You clerics out there might recall that I have been making, or having made, tactical clerical shirts by adapting 5.11 uniform shirts. HERE and, amusingly and most recently, HERE.
Fathers, you are clerics and officers of the Church Militant. Stay clerical, my friends. Stay tactical clerical.
The last time I wrote about this, I lightly inveighed against “tab shirts” as being eschatologically risky. Well, this time I gave into the dark side and produced… tactical clerical tab shirts, rather than the band collar to which you attach a separate “fake” piece.
Hey, they’re both fake, right? Anyhoo…
For the “tab”, I cut down a full-circle, plastic collar one might use for a cassock.
They are sturdier, and they look better. Cut off the ends to the wanted length.
HINT: Fathers, if you are going to have tactical clericals made by someone else, take with you both the shirt on which the new shirt is to be modeled as well as the collar you intend to use.
So, gentlemen, the 5.11 tactical clerical series.
They should have listened to me… but no, their blinkered customer “service” person was as slow in responding as she was in slow in responding.
They have the same features which I wrote about before. They are reinforced under the arms, grommets allow air movement. Above the elbow there is a loop, so you can roll your sleeves up and strap them into position above the elbow. They are stain/liquid resistant. Across the back there is a vent. Behind the breast pockets there are deep, conceal pockets with vertical openings that close with hook and eye.
These shirts are far more durable than the regular trash sold by clerical companies. The 5.11 option costs a bit more, because they have to be altered. But they keep their black color better. They also have super pockets for travelling: you can squirrel things away (money, passport, phone, etc.) in pockets people don’t expect.
I simply got tired of the trashy shirts.
Fathers, buy your shirts using these links: long sleeve HERE and short sleeve HERE with helpful concealed carry pockets (for, say… a Roman Ritual or something else). Tactical pants for the tactical cleric HERE (the mag pouch is useful for stole, oil stock and rosary or… a spare mag). HINT: You will want more than one shirt, eventually. Believe me. … I mean both 5.11 shirts and spare mags!
By the way, the pants take a 1.75″ Kevlar reinforced, load-bearing belt. Just in case you were wondering.
Lay people: if you think that your local priest might like to go tactical, borrow a model tab or band shirt, along with the appropriate collar options, get the shirts, take them to your tailor or seamstress (if you can’t do it yourselves) and have them made as gifts to Father.
Finally, thanks to the readers who sent me my shirts from my Amazon wishlist! I am grateful, and tactical, because of you.
