DLA Distribution helps Army deliver new pistol to warfighters
1st Lt. Jon Yerby and Pvt. 1st Class Tia Alexander, C Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) inspect and inventory an M17 or Modular Handgun System at an installation warehouse, Nov. 27. The 101st ABN DIV (AASLT), the word’s only air assault division, is the first unit in the Army to field the service’s new handgun. The M17 replaces the M9 pistol, the standard Army sidearm since 1986. The division received more than 2,000 M17s and M18s, the compact version of the M17, Nov. 17, and unpacked, inventoried, inspected and test fired a portion of the pistols, Nov. 27. More expansive, battalion and brigade-level fielding initiatives will begin across the division in the coming weeks.