[Sinister]

Serpent, our thoughts as well. Back in the day (when we were clearing with basic M1911A1s and M16A1s) we could modify our pistols any way we wanted them, and if they had to be evac'ed or Code-H'ed the armorer put the base plain-Jane parts back on and shipped the gun out, sometimes never to be seen again.

On other teams we had two 45s per Soldier -- one a National Match that could shoot five shots into one hole, and the other a rattly old pistol that would shoot every time (like an AK).

Then came the A2s and M9s, and they sat in the racks while we shot our TDA 45s and Colt M723s (M4 lower, A1 upper with M4 barrel) until those pistols fell apart, and then there was nothing else. Eventually the M9s replaced all the 45s (sad day when I cracked my last slide) and the M4s replaced the 723s.