Pentagon OKs some personal weapons at government facilities for members of military

Flags and flowers are posted outside the Naval Operational Support Center and Marine Corps Reserve Center on Thursday, June 23, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The center was one of two military facilities that were attacked by a gunman last July 16.
Flags and flowers are posted outside the Naval Operational Support Center and Marine Corps Reserve Center on Thursday, June 23, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The center was one of two military facilities that were attacked by a gunman last July 16.

Nearly 17 months after the July 16, 2015, terrorist attack in Chattanooga, members of the military can now ask to carry personal firearms for protection at work.

The Department of Defense made the change in November, opening a path for recruiters and local military members to arm themselves for their own protection against domestic terror attacks at government facilities.

The new rule was prompted in part by the attack in Chattanooga and a handful of similar attacks over the last several years, DOD spokesman Maj. Jamie Davis said.

"This has been building," he said.

Four Marines and a Navy sailor were killed in the July 16 attack, in which 24-year-old Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez shot up a recruiting office and reserve center. The recruiters were not armed; at the reserve center, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Tim White shot at Abdulazeez with a personal weapon he was not authorized to carry.

Under the new policy, White could get permission to carry his personal weapon - but the policy doesn't automatically give everyone the right to carry. Instead, military members must apply to their commanders and must meet several qualifications.

To be armed with a personal weapon, personnel must be at least 21 years old and have appropriate training. They can't have any discipline on their record that "calls into question [their] fitness to carry a firearm," and can't have any pending or past civilian criminal charges.

The policy also forbids military members from carrying personal weapons to sites where local law enforcement or security officers are already posted - so recruiters cannot be armed when visiting high schools.

Wayne Rich, a retired Marine Corps colonel who has been outspoken about arming recruiters in the wake of the July 16 attack, said he doesn't think the new policy goes far enough to protect military personnel.

"Let's go back to July 16, 2015," he said. "The shooter puts 39 rounds through the glass. How does a pistol protect those recruiters? It's an insufficient protection of our recruiters to merely authorize them to apply to carry a concealed pistol in certain locations."

He pointed out White didn't stop Abdulazeez with his personal weapon and said pistols aren't enough. Instead, he said, recruiters should have access to at least one rifle in their offices.

Davis said it's up to each branch of the military to figure out how best to implement the new DOD rules.

"Part of the reason why it took so long is that you have to mesh this in with current state, local and federal laws," he said. "And some of those laws stipulate you can't have a weapon in a school. So this covers the DOD, but it also has to be something that is nested in with communities."

The policy change is the latest in a series of shifts both the DOD and individual branches of the military made after the Chattanooga attack. In May, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the Pentagon was creating a way to quickly warn military installations of nearby attacks. The DOD has $100 million budgeted to improve security at facilities nationwide in the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years.

And in July, the U.S. Navy said it would put armed sailors at recruiting centers while also rolling out an early warning system.

Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas. Follow @ShellyBradbury.

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