Trump Pushes to Allow Troops to Carry Personal Weapons on Bases
A Post Exchange gun sales supervisor shows a solider an American Classic handgun at the PX gun counter at Fort Huachuca. (U.S. Army Gabrielle Kuholski)
Military.com | By Richard Sisk
President Donald Trump said Friday that he would review policies that keep troops from carrying personal weapons onto military bases.
"If we can't have our military holding guns, it's pretty bad," Trump said in a wide-ranging speech to the annual Conservative Political Action Committee conference in Maryland, "and I'm going to look at that whole policy on military bases."
"So we want to protect our military. We want to make our military stronger and better than it's ever been," Trump continued in the speech, in which he also renewed his call for allowing trained teachers and military retirees to carry concealed weapons in schools.
Schools and military bases currently are "gun-free zones" that are easy targets for deranged shooters such as the one in Parkland, Florida, who killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week, Trump said.
Defense Department policy mainly has been that base security is the province of military police. In most cases, troops are required to leave their personal weapons at home or check them at the gate in an effort to prevent accidental shootings and discourage suicides.
"We had a number of instances on military bases, you know that," Trump said in his speech, apparently referring to active shooter episodes.
In making the case for personal weapons on military bases, Trump appeared to be referencing the July 2015 incident in Chattanooga, Tenn., where four Marines and a sailor were killed.
The shootings occurred at a recruiting storefront in a strip shopping mall and at a U.S. Naval Reserve Center some miles away. But Trump said the victims "were on a military base in a gun-free zone."
The victims were Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, 40; Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, 35; Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist; Lance Cpl. Squire D. "Skip" Wells, 21; and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, 26.
The FBI and local police said that Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez carried out a drive-by shooting at the recruiting center and then drove to the U.S. Naval Reserve Center, where he was killed in a shootout with police.
Then-FBI Director James Comey later said that Abdulazeez was "motivated by foreign terrorist organization propaganda."
"You know the five great soldiers from four years ago, three of them were world-class marksmen," Trump said in his account of the incident. "They were on a military base in a gun-free zone."
"They were asked to check their guns quite far away. And a maniac walked in, guns blazing, killed all five of them. He wouldn't of had a chance if these world-class marksmen had -- on a military base -- access to their guns," Trump said.
In his 2015 Senate confirmation hearing to become Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley was asked about the Chattanooga shootings and said that "in some cases I think it's appropriate" for recruiters to carry weapons for self-defense.
He said that arming recruiters was complicated by a patchwork of state laws but "I think under certain conditions -- both on military bases and in outstations, recruiting stations, reserve centers -- we should seriously consider it."
Then-Lt. Gen. Milley was commander at Fort Hood, Texas, in April 2014 when Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire, killing three soldiers and wounding 12 others before killing himself.
Numerous lawmakers then called for allowing troops to carry weapons on base, but Milley said at a news conference that he didn't support the idea.
"I don't think soldiers should have concealed weapons on base," he said.
-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
Related Topics: Military Headlines Military Bases Guns and Weapons Donald Trump
The operation targeted Bilal al-Sudani, a key financial facilitator for the global terrorist organization.
Marines Reopen Base on Guam as Part of a Shift from Okinawa
Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz, which is on Guam's northern plateau, is still in the process of being built.
Health Care Enrollment Up 17% at VA Since Passage of Toxic Exposure Law
VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal said it's too early to know whether the sign-ups are related to the...
Missileers Worry About New Signs of Link Between Service and Cancer, Latest in Toxic Exposure Concerns
The community of missileers who have spent years operating America's nuclear arsenal are voicing concern about a presentation...
Investigations and Features
Military Opinion
Most Popular Military News
West Point Grad Congressman Says He Has 'Zero Time' for Complaints About Woke Military, Focused on China
Rep. Pat Ryan argued political attacks such as GOP accusations of "critical race theory" infiltrating the military academies...
Millions of Tricare Users Must Approve Mail-Order Prescription Refills Starting Now
Express Scripts has started sending out notices asking Tricare patients to confirm their mail-order prescription refills.
US Airstrike Kills Around 30 al-Shabaab Militants in Somalia, Military Says
The Jan. 20 strike occurred approximately 260 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu near Galcad, Somalia.
The Army Forced to Change the Name of Its New Rifle
The service's upcoming M5 from Sig Sauer will now be called the M7 after it was discovered Colt Industries also makes a...
Latest Benefits Info
The Top 3 VA Loan Myths that Keep Service Members from Using Their Benefit
Maryland State Veteran Benefits
Tricare Dental Program to Expand Choice of Carriers Under New Law
5 Myths About the PACT Act and VA Benefits
Preventive Dental Care Can Impact Your Health Dramatically
More Military Headlines
Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts: A Look at the Next Army Enlisted Leader's Combat Record
Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Weimer is set to become the Army's next top enlisted leader in August, replacing Michael Grinston.
Former Army Reservist Gets 8 Years for Spying for Chinese Government
Army Reservist Pleads Guilty to Stealing $53,000 from Department Of Defense
Democrat Threatens to Hold Up Pentagon Nominees over Space Command HQ Decision
Air Force Academy Cadet Found Guilty on Two Sexual Assault Charges
Navy Christens Massive Ship Bearing Name of Legendary Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren
Military Benefits Updates
Express Scripts Invites Independent Pharmacies to Rejoin Tricare in What Critics Call 'Empty Gesture'
SC Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Prevent Parris Island from Closing. Here's What it Would Do
US Coast Guard Commander: There's a Plan in Place for Mass Migration from Cuba, Haiti
Spirit of Norfolk Fire Hearings Begin This Week as Coast Guard Searches for Answers
Coast Guard Stops Boat with 400 Haitians Off the Bahamas That Was Likely Headed to Florida