IIRC, the .32 is a special General Officer model. It’s a small, “pocket” pistol, the idea being it can be worn comfortably without interfering with the lines of the uniform. Since a General Officer is not likely to ever have to use a sidearm, it’s more of a status symbol than a practical self-defense weapon.
Just out of curiosity, when were in the business? I didn’t think .45s have been issued in the U.S. military since the 1980s, but like the .32, maybe there was/is a special issue for General Officers.
The M1911 still saw significant service in the US Army until the mid 90s. It’s an interesting study in how seemingly simple choices aren’t always that simple in large organizations.
Tank crew carry pistols as their primary weapon. Having something else that’s more capable available to crewmembers who are dismounted has pretty long precedent. On the Abrams family that other weapon was one M16 series rifle and there was a place for it to be stored inside the turret. Changing the pistol carried by crew didn’t really change the logistics burden. The unit still needed rifle ammunition and a single type of pistol ammunition.
When the Abrams family was first fielded is was not intended to completely replace the M60 series tanks in service. It was envisioned as complementary with different units having different tanks. It only got phased out in the mid 90s after the end of the Cold War cuts. The M60 series had storage locations for two M3A1 sub-machineguns. That fired the same 45 caliber pistol ammunition used by the 1911. Switching to a 9mm pistol would have required the supply system to provide both types of pistol ammo all the way down to the crew level.
The pistol change timeline in tank battalions was driven by what type of tank they were equipped with.
Me while deployed to Bosnia. In theory, I was supposed to put a magazine in the weapon but not chamber a round when I left base. I didn’t always. I weighed the career risk of negligent discharge into the clearing barrel when I got back against the risks of taking longer to chamber a round in the area I was in. Some areas earned a magazine in my pistol but not all. I didn’t chamber a round for the entire deployment.
Lots of US servicemembers do in other environments. Some of that’s iin training. Some of that’s places where you might come under fire at any given moment but being loaded mostly isn’t helpful like in the middle of a large base located in Iraq or Afghanistan. What status they carry in comes back to risk management decisions.
I had a similar experience to DinoR. On my last deployment, I spent about six months as a Colonel’s driver, among other duties. Without going into too many details, it was technically in a combat zone, but it was a fairly low-risk area. As a driver, I was issued an M9 (9mm pistol), and the Colonel’s service weapon was the same. Per the regs we were operating under, all firearms were supposed to be stored in a central armory, and only issued at need. I had a special waiver as a Colonel’s driver, but I didn’t routinely carry a weapon - we kept our pistols in a safe in the office. I only carried it when we were going off post. While on post, by regulation, our pistols had to be unloaded. SOP was to load a magazine after leaving post, but not to chamber a round. I always inserted a magazine into my weapon. I never chambered a round. I drove for two different Colonels - one inserted his magazine, the other didn’t bother. There was another U.S. military installation we sometimes went to - we had to unload and clear our weapons before entering, and, again, by reg our weapons had to be unloaded while on post. When we went to the U.S. embassy, we had to turn our weapons in to the Marine security detachment. When we visited foreign government facilities, we weren’t supposed to be visibly armed so we didn’t offend our hosts; I carried our (loaded) pistols in a satchel.
In the Gulf War (1st Gulf War? IAC, Desert Shield/Storm) the 1st Cavalry Division, out of Ft. Hood, was still issuing 1911s as sidearms to line troopies; MPs may have had M9s, but I don’t recollect.
I couldn’t say what the General was carrying; the closest I came to meeting him “In The Field” was when he flew over us in a Blackhawk (I actually met him later, back at Ft. Hood, but he wasn’t armed at that time); the highest ranking officer I saw up-close-and-personal was an O-6, our Brigade Commander, and he was toting a .45.
