Pentagon rejects calls to arm all U.S.-based military personnel

FILE - This March 27, 2008, file photo, shows the Pentagon in Washington. Ali Awni al-Harzi, an Islamic State operative suspected of involvement in the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, has been killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq, the Pentagon said Monday, June 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

By Associated Press, Staff Report July 22, 2015 7 min read

Joshua B. Van Natter stands outside a military recruiting center on Tuesday, July 21, 2015, in Logan, Utah. Gun-toting citizens are showing up at military recruiting centers around the country, saying they plan to protect recruiters following last week’s killing of four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga, Tenn. (Eli Lucero/Herald Journal via AP)

Crystal Cole is shown armed with a loaded handgun in front of an Army and Marines recruitment center on Wednesday, July 22, 2015, in Hiram, Ga. Cole was one of several armed citizens who held watch at the recruitment center in response to the deadly shooting at a similar facility in Chattanooga, Tenn. (AP Photo/Ron Harris)

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A day of tribute, remembrance for the fallen

SFC Robert Dodge and LTC Tony Parilli, from right, speak to area Army recruiters at the Armed Forces Career Center off of Lee Highway before meeting with Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Police Chief Fred Fletcher on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 where Army representatives thanked them for the quick response during the July 16, 2015 terror shootings.

LTC Tony Parilli, right, thanks Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Police Chief Fred Fletcher while at the Armed Forces Career Center off of Lee Highway on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 for the city's quick response during the July 16, 2015 terror shootings .

LTC Tony Parilli, center, thanks Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher and Mayor Andy Berke while at the Armed Forces Career Center off of Lee Highway on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 for the city's quick response during the July 16, 2015 terror shootings .

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Police Chief Fred Fletcher are thanked by Army personnel while at the Armed Forces Career Center off of Lee Highway on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 for the city's quick response during the July 16, 2015 terror shootings .

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Police Chief Fred Fletcher speak to media outside of the Armed Forces Career Center off of Lee Highway on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 about the July 16, 2015 terror shootings.

Congressman Chuck Fleischmann speaks to Chris Schote and his two-year-old foster daughter Anna while at the Armed Forces Career Center off of Lee Highway on Tuesday, July 21, 2015.

Area Army recruiters gather at the Armed Forces Career Center off of Lee Highway before meeting with Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Police Chief Fred Fletcher on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 where Army representatives thanked them for the quick response during the July 16, 2015 terror shootings.

LTC Tony Parilli thanks Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Police Chief Fred Fletcher while at the Armed Forces Career Center off of Lee Highway on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 for the city's quick response during the July 16, 2015 terror shootings .

SFC Robert Dodge speaks to media outside of the Armed Forces Career Center off of Lee Highway after he and other Army representatives met Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Police Chief Fred Fletcher on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 to thank them for the quick response during the July 16, 2015 terror shootings.

Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher attends a meeting with Army representatives at the Armed Forces Career Center off of Lee Highway on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 where they thanked the city of Chattanooga for a quick response during the July 16, 2015 terror shootings .

Windows remain boarded at the Armed Forces Career Center off of Lee Highway on Tuesday, July 21, 2015.

Cathy Wells, the mother of Lance Cpl. Squire Wells, known as "Skip," stands after being presented with flowers at a memorial service at Sprayberry High School, where Wells attended, Tuesday, July 21, 2015, in Marietta, Ga. Crowds gathered at the suburban Atlanta high school to remember the Marine who was fatally shot in an attack on military facilities in Chattanooga.

A tear rolls down the cheek of Sgt. Benjamin Tranter, a former classmate of Lance Cpl. Squire Wells, known as "Skip," seen in photo at right, as he attends a memorial service for Wells at Sprayberry High School where they both attended, Tuesday, July 21, 2015, in Marietta, Ga.

Cathy Wells, left, the mother of Lance Cpl. Squire

Department of Defense spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters Wednesday that the Pentagon won’t change its policy that forbids most servicemembers from being armed while on U.S. soil, according to CNN.

“We do not support arming all military personnel,” Davis said, according to CNN’s report.

That view is far from universal among those in the armed forces, including many retired veterans.

The general tapped to be the next Army chief of staff said Tuesday that if legal issues could be resolved he thinks it would be appropriate, in some cases, to arm soldiers manning recruiting stations.

At his nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Mark Milley responded to questions about the deaths of four Marines and a sailor who were killed Thursday in Chattanooga, Tennessee.