Ten-41 Uniform & Tactical: A Gem for the Texas Panhandle

By Geneva Wildcat

Situated at 1304 N. Banks in Pampa is locally-owned business Ten-41 Uniform & Tactical, a one stop shop for supplies and gear for first responders.

Ten-41’s owners, Tim and Jessica Flaxington are both first responders, Tim having worked in law enforcement for twelve years and Jessica as a nurse.

With both of them having plenty of experience in these high-stress fields, it was clear to them that there was something vital lacking in this part of Texas.

With six children to raise, insanely busy schedules, and a passion to continue serving their community, Tim and Jessica leapt into action and brought to Pampa exactly what had been missing, and in so doing, they have been able to spend more time together as a family, their schedules have become more relaxed, and they are still able to serve the community in a crucial capacity.    

“Working throughout the panhandle of Texas in rural communities, I realized we didn’t have anything like this to help our first responders,” Tim said. “I come from up north so we have stores like this in every major city, but nothing like that here. I figured I better serve our first responders with something like this to make sure they have the equipment and gear necessary to do their job to serve our community.”

It’s no secret that finding folks to fulfill any kind of first responder role is challenging, but once they are hired, time is of the essence to put them to work and sometimes the wait time for their uniforms and equipment to come in is severely delayed.

“In Pampa, we would order from certain companies who would supply small third-party stores like this, but if you had a new hire that is certified as a police officer already and you’re short-staffed and have officers that are being overworked, you can’t start that officer until they have gear and their uniform. You could be waiting two or three weeks and now maybe you have a delay in the order due to weather. Now you have to wait longer to put this officer out there on the street.”
“This gives them an opportunity to send a new officer’s information here to us and make sure we have the uniform for them when they do start. If we don’t have it, we most certainly can get it and it will take a lot less time for us to get it than ordering it online.”

While the store is mainly geared toward providing first responders the supplies and uniforms they need, there are also many items for the general public, such as self-defense items, belts, flashlights, and gloves. 

For all of the items that are for law enforcement, there are certain protocols in place to keep the public from buying equipment that could potentially be used in negative and harmful ways.

“You would have to show a law enforcement ID to purchase handcuffs because we wouldn’t want someone using handcuffs in a crime and saying they got it from Ten-41. As far as pepper spray and stuff like that, you can purchase that over the counter at places like Academy Sports. But for batons, handcuffs, police shirts and hats, you have to show a law enforcement ID.”

Riley Lindley has a workshop in the back where she does hemming, alterations and adding patches to uniforms, fulfilling yet another service for first responders that many of us wouldn’t have even considered.

The purpose of Ten-41 is to provide tangible support to all first responders, but it also acts as a glimpse into their world, giving the public a better idea of what those professions require and need to serve the community.

“Cops like to shop at cop shops and firefighters like to shop where firefighters shop,” Tim laughed. “But this is stuff the gives the general public kind of a feel for law enforcement’s passion and style. It gives them an open view of our world.”

“We can empathize and sympathize at the same time. That’s the best part about this place is we’ve been in this field, we’ve been in this profession and we know what we need to do the job and we know what we can’t lack. So we know what to carry.”

Agencies across the panhandle have already caught wind of Ten-41 even before they officially opened, establishing them as the hub centrally located in rural Texas.

“A lot of agencies in 26 counties of the panhandle are pretty excited that we’re opening up here. Agencies north of Amarillo and in Borger have already heard about us.”

“So having this here in this part of Texas, it’s good for Pampa and the panhandle as a whole.” 

Stop by Ten-41 Uniform & Tactical, located at 1304 N. Banks, Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 6 PM, or call 806-419-5740 for more information on the equipment they carry and the services they provide.