The nation’s 911 force is now officially authorizing pistol quals with a red dot optic, provided it is one very specific system.
On March 13, Marine Administrative Message (MARADMINS) 104/26 updated that the service’s Marksmanship Program will include the paragraph, “Marines are authorized to use unit funded Using Unit Responsibility Item, M17 Romeo red dot optic, National Stock Number 1240-01-713-9795 for Combat Pistol Program (CPP) qualifications.”
In short, so long as the SIG M17 Romeo sight is used– which was designed specifically for the P320-based M17 and M18 9mm Modular Handgun System– and it is bought with unit funds, the country’s premier amphibious warfare force can run red dots in qualifications.
The Romeo M17 sight (NSN: 1240-01-713-9795), seen attached to an M17 MHS handgun, is a mil-spec, fully enclosed and gas-purged red dot reflex sight with a distortion-free glass aspheric lens. It is submersible to depths up to 35 meters. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The optic incorporates a high-efficiency point source red LED emitter, with 2 MOA dot/32 MOA circle reticle, independent brightness adjustment buttons, 15 brightness settings including night vision settings, and a side-mounted CR2032 battery compartment with a threaded battery cap so the optic does not need to be removed from the pistol for battery changes. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Completely U.S. made and constructed of forged 7075 aluminum with a beryllium copper flexure arm (more on that in a minute) the Romeo M17 has an extremely low deck height so that armorers can reuse standard iron sights, has 15 illumination settings (including three for use with Gen 3+ night vision), beats drop and submersion tests, and, importantly, has an integral loaded chamber gas deflector shield that keeps the MHS from gassing up the lens after 10-15 rounds.
The Romeo M17 is a hoss. This installed example we saw dropped from 10 feet onto concrete at SIG’s plant in Oregon earlier this year with nothing but cosmetic damage to the housing. SIG explained to Guns.com that the Romeo M17 has surpassed 100,000 rounds in testing without loss of zero or parts breakage. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)That magical Romeo M17 flexure arm. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)Installed near the base of the Romeo M17, the arm provides a backbone – so to speak – for the sight, cutting down on the number of parts that can fail. That, combined with the unique mounting process used on the sight that gives it six points of contact with the pistol host, makes it so tough. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Marines deployed with the Fleet have already been seen with red dot-equipped M17 Romeo-equipped M18s and Surefire X300 white lights.
A U.S. Marine with Maritime Special Purpose Force, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), fires an M18 pistol during a qualification range aboard San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Feb. 22, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
An inset of the above image, clearly showing the M17 Romeo on an M18 MHS pistol. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
The Marines adopted the M18 in 2019, ordering 35,000 of the SIGs to not only replace legacy Beretta M9s but also the Colt M45A1 CQB .45ACP railgun and the M007 Glock.
Army Maj. Gen. Fox Conner ordered an armed military guard for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on 24 March 1926, and it has been maintained with honor ever since.
The Tomb, located at Arlington National Cemetery, was dedicated on Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) in 1921, but was at first unguarded. Responding to concerns that the site was not receiving the proper respect from tourists, Conner, then the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, ordered a guard drawn from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment at nearby Fort Myer (now Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall). The original day guard was extended to a round-the-clock watch in 1937.
Today, a single M14-armed volunteer Sentinel stands guard over the Tomb at any given moment, with two reliefs rotating on a 24-hour shift. The Sentinels are changed every hour (on the hour) in winter months (October through March), and every half hour during the warmer months from April through September.
U.S. Soldiers with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) perform the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia, March 18, 2026. (Photo: Laura Buchta/U.S. Army)
In an ode to the 21-gun salute to the Unknowns, as described by Arlington National Cemetery, “The Tomb Guard marches exactly 21 steps down the black mat behind the Tomb, turns, faces east for 21 seconds, turns and faces north for 21 seconds, then takes 21 steps down the mat and repeats the process.”
The two relief Sentinels, along with two (E-5) Assistant Relief Commanders and a sidearm-carrying (E-6) Relief Commander, are on duty in their quarters under the Memorial Room of the Tomb’s Amphitheater. The pistol is loaded with a 21-round magazine.
Since 2018, the Relief Commanders have carried specially made ceremonial SIG Sauer P320 M17 9mm pistols that carry a high-polish DLC coating and are filled with details honoring their task– while still being functional. They replaced a set of Beretta-made M9s, which were used by the guard since 1988, walking on over 11,000 consecutive days.
Each of the current four pistols bears a name — Silence, Respect, Dignity, or Perseverance— which is featured on the dust cover. The wood grip panels come from the decking of the old cruiser USS Olympia, which brought the Great War Unknown from France in 1921. The removable optics plate is engraved with a copy of the Greek Figures featured on the east panel of the Tomb, representing Peace, Victory, and Valor, repeated on the magazine floor plates. The front sight contains a vial of marble dust collected from the Tomb of the Vietnam Unknown in 1998 when he was disinterred for identification. The cocking serrations on the slide are engraved “XXI” in an ode to the 21-gun salute. Further, they all use a serial number which includes “02JUL37”, the date the guard went 24-hours.
The four serial numbers are: LS02JUL37A21 (Silence), LS02JUL37B21 (Respect), LS02JUL37C21 (Dignity), and LS02JUL37D21 (Perseverance).
Silence. (Graphic by Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
Dignity. (Graphic by Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
Perseverance. (Graphic by Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
Respect also contains a discreet internal engraving honoring MSG Jared Van Aalst, a Delta Force operator killed in action in 2009, and subsequently laid to rest at Arlington. (Graphic by Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
The slides of the four Ceremonial M17s use a rear “XXI” cocking serration. (Photo: Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
The optics plate is engraved with three Greek figures. As noted by the Army, “Peace holding a dove, Victory holding a palm branch, and Valor holding a sword. Victory stands between peace and valor to reward the devotion and sacrifice that went with courage to make the cause of righteousness triumphant.” (Photos: Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
The grips feature the crest of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Identification Badge on one side and the 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment crest on the other. Note the engraved magazine base pads. (Photos: Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
SIG has a fifth mock-up Tomb pistol in its museum in New Hampshire. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Beretta recently announced the end of an era as the final M9 pistol left the factory for bound for a U.S. military contract.
A variant of the Beretta Model 92, which was introduced in the 1970s, was adopted by the U.S. Army as the M9 in early 1984 to replace stocks of the M1911A1 that dated back to World War II. The initial five-year $56.4 million contract, to produce 315,930 units for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, ended up running more than three decades, greatly surpassing those numbers.
The famed Italian gunmaker built a plant in Accokeek, Maryland to produce the pistol, then moved production to a new facility in Tennessee in 2014.
The last U.S. martial Beretta M9, shipped last week.
Later this month the U.S. Army will be meeting with a number of firearms makers to see what the industry has in mind for Big Green’s first new pistol in almost 30 years.
Called the Modular Handgun System (MHS) program, the Army is looking to replace some 239,000 M9 and several thousand M11 pistols. These guns, the Beretta 92-F and Sig Sauer P228 respectively, have been the standard military sidearm used by the Army since 1985, replacing the much-loved (but worn out) M1911s that the military had stockpiled from a half-dozen manufacturers during World War Two.
The 9mm M-9 service pistol (USMC M9A1 version seen here) is the U.S. military’s current side-arm of choice. For now
Is this just going to be another Beretta?
Although the Marines recently bought some updated M9A1 Berettas (basically the Model 92 with a rail on it and a 17-shot magazine), they want something that is not the 92 moving forward, saying that it doesn’t meet the Army’s MHS requirements. Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk
