The Armed Forces have more than nominal firearms training, and some training is with weapons even more powerful than the pistol, hard to imagine but true.
I'm going to disagree with you. The training the Armed Forces get is a joke. It is a disgrace. It is a national scandal. To illustrate my point, go to the army's website, www.goarmy.com and check out the guy who "qualified" on the rifle range. The poor guy looked like he was still shaking when he explained how he did.
That cop in Philly who shot the school kid in the head probably has more training than our guys in uniform.
I'm not sure how much pistol training the military actually gets. I was an artillery officer in the Marines, and I average maybe 3-4 days of pistol firing per year. Tops. And I do not think that was unusual. I also noted that the average score for newly commissioned Lts. was higher with the Beretta than with the 1911. They simply shot better with it.
An M1911 may well be the better weapon for experienced marksmen who do a lot of shooting, but those folk are in the minority. Given the actual level of expertise of most of the people who carry the weapon in the military, the Beretta is the better weapon, IMHO.
The US Army does jack ____ for firearms training. A few years ago I was involved in reviewing the training syllabus for new Armor Lieutenants; they received more time on sensitivity and homosexual training than they did shooting their pistol. I kid you not.