Mr. Lamb referring to the 1911 malfunctions makes me wonder if they simply received a new batch of guns from their vendor that were problematic. Maybe it was beyond the time they had unit armorers working on their 1911s? If so, it probably hastened the move to Glocks.
It's surprising someone shipped a bunch of guns to a Tier 1 unit that hadn't been vetted properly and had so many malfunctions, when you can go buy a 45 ACP 1911 off the shelf from any of several manufacturers and chances are it will run just fine. I've lost track of how many different 45 1911s I've owned over the years - mostly Colt, Springfield Armory, and S&W - but I owned exactly one that had any type of problem. It was a custom-built Commander that wouldn't feed crappy range ammo. That's it.
That said, my appreciation for Glocks has grown a great deal in recent years.
I certainly don't doubt you, but that's the opposite of most people's experience. Of the four M&P 1.0s I've had, two had one issue each (the 40 had the broken slide release and the 45 - a really early one - a dead trigger, both fixed under warranty), and the other two none. My two 1911s work now, but it was a fight.
Larry Vickers has discussed in at least a couple of videos I've watched the issues they had when they tried to get STIs to run. Apparently there were so many problems they were returned for a refund and STI later sold them off as either demo models or just plain old used inventory.
Chuck Pressburg has mentioned in a couple of P&S podcasts having the same difficulties when one of his units tried to go with STIs in .40. I believe the phrase he used was "I couldn't trust it unless I had an armorer in my pack".
Not busting on STI, just a couple of data points to note it's not unheard of.
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
I like my antiques, and happily carry a 1911 or a Hipower, but should some fool put me in charge of picking sidearms for professionals, there's no way in heck I'd go with either.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI