Submitted by Eric Daniel
Pistols are great. There is simply no better way to describe them. I think everyone ought to be issued one and it's a shame that they aren't. Whether you're searching a confined space such as a basement or closet, dealing with detainees, or simply want the security of knowing that if you ever experience a malfunction with your long gun, you can go to the pistol rather than fight your rifle and the bad guys at the same time.
Unfortunately, pistols don't carry themselves. You need to pack it around (in our case it was Glock-19s that we'd gotten from the Iraqi Police), and the easiest, most convenient way of doing that is with a holster. For us, that meant either clipping the holster to our IBA, which meant you had to wear the IBA 24/7 if you needed to take your pistol anywhere or you needed to run the holster through your belt, which meant that you had this tumor on your hip where ever you went.
Hearkening back to my days of watching Adam-12, I opted to go the route of the police duty belt; I'd get a separate belt that could accommodate my holster, extra magazines, and what ever else I might want to sling, but since this belt wasn't attached to either my armor or my pants, I could take it off when I didn't need it.
My belt of choice was the Eagle Industries duty belt. It was simple, straightforward, and easy to operate. Made from nylon and velcro, it was neigh on indestructible. My holster of choice was the Safariland Model 6004 tactical. It too was simple, indestructible, and utterly reliable.
Buy the Eagle duty belt here
Buy the Safariland M6004 holster here
