Army Chief Wants Glock 19 as Next Sidearm For Soldiers

Gen. Mark Milley is looking for ways to work around the current Modular Handgun System (MHS) competition to get a Glock 19 into the hands of his soldiers.

The MHS is a multi-year competition searching out a new handgun for both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.

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According to Military.com:

Milley recently asked the Army Special Operations Command’s G-8 office, which oversees fielding of equipment, if there is room for the Army to join its pistol contract to buy Glock 19s, according to a source who asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

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… But choosing the Glock 19 would abandon one of the major goals of the MHS effort — to adopt a pistol chambered for a more potent round than the current 9mm. The U.S. military replaced the .45-caliber 1911 pistol with the M9 in 1985 and began using the 9mm NATO round at that time.

“The [MHS] testing itself is two years long on known technology,” Milley told lawmakers at a March 16 House Armed Services Committee hearing, according to Military.com. “… We are not talking about nuclear subs or going to the moon here. We are talking about a pistol.”