Transition as art and science

Editor's Note: Police1 has partnered with the New York Tactical Officers Association (NYTOA) to bring you feature articles from their outstanding publication, NY Tactical magazine.  The following article first appeared in NY Tactical and is reprinted by permission of the publisher. Check back on Tuesdays toward the middle of every month for features from NYTOA.

By Brian C. Hartman

One of the first things that may strike the reader as they thumb through NY Tactical is the size of this article dedicated to the outwardly benign topic of weapons transitions. Yet there is method to our madness. Without addressing a host of surrounding and interrelated factors, the article’s subject matter would be incomplete, unfair and unsafe to the NYTOA members we are dedicated to serve and who seek to better themselves.

Setting yourself up for success: equipment operation and orientation
A wise colleague and friend of mine often says that there are many elements of the fight that we cannot control. The time, place, terrain, and numbers we face are often dealt to us as we are bound to a reactive posture. However we do have the ability to control the equipment brought to the fight. As it pertains to the SWAT operator conducting transitions, there are three principal pieces of equipment that are the main focus having the ability to enhance or hinder: the sling, the holster and the vest.