I’m currently watching the National Geographic Channel’s Inside The Secret Service. And I notice that agents are using the very fine SIG-Sauer P226 (in .357 SIG, rather than 9mm), rather than the rather problematic M-9 Beretta. As, to my knowledge, .357 SIG is not a standard NATO caliber, I would doubt that our regular GIs that are issued handguns are getting these. But I bet most would rather have one than their M-9.

Personally, I’d rather see our military blow off both the M-9 and the 9mm NATO round, and contract with a top-flight shop, like SIG or Israel’s IMI, to build us a .40 S&W or 10mm to spec.. With the amount of money we spend on procurement, a few bucks saved on handguns doesn’t seem like a good deal.