Yeah, I hered all about them. Ever hear of a beach ball?
Now, the question you haven't answered is, "Does the average soldier have ANY of those things issued to him by the military as part of his weaponry and carried into combat?
Yes they do. Crew served weapons, Tankers, Officers, Platoon leaders and Platoon Sergeants, Mortar teams, Engineer teams, and MPs are all issued M9s or M1911's. Additionally, many truck drivers are issued sub-machine guns, which are high capacity select fire handgun ammo/short rifle hybrids like the MP-5 (though I don't know the designation of the current issue, in my time it was called a "grease gun".
Again, Yes.
Yes.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/armyweapons/l/aainfantry1.htm