Thanks for the reminder on personal weapons use. Being in a mechanized infantry unit, our company was only authorized 2 handguns. That was fine, because of the number of handguns that were confiscated. It was SOP that anyone driving a HMMWV carried a handgun, since you cannot really keep your rifle at the ready, while driving. Unfortunately, Haji only carried pieces of crap, but it was enough to cover your butt, to buy some time to grab your rifle or your buddy to engage the threat with his rifle. Almost every weapon that we had was a 9mm or a 38 special. Next time around, I can't imagine what possible reason the powers that be would have for not allowing soldiers to bring along personally owned sidearms. My Glock model 23 will be in my duffle, even if it means I have to bury it somewhere in the desert before returning home. If it gets me through another year in Iraq, it pays for itself.
BTW, here is an old thread: The stopping power of different handgun cartridges. According to this thread, a .40 is better than a .44 or a .45, in terms of stopping power. It seems that this would be the ideal for a new Army issue sidearm.
The first time I saw a Ruger Blackhawk in .30 carbine was 1970 in Vietnam. Great pistol to shoot, fun and great stopping power.