And anyone that has served in the Service during those 1911 periods would contest to the upkeep that they require to stay functional. It is not for those who could not perform some serious maintenance on their firearms with ease.. Every 1911 owner becomes a gunsmith not always by choice... haha
I did serve in the USMC (0311) during those transitional years and I was issued both a 1911 and a M9. I preferred the 1911 at the time and mine was superbly reliable, it's what made me fall in love with the design.
The 1911's that were issued during our life time and while we were in service were built in the 1940's. They had been in service for almost 50 years by the time I handled them, some were built even earlier. That's right, they were 50 year old handguns that had been subjected to harsh military use the entire time and yes - many were worse for wear. It's a grand testament to the design that the 1911's lasted so long without major failures and could be kept in service. The Glock hasn't been around long enough to have endured a similar test.
You're acting as though no modern military units or police SRT teams have adopted the 1911 over other designs. This may be news to you then.
The Marine MEU's have adopted the 1911 as the MEU(SOC). Force Recon has adopted the MEU(SOC) as well. Delta Force has adopted the 1911. LA SWAT issues the 1911 as does the FBI Hostage Rescue Team. Actually, there are LOTS of police departments that issue 1911's over other design, some to their SWAT teams and others to patrol officers.
Just because the Glock is relatively new doesn't mean it's more advanced in operation than the 1911 or any other handgun. The Glock's lock-up is derived from John Brownings work, the only thing remarkable about the Glock is the polymer frame, which they didn't really pioneer either, they just made it popular.
With all of that said, I'm a huge Glock fan. I own them, shoot them quite well and defend them in arguments often. I even do things to them like in the video on the first page of this thread to demonstrate their reliability. I'm by no means a Glock basher. But you can appreciate both designs without having to pick sides. I defend the 1911 as feverishly as I defend the Glock.