site
and prepared to make entry.
The question that has to be asked is
this: “Do you need a more powerful/reliable
light source than is currently available?”
If the answer is yes, consider this
to be an answer.
How does it work? I’ve had it for a
few months now, and it works well. She
Who Must Be Obeyed is probably tired
of seeing me move around the house
with a MICH, OTN and camera on every
evening, but it is another way to get familiar
with the gear. The best way to find
out how to work something is to actually
use it. Doing it in the casa can identify
potential problems before they become
real ones downrange.
The helmet is not noticeably out of
balance—it does not make me feel as
though my head is twisted to one side.
This is, of course, subjective. My opinion
may be colored by the fact that by 1978
I had already made over 2,000 free-fall
parachute jumps, many of which involved
carrying a Nikon F on my helmet.
My head and neck may be more
than a little out of whack, but they are
also more sensitive to some things.
I replaced the standard momentary
switch on the SureFire G2 light with a
Z59 click switch to make functioning
more positive, but twisting the tail cap
until you achieve brightness is also a viable,
albeit slower method of turning the
light on or off.
Directing light is a snap, because all
you need to do is look at what you want
illuminated. It doesn’t get much easier
than that.
While this unit is not meant to be used
as a shooting aid, it will do a fine job of
illuminating areas very quickly, and permitting
you to acquire, identify and if
necessary process a threat. It may not be
useful if you are working alone or conducting
a “soft” entry, where you switch
lights on and off constantly, but it is extremely
useful for what it is designed to
do on the helmets of those who will be
shooting bearded men in the face.
Mike McMillan is a real-deal guy who
makes great stuff. If a brighter helmetmounted
light is in your game plan, you
need to give the OTN a try.
The search for perfect gear is
neverending. §
[Pat Rogers is a retired Chief Warrant Officer
of Marines and a retired NYPD Sergeant.
Pat is the owner of E.A.G. Inc., which provides
services to various governmental organizations.
He can be reached at eag@10-8consulting.com]
SOURCES:
CSM Tactical
Dept. S.W.A.T.
P.O. Box 892241
Temecula, CA 92589
www.csmgear.com
SureFire, LLC
Dept. S.W.A.T.
18300 Mount Baldy Circle
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(800) 828-8809
www.surefire.com
Muskrat-SWAT.qxp:Layout 1 6/6/07 2:01 PM Page 1
CSM HELMET LIGHT BRACKET
“Suspect with a gun!” could be the most dangerous call you’ll ever
receive. It’s one of the reasons the speaker and omni-directional
microphone on the EarPro EP210 are encased in aluminum and
acoustically tuned for the human voice. The cables are shielded to
reduce radio and magnetic interference, then wrapped in Kevlar ® to
resist flex fatigue. Transmission and reception is crystal clear. Ambient
noise is discernable. You’ll know what the hell’s coming at you.
SWATMAG.COM S.W.A.T. » DECEMBER 2007 53