For years the US Secret Service, charged with protecting America’s financial systems and infrastructure in addition to the nation’s leaders and their families, has equipped its special agents with Sig Sauer’s P229 DAK, chambered for .357 SIG.
Over the next two years, the Secret Service will move away from .357 SIG and back to the 9 mm Luger cartridge — the preferred round of numerous law enforcement agencies across the country.
In doing so, the service’s agents will also be getting a new standard issue weapon in the form of the Glock 19 Gen 5 MOS, the exclusive Glock 47, and the subcompact Glock 26.
According to Soldier Systems, all agents across the service will be issued the latest generation of the insanely popular G19, outfitted with Glock’s Modular Optical System (MOS), which allows the end user to easily outfit their pistol with a variety of 3rd party optical sights like Trijicon’s RMR or SRO without having to heavily modify the slide.
Members of the service’s Special Operations Division will receive the same pistol as well as the Glock 26, and the Glock 47, which was designed exclusively for the US Customs and Border Protection. Unavailable to the civilian market, the G47 uses a Glock 17 barrel, and can feed from G19X, G17, G34, and G45 magazines.
Additionally, Glock had earlier indicated that all three of the US CBP pistols came with the company’s match-grade Glock Marksman Barrel and Ameriglo BOLD sights.
The SOD plays host to the service’s elite Counter Assault Teams which often deploy with executive protection details to respond in the event of an attempt on a VIP’s life, while the detail quickly extracts the VIP from the area.
Prior to adopting the .357 SIG round, the Secret Service issued the P228 in 9 mm Luger, though that pistol only lasted around 7-8 years before being superseded by the P229 DAK.
The contract for the new pistols is expected to piggyback off the US CBP large scale buy, though with an expedited timeline for delivery and completion, with the contract’s expected fulfillment in 2021.
Ian D’Costa is a correspondent with Gear Scout whose work has been featured with We Are The Mighty, The Aviationist, and Business Insider. An avid outdoorsman, Ian is also a guns and gear enthusiast.
