rc135
Member
From www.StrategyPage.com:
THE IMMORTAL M9. (April 30, 2007): Congress has told the U.S. Air Force that they cannot go ahead and buy a new pistol, to replace the 9mm M-9 everyone in the Department of Defense has been using for the past two decades. Congress told the Air Force to get with the other services and come up with a new pistol for everyone. That's what everyone has been trying to do, without much success, for the last few years.
Numerous and frequent complaints from the troops have the DoD looking for a new pistol to replace the current M-9 9mm weapon. It's not just nostalgia. When the U.S. switched over from the .45 caliber M1911 pistol to the M9, in the 1980s, SOCOM (Special Operations Command) went to Heckler and Koch for a more powerful pistol. What resulted as the Mk 23 SOCOM. This .45 pistol has a 12-round magazine and the ability to carry a silencer. It is based on the Heckler and Koch USP45, which has been available for the civilian and law enforcement markets. The fact that there are several larger (than 9mm) caliber pistols out there for the law enforcement market gives you a hint at what is going on here.
It comes down to this. Most of the GI-s who have been issued a pistol will rarely have to use it. However, those who do, like Special Forces, want more power than a 9mm round can deliver. The ‘wonder-nine’ has been popular with police forces that don't encounter much opposition; but when the other guy is likely to shoot back, you want as much knock down power as you can get. Thus cops who shoot a lot, prefer 10mm and larger calibers (like the 11.4mm .45). The Special Forces, and SOCOM in general, have the authority to get any weapons they think they need, with no interference from anyone. SOCOM has many small unit operations that use pistols. The SOCOM operators believe that the 9mm pistol is not adequate, thus the adoption of the Mk23. Many key members of Congress are determined that the DoD will not end up with several different new pistols. If they don't like the M9, then agree on a new one. However, so far, the services have not been able to agree. Thus, the saga continues…
THE IMMORTAL M9. (April 30, 2007): Congress has told the U.S. Air Force that they cannot go ahead and buy a new pistol, to replace the 9mm M-9 everyone in the Department of Defense has been using for the past two decades. Congress told the Air Force to get with the other services and come up with a new pistol for everyone. That's what everyone has been trying to do, without much success, for the last few years.
Numerous and frequent complaints from the troops have the DoD looking for a new pistol to replace the current M-9 9mm weapon. It's not just nostalgia. When the U.S. switched over from the .45 caliber M1911 pistol to the M9, in the 1980s, SOCOM (Special Operations Command) went to Heckler and Koch for a more powerful pistol. What resulted as the Mk 23 SOCOM. This .45 pistol has a 12-round magazine and the ability to carry a silencer. It is based on the Heckler and Koch USP45, which has been available for the civilian and law enforcement markets. The fact that there are several larger (than 9mm) caliber pistols out there for the law enforcement market gives you a hint at what is going on here.
It comes down to this. Most of the GI-s who have been issued a pistol will rarely have to use it. However, those who do, like Special Forces, want more power than a 9mm round can deliver. The ‘wonder-nine’ has been popular with police forces that don't encounter much opposition; but when the other guy is likely to shoot back, you want as much knock down power as you can get. Thus cops who shoot a lot, prefer 10mm and larger calibers (like the 11.4mm .45). The Special Forces, and SOCOM in general, have the authority to get any weapons they think they need, with no interference from anyone. SOCOM has many small unit operations that use pistols. The SOCOM operators believe that the 9mm pistol is not adequate, thus the adoption of the Mk23. Many key members of Congress are determined that the DoD will not end up with several different new pistols. If they don't like the M9, then agree on a new one. However, so far, the services have not been able to agree. Thus, the saga continues…