Why Do So Many Militaries Love The Glock? – The Glock brand is the most popular in the United States and has found favor within militaries worldwide, especially among their Special Operations or Special Mission Units.
Why? The military favors Glock pistols for their reliability, simplicity, and modularity. Their design, with a few parts and easy disassembly, contributes to high reliability and ease of maintenance, even in harsh conditions. The simple design and extensive aftermarket support allow customization and adaptation to specific needs.
Glock pistols vary in size, caliber, and shape, but are generally the same gun. The Glock 17 was the pistol that started it all, but now the Glock 19 is what we’d call the company’s flagship pistol.
The Glock 19 has become the official sidearm of numerous special operations forces. However, everyone calls it a different name. Army Special Forces, Delta Force, Rangers, CIA, and the FBI use it. The Navy SEALs call it the Mk27, the British call it the L131A1, the Marine Corps calls it the M007, but most everyone else calls it the Glock 19.
The Glock Is Simplicity, Modularity, and Reliability Personified:
Glocks are light, easy to carry, and amazingly simple. As Travis Pike wrote, the entire pistol can be taken down with a punch, and an eight-hour class qualifies you to be a Glock armorer. Simplicity means better reliability. And the modularity allows for faster and easier maintenance in the field.
Glocks are known for their “Safe Action” trigger system, which provides consistent trigger pulls from the first to the last round. This system, along with the pistols’ polymer frames and Tenifer-coated slides, makes Glocks highly durable and corrosion-resistant. These features are particularly valued in the military, where reliability when a pistol is called for can be a matter of life and death.
Many Special Ops units can purchase their preferred handguns for the operators. A few years ago, I visited my old unit, the 7th Special Forces Group, at Camp Bull Simons, FL. When I went to the indoor shoot house, the operators had Glocks with plenty of accessories. And those weapons shot exceptionally well.
Glock Lost The Army Handgun Competition But Won Anyway
Eight candidates were in the Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS) competition, but the competition settled on two outstanding handguns. The Glock 19X and the SIGSauer P320.
Despite its superior ergonomics, accuracy, and popularity among special operations forces and civilians, the Glock bid exceeded SIG’s by over $100 million due to SIG’s partnership with Winchester for the ammunition.
The Glock 19X is Glock’s first “crossover” pistol, combining the large, full-size Glock 17 polymer frame and the smaller Glock 19 all-metal slide. Some great features on the Glock 19X include ambidextrous controls and excellent accuracy thanks to the GLOCK Marksman Barrel, a polygonally rifled barrel.
Regardless of the Army’s handgun competition, Glock’s 19X became the “must-have” for civilian handgun owners. In the first six months on the civilian market, Glock sold an incredible 100,000 19Xs.
The popularity of Glock pistols has ensured that an entire cottage industry has popped up to support them. This includes many options for holsters, magazine capacities, lights, sights, barrels, and more. Glock even produces optics-ready models that make it easy to attach a red dot. SOCOM has adopted the Trijicon RMR as the optic of choice for the Glock 19X handguns.
Glock Is Popular For a Reason:
Glock’s basic design has remained unchanged for over 40 years, which tells you how well the weapon was designed and manufactured. It won’t blow you away visually, but functionally, it is an awesome family of weapons.
They are ridiculously simple, extremely reliable, and great shooting weapons. The Glock is the weapon of choice of armed professionals across the military and law enforcement because it works and keeps working even when you need it the most.
When your life is on the line, you need to feel extremely confident and comfortable with your weapon. Glock has earned their reputation.
About the Author:
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
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Edward W
May 22, 2025 at 4:07 pm
I carried a Glock 19 and 23 between 1989 and 2010 while with DEA. I carried a Glock when I went through DEA’s Firearms Instructors Course at Quantico Virginia. With the G supplying ammunition, I fired tens of thousands of round through both guns during my career. Early on the trigger spring broke on my 19. I mailed the gun to Glock and had it back in a week. Shortly after that the same spring broke again, but our Primary Firearms Instructor had been to the Glock Armorer School and had the part to replace it immediately( A bad batch of parts?). After that my 19 ran flawlessly for the rest of my career and for thousands of rounds down range. I have been retired from DEA for 15 years and still shoot both guns regularly…and they both shoot flawlessly to this day.
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