Powerful surefire                                                         flashlights give the                                                         police officer a non-lethal                                                         tool to control potentially                                                         violent suspects.
                                                       When you consider the question of tactical needs for light - and           what other applications you might have - you need your answer to apply           to what I have identified as two distinct groups of tactical light           users. The first group is similar but different - law enforcement officers           and armed citizens. Both may have a need to use light to identify threats           and control people. How? Tactical light can take away an assailant's           vision, affecting depth perception and mentally take away any perceived           advantage your opponent may have. The other use of tactical light is           for military special operations, which is a relatively new area. In           the past, if you turned on a white light in a combat situation, your           own side would probably have shot you because of the potential for           enemy fire that would be directed back toward your position. 
           However,           in today's military conflict, rooting out the enemy is not as simple           as it was during, say, World War II when the accepted U.S. Army doctrine           for house-clearing was to frag the room with a grenade and then come           in blazing. No one left standing.In today's more politically-sensitive           wars, you can't just blow up the building. You have to search it. And           when you go into a CQB environment where you have to distinguish friend           from foe, you need white light too. Everyone dresses the same, rides           the same horses, drives the same vehicles, carries the same weapons,           and they all live in caves! In this situation we find a new and unique           field application for tactical lighting.
 However,           in today's military conflict, rooting out the enemy is not as simple           as it was during, say, World War II when the accepted U.S. Army doctrine           for house-clearing was to frag the room with a grenade and then come           in blazing. No one left standing.In today's more politically-sensitive           wars, you can't just blow up the building. You have to search it. And           when you go into a CQB environment where you have to distinguish friend           from foe, you need white light too. Everyone dresses the same, rides           the same horses, drives the same vehicles, carries the same weapons,           and they all live in caves! In this situation we find a new and unique           field application for tactical lighting. 
         SureFire Beginnings
        In the law enforcement and civilian world, brighter, stronger beams           of light are desirable to illuminate and control. When I initially           became a policeman 23 years ago, most of our lights had very little           illumination, but they made for great clubs. 
          In 1980, I saw my first SureFire 6P flashlight and believed that           the inventor, John Matthews, had somehow captured the sun and put it           in that small capsule. Today, that same 6P that I used, with its 65           lumen output, seems tame. If you have followed the advancements with           SureFire over the past 10 years, you have noted models of tactical           lights that become more and more powerful, all the way up to The Beast           at over 2,000 lumens. The good part is that as Matthews and new product           development manager Paul Kim get older, they make even stronger lights           - perhaps because they need more illumination to see!As an aside, did           you know that for every 10 years that we age, we need four times the           light to see what we used to see easily? 
          Years ago, as a patrol officer I followed my need to use a stronger           tactical light and I found the new SureFire 9N Commander from the SureFire           line of Advanced Rechargeables to be very convenient. This model has           a 20 lumen light for reading and writing police forms and a second           lamp of 140 lumens for self-defense and control. From working the graveyard           shift for most of my adult life, I initially thought this was The Answer.           But finally I realized it was too slow to switch from bulb to bulb           for my specific duties. So, about a year and a half ago, I changed           to SureFire's tactical rechargeable model, the top of the SureFire           line, the 10X Dominator. This was indeed the light I had been waiting           for. 
          Meet The Dominator
           This             amazing twin-lamp flashlight with a futuristic body design was designed             from the ground-up to be the ultimate police flashlight. The Dominator             offers the same dual-level of light capability as the 9N Commander,             but it's power is much greater. The working light is a strong 60             lumens - the equivalent of the famous 6P Classic - but there is a             second lamp that produces over 500 lumens of light! This is like             turning on a portable, handheld spotlight! The Dominator operates             by pressing a two-stage tailcap, a thumb-operated, momentary pressure             switch that is common to all SureFires. Press lightly on the Dominator's             two-stage tactical tailcap and you obtain 60 lumens; apply more pressure             and out comes a ball of flame with 500 lumens. Also, by twisting             the bezel, the working light activates and stays on; rotate the bezel             further to turn on a constant beam of 500 lumens. The grip is oblong             and fits under my support-side arm trapped against my ribs. Knowing             that officers like to tuck their light under their arm, the SureFire             engineers intentionally configured the grip in an ellipse and also             included non-slip rubber pads. I adjust the bezel so a quarter turn             locks the 60 lumen beam on for writing tickets or completing forms,             but I can also put this tactical light in my hand to easily get more             light, by putting pressure on the rear pressure switch.
 This             amazing twin-lamp flashlight with a futuristic body design was designed             from the ground-up to be the ultimate police flashlight. The Dominator             offers the same dual-level of light capability as the 9N Commander,             but it's power is much greater. The working light is a strong 60             lumens - the equivalent of the famous 6P Classic - but there is a             second lamp that produces over 500 lumens of light! This is like             turning on a portable, handheld spotlight! The Dominator operates             by pressing a two-stage tailcap, a thumb-operated, momentary pressure             switch that is common to all SureFires. Press lightly on the Dominator's             two-stage tactical tailcap and you obtain 60 lumens; apply more pressure             and out comes a ball of flame with 500 lumens. Also, by twisting             the bezel, the working light activates and stays on; rotate the bezel             further to turn on a constant beam of 500 lumens. The grip is oblong             and fits under my support-side arm trapped against my ribs. Knowing             that officers like to tuck their light under their arm, the SureFire             engineers intentionally configured the grip in an ellipse and also             included non-slip rubber pads. I adjust the bezel so a quarter turn             locks the 60 lumen beam on for writing tickets or completing forms,             but I can also put this tactical light in my hand to easily get more             light, by putting pressure on the rear pressure switch. 
          A Year On The Streets
           For             the past 12 months, I have used a 10X Dominator on the job, working             patrol on the graveyard shift of a large California beach city. Over             the course of the year, I found numerous instances in which I could             easily control "passive resisters" (the non-violent offender) before             they became violent. How can a strong light be used to gain a tactical             advantage? Shining the powerful light beam in the eyes of passive             resisters seems to reduce the desire to escalate into violence because             of sensory overload. These offenders responded to our commands for             being taken into custody, from behind our wall of light. We were             able to easily out-maneuver these offenders, take away their balance             and maintain control over them with handcuffing techniques and a             firm grip. During that time period, I was also able to deal with             potentially violent people, all with non-reportable "use of force             by intimidation with light." In these cases, the appropriate use             of tactical light removed the aggressor's advantage, and provided             sensory overload. In the law enforcement community, we have spent             much money on less lethal tools, but have overlooked the use of strong             illumination to control passive resisters. During our SWAT training,             I have found the high intensity light to be valuable in putting out             a wall of light. In force-on-force training, the "bad guy" role players             could not see what we were doing and were too intimidated to stick             their heads out!
 For             the past 12 months, I have used a 10X Dominator on the job, working             patrol on the graveyard shift of a large California beach city. Over             the course of the year, I found numerous instances in which I could             easily control "passive resisters" (the non-violent offender) before             they became violent. How can a strong light be used to gain a tactical             advantage? Shining the powerful light beam in the eyes of passive             resisters seems to reduce the desire to escalate into violence because             of sensory overload. These offenders responded to our commands for             being taken into custody, from behind our wall of light. We were             able to easily out-maneuver these offenders, take away their balance             and maintain control over them with handcuffing techniques and a             firm grip. During that time period, I was also able to deal with             potentially violent people, all with non-reportable "use of force             by intimidation with light." In these cases, the appropriate use             of tactical light removed the aggressor's advantage, and provided             sensory overload. In the law enforcement community, we have spent             much money on less lethal tools, but have overlooked the use of strong             illumination to control passive resisters. During our SWAT training,             I have found the high intensity light to be valuable in putting out             a wall of light. In force-on-force training, the "bad guy" role players             could not see what we were doing and were too intimidated to stick             their heads out! 
          Now the tactics we have just discussed are law             enforcement and civilian applications. It is the goal of law enforcement             to take people in custody or control them with no force or as little             force as possible. Sometimes people are so intent on resisting and             violently attacking us that we have to use deadly force. Our military             sometimes wrongfully gets put into the law enforcement role and must             use these tactics. Discussions between SureFire and a group of select             individuals, whom we can best describe simply as being "highly experienced people",             have indicated the need for less powerful lights, but more durable             and with longer battery life. They do not need to control the enemy             or take them into custody on a true battlefield. They need to identify             a good guy from the enemy and use deadly force. I do not want any             of our military injured or killed by being kinder and gentler!