Which handguns are used by US "Special Forces"?

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Ok Mr. 18Z... Thats enough outta you!:neener: The only ones of us in (or were in, in my case) Regiment that carry a sidearm are the MK46 and MK48 gunners. There really is no need for one. I dunno how many firefights you have been in but most engagements I have been in have required about 1 magazine.
 
rgrwatson85:

I'm real familiar with carrying sidearm while working crew-served, wore the scroll and tab before there WAS a Regiment, am intimately familiar with Shahi Khowt events, have multiple long tab tours to both Afghanistan and Iraq, will go back again (soon), have needed more than one pistol mag, and we issue pistols to everyone. ;)

So...At Ease in the harness there young Ranger :p

Thought about going 18 X-ray? It's still a good fight downrange...and you'd be needed and welcomed if you still hear the trumpet call.
 
No I did my time over there...I think I'm done. I got out in September after 5 tours. No more for me!! I'm giving the civilian life a shot and if it doesnt work out i'll go to selection. You can only be in Regiment for so long ya know?
 
Roger that. You have my sincere thanks and respect for your service.

I understand about the time in Rgt thing. It's what led me to the Q-Course many years ago.
 
SOF 1911's

My uncle served 3 combat tours (2 in Iraq, 1 Afghanistan) was carrying a Colt 1911 as a sidearm.
 
naval aviators have 228s for compactness/ease of carry on the survival vest.
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Nope. All Navy pilots and aircrewmen carry P226's. Once upon a time when I was an Aviation Ordnanceman in the old USN my shop was responsible for maintaining the aircrew's sidearms. During the execution of said duty I made many a trip to the base armory where I was told by the Gunner's Mate 1st Class in charge that all pilots and aircrew had been switched over to the 226. Not to mention that I saw all the 226's in their racks organized by squadron, 1 weapon and 3 magazines for every pilot, RIO and aircrewman on base. Lotta guns.

We used to take the piltos and RIO's from our squadron to the range to qualify every year or so. Boy did they suck. I out shot all of them every time I went, in fact, I shot 146 out of 150 my first time out for my Expert Pistol ribbon.
 
Along with the above mentioned pistols, the SF guys I saw in country were carrying what appeared to be plain jane M92 Berrettas.
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Yup. That's correct. Then again, there have been sweeping changes to the Groups in the last few years. They get lamer and lamer with each passing day, with guys wanting to move up to CAG and other organizations.
 
Borch, that's a pretty asinine generalized statement. Besides as a WSO myself I know there are about a million higher priority things on an aviators plate than shooting at the range. For the record I have never shot anything worse than expert

On the subject of the thread the M9 is probably the most prevelant sidearm in the US Specops communities. That shouldn't come as a surprise as its the most prevelant sidearm in the US armed forces. We carry them in the jet in theater although our Navy compatriots do in fact carry the Sig as part of their kit.
 
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Chindo18Z

If you are still hanging out here, it is apparent that some posters do not understand terms like "special forces", special operations, etc.

Give us an up to date organizational tour and explain what 18-Zulu means.
 
Borch, that's a pretty asinine generalized statement.
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You're right and I apologize. To correct my statement and be more specific I should ahve said that the pilots and crewmen in my squadron were not particularly good shots. I also understand that shooting is low on a pilots priority list, that is, until that pilot is on the ground in a combat zone, then it becomes a high priority in a big damn hurry. I just expected that people whose lives may someday depend on being able to hit a man with a sidearm would take it seriously.

With that being said I'm also surprised by some of the LEO's in my current agnecy and their apparent lack of caring about shooting skills. Again, I guess I just expected they would take potentially life saving skills more serious than they do.
 
jay, we all understand what special forces are, half of us including myself are in the military
 
My son is currently in Iraq and he got to pick from a list of guns and equipment, he picked the H&K collapsing stock MP5 and the M9, his stateside issue was a Sig P228 to be fazed out as soon as his unit decides what the replacement weapon wil be.
He picked the M9 MP5 combo because they are both 9mm so ammo is compatable, also he felt if he needed ammo and or magazines during a firefight they would be more available from anyone who went down as the 9mm is much more commonly used by our troops.
Some special forces/ special ops get to pick equipment from a magazine as he did, he was told skies the limit.
 
While I'm on the subject of Seals I would just like to share my dislike for them.
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Having worked with them, I would like to profess an alternate point. They are trained to operate in, and around, the maritime setting. That is what they're good at.

The worst example of SF that I ever witnessed was an Army "Small Boat" group playing sailor in the canals in Iraq. Apocalypse Now had better skills. They were dangerous to anyone who was within rifle shot, and managed to get their own killed through incompetence.

Soldiers in boats, or SCUBA, belong in comic books.

It's when people try to enter a new skill-set that problems erupt. Especially if they actually think that they know what they're doing. Leave the water to the SEALS if it's deeper than your shower stall. SEALS should leave over-land ops to the ground-pounders.

FYI, the P226 has a smaller/shorter trigger-reach than the M9, and is overall a smaller package. That can be important when doing precision shooting with normal hands. Pistols become important when operating in enclosed areas, or when operating in areas where long-arms would announce you.
 
The worst example of SF that I ever witnessed was an Army "Small Boat" group playing sailor in the canals in Iraq. Apocalypse Now had better skills. They were dangerous to anyone who was within rifle shot, and managed to get their own killed through incompetence.

Soldiers in boats, or SCUBA, belong in comic books.

It's when people try to enter a new skill-set that problems erupt. Especially if they actually think that they know what they're doing. Leave the water to the SEALS if it's deeper than your shower stall. SEALS should leave over-land ops to the ground-pounders.
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come on now, that makes too much sense:banghead:
 
All of those boats are landing craft and the Army has exactly 0 fixed wing aircraft or what most people would call "airplanes". What the Army does have alot of is Helos.

That being said being a Naval Aviator and having a decent understanding of both the Department of the Navy and Air Forces' aviation composition. I find it very hard to believe that the Army has more helos than the Air Force or Navy/Marine Corps has aircraft.
 
My son is currently in Iraq and he got to pick from a list of guns and equipment, he picked the H&K collapsing stock MP5 and the M9, his stateside issue was a Sig P228 to be fazed out as soon as his unit decides what the replacement weapon wil be.
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Lucky guy.
 
That being said being a Naval Aviator and having a decent understanding of both the Department of the Navy and Air Forces' aviation composition. I find it very hard to believe that the Army has more helos than the Air Force or Navy/Marine Corps has aircraft.
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I have a pretty decent understanding of the Navy and its aircraft also. I was part of the management team at the Aviation Supply Office on Robbins Ave in Philly. We managed all Navy and Marine aircraft, spare engines and supplies. I was also responsible for the cross decking of aircraft, spare engines and spare parts. Not to belittle the aviators but flying was just a very small part of our war effort. Oh yes, the army does have fixed wing aircraft and does have more aircraft than the airforce.
 
Oh yes, the army does have fixed wing aircraft and does have more aircraft than the airforce.
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Let's clarify that. The Army may have more total aircraft than the Air Force, (not sure about that though) but the only reason is their large number of Rotorcraft. The Air Force has far more fixed wing aircraft than the Army. Most of the Army's fixed wing aircraft are for FAC or running generals around, not air to air or air to ground combat. That is Air Force, Navy or Marine.
 
Actually, if you only consider BOATS you may be correct. They still should keep to the ground. If their normal operations mirror what I saw, they won't have those boats for long. I guess that's one way of getting new toys, sink the ones that you have.

Truthfully, I believe that Homeland Secutiry has enough boats to make the Army look like they are just playing in the bath tub. Neither of them has as many SHIPS as the Navy. Besides, with the acceleration of Small Boat Squadrons, and auxillary craft used for security and life/rescue purposes, I think that the Army still comes up short. Consider that every SHIP has enough life boats for it's crew to evacuate. That's a lot of them for a carrier, or other large SHIP.
 
Total in inventory, you got me, however, this inventory listing of types should be nearly current?

The U.S. Army listing of current Army helicopters follows:
AH-1 Cobra
AH-64 Apache
CH-47 Chinook
OH-58A/C Kiowa
OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
RAH-66 Comanche
UH-1H Huey (Iroquois)
UH-60A/L Black Hawk

Airplanes: The Army does operate approximately 450 airplanes. In the Army, the term “fixed wing” aircraft is used to refer to airplanes (as opposed to “rotary wing” a.k.a. helicopters). The fixed wing aircraft are employed in a variety of support roles. With few exceptions these are non-combat civil aircraft, generally maintained by contractors. This paragraph is the only reference in this summary to the Army fixed wing fleet.

The US Air Force has over 5778 aircraft commissioned as of 2004, if Wiki is accurate on this.

Here's the USAF current inventory:

A-10/OA-10 Thunderbolt II
C-5A/B Galaxy
MC-130P Combat Shadow
AC-130H/U Gunship
C-9A/C Nightingale
MH-53J/M Pave Low
B-1B Lancer
E-3 Sentry (AWACS)
OC-135B Open Skies
B-2 Spirit
E-4B
T-1A Jayhawk
B-52 Stratofortress
F-117A Nighthawk
T-37 Tweet
C-130 Hercules
F-15 Eagle
T-38 Talon
C-141B Starlifter
F-16 Fighting Falcon
T-43A
C-17 Globemaster III
KC-10A Extender
U-2R/U-2S
C-21A
KC-135 Stratotanker
VC-25A -- Air Force One
C-22B
MC-130E/H Combat Talon I/II
WC-130 Hercules

Interesting USAF site:
http://www2.hickam.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070507-110.pdf
 
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