|
Tactical -- pertaining to tactics. Tactics are the situational aspects of a battle, as opposed to strategy, which deals with broader movements and larger goals. The strategy might be to encircle the enemy's position; one tactic in support of that goal may be to slip a platoon of Marines up to an artillery point under cover of darkness and capture it.
Since tactical deals with the low-level here-and-now actions in a battle, tactical equipment is that which makes a difference at the individual and small unit level.
Of course, when applied to stuff sold to civilians at gun shows and in maazines, it is often just a marketing adjective. Everything an individual carries or uses to deal with a situation is a tactical item. If you plan to run away from the bad guys, your Nikes are tactical sneakers.
__________________
"As I looked at my two young sons, each with his gun, and considered how much the safety of the party depended on these little fellows, I felt grateful to you, dear husband, for having acquainted them in childhood with the use of firearms."
-- Elisabeth Robinson, in The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
|