The National Institute of Justice has launched a page on the website entitled, “Factors that Affect Officers’ Use of Body Armor.” It is meant to aggregate any studies that they have conducted relative to the use of body armor by law enforcement officers.
Currently, there are two topics with supporting documentation: Agency Policies Promote Use of Body Armor and Comfort of Body Armor. One interesting role NIJ has taken in the improvement of body armor comfort is in the realm of fit. They have worked with the American Society of Testing and Materials to develop standards for fitting armor so that industry and consumers alike will work from a common point of view for sizing.
This three dimensionally printed shirt puts the vital body parts on full view. Large muscle groups, internal organs are displayed for edged weapon training, baton training. You are only limited by your imagination. Target areas are now right in front of your eyes. A moving target is what you likely will face, so train to hit prescribed areas.
An additional benefit of this shirt is that with marking devices you can visibly “score” the wounds and discuss the psychological and physiological implications. In addition you can use the “hits” to conduct immediate after action triage and first responder treatment based on the now visible wounds. Self treatment for preservation and minimization of injuries is the new wave of LEO training so make use of this shirt to bring it home in your training classes.
Apparently, there’s an initiative by Air Force ‘Top Cop’ Brig Gen Allen Jameson to scrap the traditional Security Forces shield and adopt a more civilian-looking version akin to what is seen above on the right. His office on the Air Staff, the Director of Security Forces, is currently soliciting feedback from the field. While I don’t have a dog in this fight, the whole move away from Security Police to Security Forces 15 years ago was to focus more on air base defense and less on handing out parking tickets. To me, that new badge screams Barney Fife. Air Force Security Forces fulfill a unique role and their badge should reflect it, just as it has all of these years.
The other day we shared a photo from the Irish Sun depicting a member wearing Arc’teryx LEAF Talos combat clothing in Wolf Grey. Some readers didn’t believe that the photo was of a Garda member since he wasn’t wearing Black. Maybe this video will help clear things up?
Here is the description: Teams from the Irish Garda Emergency Response Unit (ERU) put on a show of strength in a large international counter-terrorism exercise in Dublin City, Ireland one day after the devastating terrorist bomb attacks in Boston City, United States.
Officers from Ireland’s elite counter-terrorist Police task force, the Garda ERU, hosted a European Union (EU) Coordinated Anti-Terror Exercise as part of Europe’s ‘ATLAS’ law enforcement network at an abandoned power generating site in Dublin. The exercise involved elements from land, sea and air, all designed to replicate a response to an extensive terror attack, either domestic or foreign.
Gardai have also confirmed that specially-trained Police men and women will undertake sea patrols during the 39th G8 Summit in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom) this summer – June 2013 – to prevent against any threats to the worldwide governmental forum. The Guards will be working alongside members from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), UK Intelligence Agencies, such as MI5 and MI6, and the British Military.
Last week, the Security Forces Center which serves exercises functional oversight for the Air Force’s largest careerfield issued guidance to the community mandating use of the Safariland Modular Holster System consisting of the 6004/6005 holster with the Quick Locking System for all SF applications of the M9 pistol in the Drop Leg, Hip, or Chest position. The memorandum dated Apr 5, 2013 also revokes authorization to continue to purchase Blackhawk SERPA holsters.
When I first saw this video a few weeks ago it really blew me away. It’s fun to watch free runners in action and interesting to check out what the European footwear brands are up to and how they are integrating the latest GORE-TEX® technology.
The footwear
Recent and comprehensive market research has shown that the effective climate comfort and management of moisture and heat loss together with reliable waterproofness, light weight, well cushioned, flexible and sporty performance soles are becoming more and more important for the police officer’s daily duty footwear. To meet these requirements the Gore professional footwear team together with HAIX®, LOWA® and MEINDL® has developed “GORE-TEX® Tactical Footwear“. The styles include HAIX® Black Eagle, MEINDL® Black Cobra and LOWA® Zephyr Black.
GORE-TEX® Technology
The footwear’s main feature is the durably waterproof and highly breathable GORE-TEX® Extended Comfort Laminate, which keeps the wearer’s feet dry and comfortable due to the increased breathability of the laminate together with the components used allow moisture to easily escape and keep the wearers feet at their optimized temperature even in the warmer climate of summer or inside environments.
The film
To launch the new “Tactical GORE-TEX® Footwear” collections Gore´s professional footwear team worked together with the film-maker and photographer Claudiu Voicu and the freerunning team “Storm Freerun” in London.
Katie McDonell, Tim “Livewire” Shieffs, Chima Akenzua and Kie Willis tested the footwear to the extreme while shooting a fast chasing story through the backyards and over the roofs of East-London. Next to “Tactical GORE-TEX® Footwear” all runners were equipped with police-uniforms made with the latest GORE-TEX® and WINDSTOPPER® technologies.
Claudiu Voicu used a Canon 5D and 7D camera, a Helicopter and a Go Pro camera to capture the full action. To capture the details of the performance of the footwear he used a Phantom Ultra Slow Motion camera.
Ontario Knife Company has introduced a new line of knives aimed at the LEO called the Fortune series. These are fixed blade models named after the Roman Fates: Morta, Decima and Nona (top to bottom).
They all feature the same G10 handles but offer 4″, 3″ and 2″ blade lengths for different applications.
