Well tipoc, I'm one of the silly bananas that have read the entire thread. I know, I'm an idiot.
I'm not sure why some posters were laughing at the Canadian Military, from what I understand, they've been doing a very professional job over in Afghanistan. Oh well, whatever makes you feel good I suppose.
As for the topic, a lot of folks (not all, bless your literate hearts) have listed their favourite home defense handgun instead of putting themselves in an armorer or quartermaster's position. Not all military activity is storming Omaha beach or taking on the Vietcong single handed.
If you had to arm an entire military organization - from frontline troops to security details to fighter pilots, military police, couriers, etc., both in America and stationed all over the globe...and you had to pay for it out of a budget, which pistol and what ammunition would you choose?
Add the cost of maintaining the weapons, cost of repairs, availability of spare parts, etc. and you can see why most Western militaries have reached a parity when it comes to handguns.
No wait, I changed my mind, the best combat handgun is my Dad's S&W M29, it can blow helicopters out of the sky.