Should Every Solder Be Armed With A Handgun?
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Interesting the difference of opinion in Vets and those who admit never having served...A Glock 18 indeed. Ever shot one? I have, and I shoot. A lot. Well. And I can't control the darn thing. We'd have a lot of dead grunts with perforated backsides. Seriously, we all love our handguns, otherwise we wouldn't be at this site. As a former soldier, I'd like to throw my vote in with the, "don't see much reason for it, but I'd carry mine if they'd let me" crowd.
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Ronnie
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Ronnie
Long arms in close quarters are not useless if one has appropriate training. 
One can always come up with scenarios.
If you come around a corner and face to face with an enemy you are better with a Swiss Army knife opened in your hand then an M-14 in 308 on your back.
However, in the history of Infantry warfare, the handgun has always had a specialized role. If you in that specialized situation it is a good thing to have.
Also, to get to clear a house, you have to walk to the house. On the way there, you might like to have that long arm.
Once you enter the house, if you want to trade a long arm for a 1911, good for you.
Also, how about body armour which will sneer at your 1911? Maybe the FN handgun with its
ability to penetrate lower level armour?
Oh, we forgot about body armour?
One can always come up with scenarios.
If you come around a corner and face to face with an enemy you are better with a Swiss Army knife opened in your hand then an M-14 in 308 on your back.
However, in the history of Infantry warfare, the handgun has always had a specialized role. If you in that specialized situation it is a good thing to have.
Also, to get to clear a house, you have to walk to the house. On the way there, you might like to have that long arm.
Once you enter the house, if you want to trade a long arm for a 1911, good for you.
Also, how about body armour which will sneer at your 1911? Maybe the FN handgun with its
ability to penetrate lower level armour?
Oh, we forgot about body armour?
Just another thought here. I believe the German army during WWII tried very hard to arm every occupation soldier with some sort of sidearm, for strolling about at night in downtown Paris, or Prague. They captured a massive amount of handguns and they put every single one of them to use, reserving the P-38s, Lugers etc for the front line boys. I don't think they achieved a full 100% sidearm rate for occupation troops but they wanted to. Of course they also lost the war, so consider the source.
another future tactic seems to be the 5.7 ammo that will fire from both the FiveseveN pistol and the P-90
FN's Five-seveN® Pistol
The First of a New Generation
In 1935, the FN-made Browning Hi Power was revolutionary. The market quickly adopted this high-capacity 9mm
pistol accordingly, and it has since been fielded by over 100 countries.
FN's newest contribution the handgun's evolution is named the Five-seveN®. This 20-round pistol fires a 5.7mm
bullet that will defeat most body armor in military service around the world today. Essentially, the Five-seveN®
represents a quantum leap forward in the handgun's suitablity for close engagements by delivering the type of
performance that was previously confined to rifles or carbines. Elements of this performance include:
High magazine capacity: The Five-seveN®
comes standard with 20-round magazine.
High stopping power: The Five-seveN® fires
the 5.7x28mm SS190 Ball round which reliably
penetrates Kevlar helmets and vests as well as
CRISAT protection.
High hit probability: The Five-seveN's®
extremely low recoil impulse results in virtually no muzzle climb, thereby facilitating fast and
controllable follow-up shots.
http://www.remtek.com/arms/fn/57/index.htm
>>>>>>
On The Edge
With the New FN P90 5.7x28mm
by Al Paulson
Military organizations have struggled for generations with two frequently overlapping problems: (1) how to arm
troops whose primary mission is something other than the use of small arms; and (2) how to arm troops who need
compact firepower for conducting special operations. A remarkable array of pistols, submachind guns and carbines
have been fielded over the years in an, attempt to give people such as vehicle drivers, operators of crew-served
weapons, support personnel and special operators a weapon with the optimum mix of compact size, hit probability,
sustained firepower and terminal ballistics. Recent decades have also seen a similar quest in law enforcement to
provide superior sidearms and auxiliary weapons for officers facing a changing tactical environment. The result is
that sidearms, submachine guns and carbines developed for the aforementioned special military needs have become
widely used tools within law enforcement. One of the most provocative attempts to solve the common requirements
of both the military and law enforcement is the select-fire P90 Personal Defense Weapon designed and
manufactured by Fabrique National Herstal SA of Belgium. http://www.remtek.com/arms/fn/p90/data/concept.htm
FN's Five-seveN® Pistol
The First of a New Generation
In 1935, the FN-made Browning Hi Power was revolutionary. The market quickly adopted this high-capacity 9mm
pistol accordingly, and it has since been fielded by over 100 countries.
FN's newest contribution the handgun's evolution is named the Five-seveN®. This 20-round pistol fires a 5.7mm
bullet that will defeat most body armor in military service around the world today. Essentially, the Five-seveN®
represents a quantum leap forward in the handgun's suitablity for close engagements by delivering the type of
performance that was previously confined to rifles or carbines. Elements of this performance include:
High magazine capacity: The Five-seveN®
comes standard with 20-round magazine.
High stopping power: The Five-seveN® fires
the 5.7x28mm SS190 Ball round which reliably
penetrates Kevlar helmets and vests as well as
CRISAT protection.
High hit probability: The Five-seveN's®
extremely low recoil impulse results in virtually no muzzle climb, thereby facilitating fast and
controllable follow-up shots.
http://www.remtek.com/arms/fn/57/index.htm
>>>>>>
On The Edge
With the New FN P90 5.7x28mm
by Al Paulson
Military organizations have struggled for generations with two frequently overlapping problems: (1) how to arm
troops whose primary mission is something other than the use of small arms; and (2) how to arm troops who need
compact firepower for conducting special operations. A remarkable array of pistols, submachind guns and carbines
have been fielded over the years in an, attempt to give people such as vehicle drivers, operators of crew-served
weapons, support personnel and special operators a weapon with the optimum mix of compact size, hit probability,
sustained firepower and terminal ballistics. Recent decades have also seen a similar quest in law enforcement to
provide superior sidearms and auxiliary weapons for officers facing a changing tactical environment. The result is
that sidearms, submachine guns and carbines developed for the aforementioned special military needs have become
widely used tools within law enforcement. One of the most provocative attempts to solve the common requirements
of both the military and law enforcement is the select-fire P90 Personal Defense Weapon designed and
manufactured by Fabrique National Herstal SA of Belgium. http://www.remtek.com/arms/fn/p90/data/concept.htm
N
Number 6
Guest
One other issue to bring up: how many of the weapons that have been mentioned here would continue to function with a handful of mud/dirt/sand dumped in the action? I'm not advocating handing out 1911's to the troops, but at least they tolerate filth a little better than most. My vote would be for Uzi (9mm and 45 versions both work well in adverse conditions) for the specialists and officers and no pistols. (Yes I was former military, but not infantry.)
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