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To a professional, his duty gear is what its shell is to a tortoise. Just like the tortoise shell, much of what constitutes duty gear is made of harder material, quite different from the rest of the body. Nevertheless, duty gear, just like the tortoise shell, is an extension of the self and is an inseparable part of that professional. Again, like the shell of the tortoise, duty gear is heavy, and even impedes movement to a certain extent. Still, sans right duty gear, an individual becomes defenseless, exposed, becomes vulnerable to attack, will be unable to perform, and will be unable to control the situation.
 With police and militia, arms, ammunition, and armored vehicles become an important part of their duty gear. Then there is a long array of body protection armor like elbow pads and knee pads, bullet proof vests, tactical gloves, helmets, hand wraps, and mouthpieces. A third dimension of duty gear will be communication equipments like radios, phones, and iPods. And there will be storage equipments like ammunition pouches, gun belts, gear bags, and holsters, not to speak of forensic kits that police personnel have to carry around. Besides all these, there could be designer duty gear, which the peculiar circumstances of a place or a crime might necessitate.
Within the same profession, the duty gear is bound to be pretty much the same for everyone. Still, the duty gear of a policeman working in Alaska will be quite different from the duty gear of someone working in Africa. This is because, even where people are discharging very similar duties, several things like the climate of the place where they are working, the terrain where they have to work, the social outlook of the people whom they have to help or control, and the sophisticated equipment available for criminals, will affect their duty gear requirements.
Even within the same territory, a policeman’s duty gear may change based upon the job to which he is assigned. While police and army men should have all their duty gear in combat readiness all the time, they are likely to use different combinations of it at different places. Some differences in duty gear like difference in uniform could arise from the aesthetic preferences of the governmental or non-governmental agencies that employ the policemen, soldiers, or security guards.
Users must purchase duty gear with a clear cut idea of the type of work they are likely to be assigned to. And with certain items of duty gear, they must ideally have more than one piece. For example, tactical boots, which are an important part of duty gear, are available to suit different climates and terrains. There are those with slip-resistant outsoles ideal for marshy places and steep climbs, waterproof ones with waterproof side zips for rainy areas, desert boots with vent holes for additional cooling, and several other models. Users should ideally have two or more sets of tactical boots to be used in different terrains and for different duties.
While buying these myriad types of duty gear, its quality and durability should be the prime concern of the buyer. Where duty gear fails, the whole operation would fail, and so the quality of the duty gear is something on which no one can afford to compromise.
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