Germany Donates 10,000 Pistols to Afghanistan

Defend America ^ | 1/26/2006 | By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Mason T. Lowery

[BurbankKarl]

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 26, 2006 — The capabilities of the Afghan National Security Forces were enhanced Jan. 24 by a donation of 10,000 9mm German Walther P-1 pistols from the German Armed Forces.

The weapons were divided evenly between the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police in a ceremony at the Afghan Security Forces Depot.

The donation is the result of a weapons request made by the U.S. Embassy in Berlin one year ago, according to Dr. Rainald Steck, German Ambassador to Afghanistan.

“This donation will enable (the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police) to contribute even more to Afghanistan’s security and stability,” Steck said. “A successful security sector reform cannot be achieved without enabling security forces to fulfill their mission, to establish security and stability – by force, if needed.”

Accepting the donation for the Ministry of the Interior was Chief of Logistics Maj. Gen. Mohammad H. Basir; and for the Ministry of Defense was Assistant Minister for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Maj. Gen. Baz M. Jawhary.

Basir addressed the ceremony attendees and thanked Germany and the coalition for the help they have provided to Afghanistan. “The contributions of these weapons will help the security forces of Afghanistan to be more prepared to perform their duties,” he said.

“Thank you to all the mentors of the international community for advising us in different issues,” he said.

Jawhari added, “This is not the first contribution from Germany. They are helping us in many areas to bring stability in Afghanistan.”

At the end of the ceremony, transfer documents were signed by Basir, Jawhari and Steck to formalize the donation.

[yarddog]

I bought a P1 several years ago. It came in a box with a spare mag, holster, and cleaning rod. It was used but close to new.

Unlike some others on this thread, I liked it very much. Also liked the feel in my hand. I also had a P-4 which was similar but slightly shorter, liked it even better.

[yarddog]

Also had a P-5 which had an even shorter barrel than the P-4 and the slide went all the way to the front of the barrel. It looked racy and shot fine.

It had the solid slide, as in the P-4 without the cover of the P-38 and P-1. Although it looked like an entirely different gun, I think it functioned just like a P-4.

[Michael81Dus]

No, the slide was ok. My pistol experiences are limited to the P1, the Glock (dutch), the P8, the P5 (German police) and the Beretta.