Serpa Holster on deck with the 15th MEU....pic by Sgt. Jamean Berry

A U.S. Marine unholsters an M9 pistol during aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD 23) Marines with the ground combat element keep their weapons skills sharp in case of a ground engagement. The 15th MEU is embarked on the Essex Amphibious Ready Group and deployed to maintain regional security in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

The reason why this pic caught my attention is because I remember the minor controversy of the USMC going to the Serpa Platform for its holster.

A well known YouTuber shot himself in the thigh, blamed his NEGLIGENT discharge on the holster and then everyone was bad naming the rig.

Too bad.

I was against it too.  My reasoning was that as long as the M9 is the service pistol for the Marine Corps then you would need the protection from the elements...dust, mud, etc...that you found in the old holsters

Obviously my view did not prevail and they moved on.  I'm not upset by this, it seems to be working.  But what does have me happy as hell is that we're seeing good weapons handling skill continue on in the Corps.

Which leads me to the moral of this story.

Just because some guy posts YouTube videos and claims to be a trainer doesn't mean that he actually knows anything.  Additionally, never jump to the conclusion that the gear is wrong.  Always look for operator failure first.  Common sense isn't common.  Neither is a consistent draw stroke.