41The UU..SS.. MM99 BBeerreettttaa 99mmmm PPiissttoollwer adoptedhe 92 by giv-e slide (like

on the lefthis was the92SB-F,safety and a

al passive fir-he slightly

Warfare

ut rumored suggestedue to the useThere werenged the M9he brokenix” was a

hat wouldar.retrofitted

with this fix. Since 1989, civilian Model 92FS pis-tols have this improved feature also. Manufactureof the M9 was then switched from Italy to BerettaU.S.A., in Accokeek Maryland. No failures ofslides made in the U.S. have been reported. In1987 and 1988, some frame cracks developedduring the testing of M9 production pistols. Thesewere only cosmetic in nature, but violated theterms of the M9 contract, resulting in a large lot

rejection. Re-designed frames apparently resolvedthat issue, and 24,000 rejected pistols were fittedwith the new frames.

Next came more controversy. The militarydecided to issue a magazine contract to a newvendor (Beretta and Mec-Gar magazines had beenused heretofore). These new magazines wereextremely sensitive to sand and dirt, and reports offailures in the “sand boxes” of Iraq andAfghanistan came pouring in. Soldiers began writ-

ing home asking friends and relatives to send origi-nal magazines. This is an issue not yet resolved.And complaints began coming in (predictably) offailure of the 9mm cartridge to stop an opponent.Civilians can use more effective expanding bulletsfor protection, but the military is committed tousing full-metal-jacket “hardball” ammo. Crieswent up from some units for the old 1911A1 .45ACP pistols, and the Marine Corps is now usingspecially built 1911A1s to a large extent. Also,

many troops complained that the bulky gripof the double-stack M9 was too much forsmall hands, making for awkward han-dling. Further, as a side note, I have per-sonally witnessed one mishap with aBeretta 92F. It was a chambering failuretraced to lack of lubrication. This hap-pened on a civilian range, but in combat

that could have made the differencebetween life and death.

After more than 20 years ofservice, the Beretta M9 hasgiven generally good service,

with the exceptions noted.Thankfully, these problems have not been

plentiful, and no pistol is perfect. However,there is considerable pressure within theDepartment of Defense to obtain a newstandard service pistol in .45 ACP. In fact,DoD specifications for a new JointCombat Pistol (postponed in 2006) havecalled for a .45. Our Special OperationsCommand requested, and got, an H&KMk 23 “offensive pistol” so cham-bered. I’m not aware of any com-plaints regarding stopping powerwith it, and the Marines are quitehappy with their .45s.

Beretta 92FS pistols are readi-ly available on the civilian mar-ket, and these are near dupli-cates of the M9 pistol, differingmostly in markings. GenuineM9s are harder to get. The pis-tol illustrated is a true M9. Itwas briefly available in 1998 asa special issue on the civilian

market, and carries full militarymarkings albeit with a distinguish-

ing serial number prefixed “M9.” These are cer-tainly modern classic handguns, currently servingaround the world to protect our service men andwomen in combat.

Editor’s Note: Beretta U.S.A. Corporationrecently announced receipt of a U.S. Army con-tract to provide up to 450,000 Beretta Model92FS pistols. The total value of the contract, if allpistol quantities and associated spare parts areordered, is $220 million.

y 4, 198855 tthhee UU..SS..ally annnnoouunncceeddretta eennttrryy wwaass ttoo U.S. MM99 ppiissttooll..

DP

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