For a guy who was aware of guns during the period, I don’t know how you missed learning about Glocks in the early and mid 1980s, their durability and ability to function under bad conditions and it’s level of technological advancement, was a major gun story for years.
There was some bitter anger at them having been kept out of the American running for a new pistol, it was believed that the US should have adopted them if they were going 9mm, and that it was superior to the pistol the US military ended up with.
Some of you guys sound like the media, calling it “plastic”, “ugly”, “cheapo”, rather than the break through beast that it is, a wonderful tool, famous for reliability.
For 30 years I have been amused by guys who talk about Glock like women talk about purses, they think the Glock is ugly, too purely functional.
There are claims that Delta is/was using Glock.
“”There was a down select to the STI 2011 and Glock 22 in .40S&W. The 1911 were costing us way to much per gun to keep them running. Parts, labor, X-rays, you get the picture. Even when Kentucky (Lexington Depot) would build a gun, the unit gunsmiths would practically and literally rebuild the gun for the individual operator during the training course. There was a contract let years ago for a select manufacturer to make the frames and slides and several different parts and barrel manufacturers to make the internals. Much like the MEU/MARSOC pistols a while ago they just got to expensive.””
I am a combat veteran of the Vietnam War and I remember all too well the "hi-tech"/least bidder weapon we got to replace our M-14s with. Cost a lot of our lives, but what the hell, it's only somebody else's kids.