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How U.S. Army Special Forces Masterfully Secured Glock 19 Pistols

In what can only be termed as a masterstroke of bureaucratic navigation and strategic requirement tailoring, the U.S. Army Special Forces found a way to acquire Glock 19 pistols that would ultimately redefine how the sidearm would henceforth be employed by them in operations throughout this nation’s asymmetric warfare initiatives. In this regard, it is necessary to note that this maneuver has come to represent one of the best examples of military acquisitions when measured against the originally provided weaponry.

Fearless, Glock out-classes every other design, all being polymer-framed and striker-fired, forming the basis of modern handgun evolution. The basis of many U.S. civilian, law enforcement, and military firearms, includes the military’s M17/M18 MHS from SIG Sauer. Yet, in a bold move by the U.S. Army Special Forces, the Austrian-designed Glock 19 was selected to fill the bill to meet SOCOM’s unique requirements.

Historically, the Beretta M9 had been the U.S. military’s service sidearm since 1985, and it continued to be in that position well into the Global War on Terror. Nevertheless, there was an undeniable push evidenced within elite elements for a lighter, more use-specific pistol as evinced by the elite Delta Force’s adoption of the Glock 22 in .40 S&W, a trend that influenced a broader mindset within SOCOM toward the Glock family of handguns.

As lower “generation” of Army Special Forces members, in particular, those from the 18X program came to the force, mostly carry Glock and they would seem to have a growing preference for those guns once they had been trained on the Glocks and carrying them in “civilian” mode and the only rub is that the US Army procurement system and, besides, are contractually married to Beretta M9 pistols. Getting around that, Special Forces operators cleverly made a requirement in the mid-2000s  for a concealable handgun to be employed while conducting operations in plain clothes, a requirement that rather coincidentally specified many of the Glock 19′s characteristics.

While clearly smaller and not as well suited for the intense combat engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan as the Glock 17 and 21, the Glock 19 met the SOCOM requirement for a concealable weapon. After the rigorous test and evaluation, the Glock 19 was put into service as a Special Forces compact pistol. There wasn’t wide distribution, however; the Glock 19s were issued early on mission requirement, and ODAs would share them amongst deploying teams.

That changed in 2016 when SOCOM wholly embraced the Glock 19, allowing units to pick it up across every branch and the Army Special Forces to be able to outfit all teammates with the same model. The momentum was supplemented in mid-2018 when SOCOM adopted the mounting plates for the Trijicon RMR Type 2 red-dot sight, cementing the Glock 19 in Special Operations Service.

The Glock acquisition serves as a lesson in the pragmatic and inventive procurement strategies not unique to the Army. It parallels other instances such as the U.S. Marine Corps’ initial adoption of the Heckler & Koch HK416 as the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, which later became the standard rifle for Marine Corps infantry.

In conclusion, the Glock 19 pistols are procurement for the U.S. Army Special Forces as a tactical procurement, showing that details on mission requirements are taken into consideration and in keeping with guidelines on leveraging.

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