The USMC have officially adopted Glock’s 19M and designated it the M007. The new concealed carry pistol is being issued to Marine Corps Criminal Investigators first.

For Corps personnel requiring a easily concealable sidearm the M007 replaces the larger M9 service pistol. Gunnery Sgt. Brian Nelson, a Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) Individual Weapons project officer, explained that “the M007 has a smaller frame and is easier to conceal, making it a natural selection to meet the Marine Corps’ conceal carry weapon requirement.”

Individual Weapons project officer Gunnery Sgt. Brian Nelson prepares to draw the M007 concealed carry weapon (USMC/J. Napier)

The Marine Corps collaborated with the FBI, who have also recently adopted the 19M, this has dramatically sped up the evaluation and procurement process. MCSC Infantry Weapons Program Manager Lt. Col. Paul Gillikin said that “the fielding of the M007 is an example of how we can streamline the acquisition process”, this was accomplished by coordinating with another agency, in this case the FBI. Gillikin explained that MCSC received the request for a new concealable sidearm in April 2016, and that by working with the FBI, the Corps “were able to procure, establish sustainability plans and start fielding the weapon to Marines by May 2017.

MCSC’s Gunnery Sgt. Brian Nelson talks us through the new M007:

The pistol was first fielded in May and the first Marines to receive the M007 were Marine and civilian CID agents of the Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division and members of Helicopter Squadron One (Marine One). While the move to adopt the 19M for this role is good news for Glock, it does not preclude the Corps adopting SIG Sauer’s M18 – the compact version of the Modular Handgun System – down the line.