[DeaconNoGood]

H&K?

Are you tryin' to run up the deficit.

Our troops would do just fine with a "loose as a goose" grey steel .45 or if they wanted to pay for their own sidearm, let em' go with whatever trips their trigger, as long as its .45 caliber.

My $500 Colt .45 shoots true and straight and its very reliable. Surely it can once again be massed produced.

[ExSoldier]

H&K is in a peck of financial trouble at the moment, I'll bet we can get a deal. The USP is (believe it or not) based on the 1911 design but offers many improvements for today's soldier (products of the public schools). It's difficult to teach trigger sensitivity and muzzle awareness in a high pressure situation like urban warfare where troops might be bunched up before entering rooms, etc. That's where the DA or DAO variations come in handy. Same with the "hammer drop" feature on the H&K. I'm a former Infantry Captain and an NRA Instructor, so I've seen my share of the wayward muzzle syndrome! Your idea of let anybody buy their own is a logistics and survival nightmare. Picture this scenario:

It's dark inside the Iraqi building. No power. The firefight is raging. Ammo is running low and the tight quarters often require use of a handgun. The squad is pinned down in one tiny corner, waiting for the back up to arrive and this little exchange takes place among the squad members:

Awww crap! I musta dropped my mags in the corridor! Anybody got a spare for an H&K USP?
Not me! I've got a ParaOrdnance.
Not me! I've got a 1911!
Not me! I've got a Beretta 8045
Not me! I've got a Sig P220.

Get the picture?

I very much doubt it would go like this: We told you not to get that damn Kraut gun! We've all got Colts and now you're stuck! Based on the overriding perception of the troops that if the army issues it you can do better in the private sector.