Let me preface this isn't a personal attack against you. Your post was the perfect shot across the bow that made me want to post a rebuttal. I don't know you personally etc. and most this applies to people I have first hand experience with.
First, mission drives the gear. I say this because I see a lot of people poo poo gear simply because they do not understand the context where it can be applied. On the other hand, you see many people copy other’s setup or utilize gear that isn’t applicable to them. However, this is the United States of America and I support people doing whatever the hell they want to do as long as it doesn’t maliciously hurt others.
I hear many people say that they do just fine with “X gear” but they really don’t ever utilize it in any meaningful way. An example is the M16, there is a reason people who regularly use rifles in the real world use don’t run M16’s. I get really pissed when dudes in LE/MIL talk about how they don’t need optics, slings, lights, etc. because in their experience they did not have those items and turned out fine or because in some past war/conflict they weren’t utilized.
A modern carbine rifle for LE use (I’ll keep LE specific because that’s what I do for a living) requires a red dot, white light, and a sling period full stop. That is the bare minimum for legitimate use for a patrol function and must be present on a reliable rifle. A carbine length (16”/14.5”) for general use is the maximum length (for special role guns longer barrels can come into play depending). A shorter barrel makes more sense for the heavy use in and around vehicles. Adding suppressors which are becoming a standard item and in my mind are essential for many reasons and adds to the need/use of shorter barrels. This is shown by people who uses them regularly. The modifications we have seen over the years has been the direct effect of the increased utilization of carbines in the daily use of LE. We’ve also seen this from the military from the ongoing GWOT.
This applies to handguns as well. The fact that not every LE especially those in uniform aren’t carrying a pistol with a weapon mounted lights is ridiculous. Yes, you need to provide them training to utilize them properly but it is still a sham. Honestly, most don’t even have a proper hand held fighting light. They have some junk task light that has no business being employed as a fighting light. Also, the fact we see so many substandard duty holsters, belts, magazine pouches, etc. is sad.
There are some items that unless you have the requisite gear don’t serve a purpose (for example, an IR laser when you do not possess NVG)
We talk about skill being king which is absolutely true. The other side of the coin is if you don’t have the skill, experience, and training you will not be able to understand yet appreciate the innovations of much of the equipment/gear that has come out in recent years.