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I have a 2000 Impala, and have been driving in Pennsylvania and Illinois winters for many years with snow tires. Absolutely no problems. In fact, I drove with Sumitomo HTR+ all-seasons for several winters, until I noticed I was having trouble getting up this one hill that was rarely plowed/salted properly. Your Regal with snow tires will be enough, unless you're deploying to Alaska or planning on getting a house somewhere on top of a hill in Montana with a gravel driveway or something.
My wife had an AWD SUV before we got married. She traded it in for a FWD Pontiac G6 GT a year or two ago, again with snow tires for the winter. She was a little unsure if she wanted to give up AWD capability at first, but she's had no complaints about driving in the snow with the Pontiac for the past two winters.
Because of all this, it is my belief that although AWD may give you some extra winter capability, it's a marginal benefit that I've never needed, and don't see the reason to justify the extra expense (extra up-front vehicle cost, extra maintenance for the AWD system, lower fuel economy due to the extra weight.)
Now, having said that, this may differ for you if you're going to be out in the SERIOUS snow country like the northern Rockies or Maine, or Alaska, and if there are times when you ABSOLUTELY must get through (e.g., have to get to the base in a national emergency. I can just work from home if I'm snowed in, the Taliban don't really give you that option some times....)
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