The world’s first true SWAT unit was formed in 1967 by Officer Daryl Gates of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), whose name is abbreviated as SWAT. SWAT originally stood for Special Weapons Assault Team (Special Armed Assault Team), but Officer Daryl Gates’ boss, Edward M. Davis, then Deputy Commissioner of the LAPD, and other senior leaders thought the name was too violent and contradicted the police. Principles of action, easy to cause public disgust, so the name was changed to Special Weapons And Tactics (special weapons and tactics). SWAT was formed with the assistance of the U.S. Marine Corps, and developed a set of urban combat techniques suitable for law enforcement operations by combining the military’s tactical skills with policing characteristics. SWAT initially had 6 squads of 5 people each—including squad leaders, snipers, spotters, scouts, and backups.
Pistol shooting in the dark
On many occasions, SWAT units need to operate in dark environments. For law enforcement, in the dark environment, the biggest problem is not aiming, but the identification and tracking of the target.
Although modern low-light night vision equipment and infrared night vision equipment have been widely used in the army, for the special police force, the actual combat role of such equipment is still limited. For example, the dark environment is not necessarily at night. Usually, the light intensity will change greatly during the firefight (in the indoor scene, when there is a firefight, there will be a strong flash). In such a scene, it is also not suitable to use night vision equipment. Therefore, the tactical flashlight is still an essential shooting aid for SWAT units.
The best combination of the pistol and the tactical flashlight is to install the tactical flashlight on the pistol through a special tactical bracket. The following is the way to hold the pistol and the tactical flashlight separately in some cases. Because the SWAT team needs to use one hand to hold the flashlight when using the tactical flashlight, it will inevitably affect the stability of the pistol grip. Therefore, the SWAT team needs to adopt some special holding methods to solve this problem.
How to hold a tactical flashlight
Using a tactical flashlight to search for a target in a dark environment will inevitably lead to the possibility of revealing oneself. Therefore, during the entire search process, the SWAT team should make full use of the ambient light on the scene, as well as hearing and smell to check the environment. When the opponent’s position is roughly clear, the SWAT team should first look for cover, and then suddenly turn on the tactical flashlight in the final stage of verifying the target and preparing for shooting. At any time, the tactical flashlight cannot be turned on for a long time. The SWAT team members should turn on the tactical flashlight in a short time as needed, and move their position at the moment when the tactical flashlight is turned off. In addition, in order to expand the lighting range, the SWAT team can also point the tactical torch to the ceiling, and use the reflection to illuminate the whole room.
When two people are grouped to perform the task, one person can provide lighting and the other person can cover and move forward. When the gangster is spotted by advancing SWAT team, he will either open fire or divert. If the gangster chooses to fire, the SWAT team providing the lighting can attack from the unexpected position of the gangster; if the gangster chooses to move, the SWAT team providing the lighting can continue to use the lighting ray to trace the position of the gangster, so that other SWAT team members can occupy a favorable position. shooting position.
【Harris holding method】
This grip is to hold the tactical flashlight “backhanded” and support the other hand holding the gun. The advantage is that the hand posture is stable, and the tactical flashlight irradiation direction is close to the aiming axis.
① The right hand holds the gun.
② Hold the tactical flashlight with the backhand of the left hand, press the thumb on the switch of the tactical flashlight, and support it on the joint of the right hand.
③ Keep the left and right hands close to each other to stabilize the pistol.
④ The rear of the tactical flashlight is close to the right forearm.
⑤ When using a small torch, press your thumb on the switch at the end of the torch.
【Ray Chapman Grip】
This is another commonly used method of holding.
① Hold the tactical torch with your left thumb and index finger.
② The remaining three fingers support the right hand holding the gun.
③ When using a small torch, hold the torch with your index and middle fingers, and press the switch at the end of the torch with the base of your thumb.
【Ioba’s holding method】
This holding method is mainly suitable for lighting in a small space. This position is simple, with the thumbs of the left and right hands holding the pistol and tactical flashlight close to each other – when the gun is at chest height, the tactical flashlight held in the left hand will be slightly upturned, and if the bandit appears at close range, the light It just hit his eyes.
【Classic wrong grip method】
This is a shooting lighting stance once taught by the FBI to reduce the chance of being hit by a bandit. But the actual combat shows that this position not only exposes the shooter to his own light, but also makes the shooting position less stable.