Do infantry carry flashlights like SWAT teams often do?

5559 Views 12 Replies 11 Participants Last post by pighunter, Jan 28, 2012

Kdw1030

Discussion Starter · Jul 9, 2009

I'm wondering, do most infantry in current conflicts carry the same array of equipment like most SWAT do? Or does the military just shoot and not worry about subduing the ''bad guy'' for fear he may have friends around? As it would take a few people to subdue someone, leaving them exposed.

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SGT_geardo

· #2 · Oct 6, 2009

SWAT vs. Infantry

Really what we are handed, as soldiers, is the M4/M16. After that they give us IR/Visual lasers, M68 (Aimpoint). I was given an ACOG once. Sometimes we would get lights like the M3X. Other than that most of the gear we would use was perchased personally or our supply was able to get it for us. And this is all depending on what the unit commander thinks is necessary for the mission.

S.W.A.T. Members carry a variaty of weapons and gear. What every they buy and what thier department gives them.

Although I was not infantry I was Artillery doing Infantry work my first tour.

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Sarge1119

· #3 · Oct 25, 2009

Speaking as both a soldier and a SWAT team member... I can say that in the ARMY, you get what they issue you. On occassion, you may sneak a piece of gear (that wasn't neccessarily authorized) by your platoon sergeant but usually, you made do with what you had. Our Department purchases us some pretty decent gear to include Colt Commandos w/ Surefire M500's. That being said, we still have to purchase a great deal of tertiary gear that isn't neccessarily thought of as being "needed" by the administration. Mostly lighting and load bearing equipment that makes life a little easier in the field.

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Spc-swainster PA

· #4 · Feb 26, 2010

When I went over last year everyone in my brigade was issued a surefire weapons light, an aimpoint comp 4 or acog and a grip-pod vertical grip bipod. Almost everyone was issued a PEQ-14 visible/IR laser illuminator, and a handful us got the older but still effective PEQ-2/4 IR only units. So it's not just the 11Bs and 19Ds that get all the toys, everyone does (even the fobits haha.)

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Zeus

· #5 · Feb 26, 2010

All we had were the old right angle OD "moonbeam" D cell lights. I'm sure they have way better stuff now.

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Muad-dib

· #6 · Jul 18, 2010

Zeus said:
All we had were the old right angle OD "moonbeam" D cell lights. I'm sure they have way better stuff now.

We got those if we wanted them, too. I didn't take one but went and bought a mini-Mag Lite with filters. Others used headlamps that had color filters or simply rigged up filters. I was in MI (go ahead and make jokes now) so we needed lights to read maps and documents; fill out reports; do scratch work such as writing down pertinent info for reports, quick translations, or just info we would need for the time being; as well as search prisoners.

When we needed flashlights we used our personal PX bought mini-Mag Lites with red or blue filters. Most of the time we were at hard sites that had lighting so flashlights weren't needed or light discipline wasn't important. In those cases, some had big D cell Mag Lites but used them more as potential batons or to menace prisoners; i.e. let them think they were going to get a taste of that hunk of metal or to shine in their face to keep them off-guard or disoriented during search and inprocessing.

The only time I have seen infantry use such flashlights was at JRTC. The OPFOR carried big Mag Lites and during night attacks would turn them on to temporarily blind people wearing NVGs or just ruin everyone else's night vision.

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learningcircles

· #7 · Mar 2, 2011

Yes, I was issued a surefire M951XM07 with pressure grip and a grip pod while I was in Baghdad. The grip pods were junk, and the surefire's tail cap broke.

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ArmyLT

· #8 · Mar 7, 2011

I've carried some form of surefire on my person and mounted on my weapon on every deployment I've been on (3 so far). I've even had a helmet mounted surefire. Battery life sucks, but you can't beat the light. I never use the pressure pad to operate, too easy to accidentally hit it when it is on a pistol grip. I just position the light on my M4 in a way that I can use my thumb to activate the light if I need it.

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USA Signal Officer

· #9 · Mar 22, 2011

I second what Spc-swainster PA said. They forced quire an array of junk on us for our M4s, not sure what the 11Bs were using, I didn't really pay much attention to them, but the MPs had just about the same kit that we did. I found the 20rd mags really handy.

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Major_League_Infidel

· #10 · Jan 27, 2012

Speaking from 14yrs of Active Duty as a Airborne Infantryman, we have a vast array of accessories that we can add to our rifles. A tac light is almost always mounted on our rifles. No you do not have to ask your platoon sergeant for permission to mount mission essential equipment to your rifle. It is shooters preference. Almost every Soldier has the basic mounting accessories for their rifle. No local police department has the level of equipment we use. They just have the basic small arms with only a few of the same attachments. As for the "Soft Skill Soldier" in the Army most of the tacticool equipment they are issued, they don't don't know how to use. I guess that's their attempt at fooling the enemy into thinking, since they have all that gear they must be tough guys. Before you post on a forum, KNOW what you are talking about before you type it.

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USA Signal Officer

· #11 · Jan 28, 2012

Major_League_Infidel said:
Speaking from 14yrs of Active Duty as a Airborne Infantryman, we have a vast array of accessories that we can add to our rifles. A tac light is almost always mounted on our rifles. No you do not have to ask your platoon sergeant for permission to mount mission essential equipment to your rifle. It is shooters preference. Almost every Soldier has the basic mounting accessories for their rifle. No local police department has the level of equipment we use. They just have the basic small arms with only a few of the same attachments. As for the "Soft Skill Soldier" in the Army most of the tacticool equipment they are issued, they don't don't know how to use. I guess that's their attempt at fooling the enemy into thinking, since they have all that gear they must be tough guys. Before you post on a forum, KNOW what you are talking about before you type it.

I wouldn't call an E6 19D "SOFT SKILLED", 25A maybe, but you can't talk without the Signal Corps.

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ArmyLT

· #12 · Jan 28, 2012

Wing Attack Plan R said:
Major_League_Infidel said:

Speaking from 14yrs of Active Duty as a Airborne Infantryman, we have a vast array of accessories that we can add to our rifles. A tac light is almost always mounted on our rifles. No you do not have to ask your platoon sergeant for permission to mount mission essential equipment to your rifle. It is shooters preference. Almost every Soldier has the basic mounting accessories for their rifle. No local police department has the level of equipment we use. They just have the basic small arms with only a few of the same attachments. As for the "Soft Skill Soldier" in the Army most of the tacticool equipment they are issued, they don't don't know how to use. I guess that's their attempt at fooling the enemy into thinking, since they have all that gear they must be tough guys. Before you post on a forum, KNOW what you are talking about before you type it.

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I wouldn't call an E6 19D "SOFT SKILLED", 25A maybe, but you can't talk without the Signal Corps.

Funny you mention 25A. I went from being a 11B platoon sergeant to commissioning through OCS and becoming a 25A Sig O. I've been at my current unit for 3 months now as an S6 OIC, I haven't even been issued a weapon yet, but I assume it will be a bare bones M16. I know we have optics within the BN, a few M68s and ACOGS for the few M4s available, but the BN CO doesn't want us using anything but iron sights.

Oh well, my Sig 556 has an Eotech and a Surefire, guess I can at least have a decent rifle at home if I can't have one at work.

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pighunter

· #13 · Jan 28, 2012

+1

The answer to the question is that it depends on your command

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