Navy SEALS acquiring Glock 19s?

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simonrichter

New member
I strongly doubt I will live to see the end of the Modular Handgun bidding process, but obviously branches of the US armed forces anyway do their own thing. Recently, Austrian Media is full of reports of the famous Navy SEALS considering the G19 as their new standard pistol...

Interesting especially since guns are considered somewhat "filthy" in most of Europe's leftist media and I strongly doubt many Austrians actually know what "SEAL" stands for, but anyway, with the prospect of a fat deal for an Austrian company, an exemption is deemed appropriate, it seems.

Here's an English article on the issue.

Any thoughts or additional information on the issue?
 
Army SF uses them now, phasing out the very dissapointing M9 :/ Im surprised the SEALs would go Glock seeing how they already have so much money to play with…
 
They're SEALS... On their worst day, they could shoot rings around most of us AND most bad-guys, with any pistol we could name. A SEAL with a Colt Woodsman and a box of .22LR can probably rack up more dead bad-guys than I could with my favorite 1911A1 and a CASE of my favorite ammo.

If I was left to make the decision, I'D let THEM pick their sidearm. If it's a really expensive one (i.e. SiG P210, or the like), let them partially defray the acquisition cost from their own pocket.
 
My thought is the special forces have time to dedicate to learning to use them. Ability to hit will go down sharply if they're issued to everyone else. Give everyone else a P30 or PPQ.
 
Not sure about the SEALS but the Marines are in the works. Right now the individual soldier can choose to stick with the Beretta or go with a Glock.

I love Beretta pistols and think they are very high quality but I have always felt every branch of the US Military should carry an American made gun. There are plenty of quality guns made right in America. Shouldn't our own Troops support America?
 
Not sure about the SEALS but the Marines are in the works. Right now the individual soldier can choose to stick with the Beretta or go with a Glock.
Click to expand...

Not exactly...
Certain units inside of MARSOC, (MARine Special Operations Command) can chose to deploy with Glock 19's.

There is also an option for a 1911 pistol as well.
 
Special Operations Forces have a variety of weapons to choose from and that includes various pistols. M9, 1911, Sig 226, HK, Glock, etc. Totally different than standard issue weaons. Guys like Seals, Army SF, etc. get a lot of different weapons to choose from based on the mission. They also get a different pot of money which helps. In certain units they can almost pick what weapon they want to use. The average joe is handed his weapons and that is what he gets. Special operations can choose in many cases and I know Army special forces can run all kinds of different weapons(even foreign issued) as part of their mission set. I asked an Army SF guy what pistol he used on multiple deployments to the bad places and he said he used his M9 Beretta every time. He could have chosen other stuff but that is what he chose. He said he liked it and it worked for him. He also said if you pull a pistol it usually means something is in deep doo doo and gone wrong.

My guess, and this is just a guess, you won't see a Glock or other striker fired pistol without a safety on it being massed issued to the regular troops. Not sure I can think of many other weapons that don't have a safety that are massed issued. I just don't see a Glock or that type weapon ever passing the test for the mass issued sidearm weapon. Not because of quality but because of the way it operates. Most guys have told me they would use the M9 safety off outside of the wire and safety on when they were back in around the "brass".

In addition the sidearm is not a primary weapon or even issued as a backup weapon for most of the troops.
 
I'm always confused by these.
1. Why does it matter to anyone but them?
2. Wouldn't you think they might be intentionally telling you the wrong thing?

Most Glocks are USA made, just like most Beretta's
Click to expand...
Indeed that was a requirement of the contract that the firearms be manufactured here. People do know that Glock is a foreign company right? They may have a plant now but at best they are the same.
 
I have a friend who was a SEAL for a good portion of his 20 year career. He said he and his contemporaries were allowed to use pretty much anything they wanted. He said he preferred a 12Ga pump for most of his work, apparently the sound of chambering a round made the bad guys a bit more cooperative.

I also remember him saying he used one of the older Ruger pistols, maybe a P85? I asked him why he didn't choose an H&K SOCOM or something like that, he said it didn't really matter to him as long as it worked and most of the shooting he did was with a Nikon anyway. He didn't elaborate on what that meant but I assume it was recon?
 
"He said he preferred a 12Ga pump for most of his work, apparently the sound of chambering a round made the bad guys a bit more cooperative."

Internet myth, only an IDIOT would walk into a possible firefight with an EMPTY weapon!

T.
 
I dont think many of them care what they use. Some are gun guys and research to no end on which is best and others work and get the job done with whatever works. They use what they have and if it gets the job done they appreciate it. If they have some sort of failure with a gun they I'm sure are ruined by it.

I'm sure the same goes with widespread rumors of a particular platform. Many guys that come back love their ar's, others think they are crap compared to other designs. My brother was spec ops and would rather have an ak and a sig over the M4 and the m9. I had a friend who used a m249 and loved it and his unit got the replacement h&k IAR27? (The hk416 meant as an lmg) he hated it and thought it wasnt as accurate and didn't understand having to lug around a heavier ar when they took away his 100 round belt fed m249. Our guys that were in the service with 1911's think they are the end all be all for handguns. I think when you work with a gun and you appreciate it for what it is, you grow an affinity for it no matter what it is... Or its not up to your standards and you search for something that is. Too bad they don't have the ability to have more choices in their weapon selection.

Edit: I think a sidearm is more personal and they should get what they want. I mean if it really comes down to them and their last defense weapon, I'd want them to be as confident and comfortable as possible.
 
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