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What's the alternative to the M1911, the M9? Ugh.

I'm sure the sidearm isn't that important in today's military, but a Glock (or similar) .40 S&W would probably be a much better tool Even if they had to stick with 9mm.

I've heard the 1911 is kept around by Special Forces types who can use whatever they want for the most part. Same reason it's used by SWAT teams and such.

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My understanding is that government issue sidearms require a manual safety, immediately ruling out the Glock.

This is to prevent NDs (Negligent Discharge). The ironic thing is, the SA/DA design with safety is more complicated and requires a lot more training to use properly, resulting in a higher rate of NDs (so I've heard).

If money and logistics were not an issue, I believe the FN Five-SeveN with the specialty 5.7 cartridge would win hands down. It very much has done for the pistol what the AR-15 did for the rifle.

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