No, really. Why might some soldiers have a side-arm instead of a C7?
Are their arms full carrying other things? Do their load-stations have them carrying additional weight such that pistol and mags reduce their load, more than rifle/mags, to a more "reasonable" load? ("Reasonable" is in quotes because some desk-bound "soldiers" actually believe that the C-16 is man-portable in an operational context). Could their primary weapon be the vehicle/aircraft around them? Could these people not be combat arms, but still require a weapon because it's an operational theatre?
Give it some thought, but to eliminate one option -- no, it's not because individuals get to decide if it they'd rather carry a pistol that day. That would be like saying, "I'm short; can I get a C-8?" Oh right, one poster already said that.
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