“We are not talking about nuclear subs or going to the moon here. We are talking about a pistol.” It looks like General Mark Milley wants a little perfection for his troops. “The Army launched its long-awaited XM17 MHS competition in late August to replace its Cold-War era, M9 9mm pistol,” military.com reports. “[General] Milley criticized the program’s 356-page requirement document and lengthy testing phase slated to cost $17 million for technology that has existed for years. ‘The testing itself is two years long on known technology,’ Milley told law makers at a March 16 House Armed Services Committee hearing.” Yes, well, we all know . . .
That the U.S. military procurement process is almost as corrupt as Rhode Island politics. Given the political machinations surrounding any military contract, the chances that the Army will ditch its MHS tender and buy 287 thousand GLOCK 19s from Gaston’s mob are about as high as the chances that Republicans will sweep into power in the Ocean State (currently 16 Republicans out of 113 legislators). Even though (especially?) as the buy would cost $98m vs. the $350m allocated for the MHS.
In short, General Milley may be throwing his career prospects to the wind. Coincidentally, a legislator from Georgia — where GLOCK is based — likes the idea of perfecting the procurement process. A lot. “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that you don’t have the authority to pick a pistol for the Army,” Rep. Austin Scott told Milley during last week’s House Armed Service Committee hearing.