The U.S. Marines will not arm recruiters in the wake of the July 16 attack in Chattanooga, officials confirmed Wednesday.
“Arming Marine recruiters would interfere with recruiter interaction with the public in many places, such as on school campuses and in the homes of prospective applicants,” Jim Edwards, Marine Corps Recruiting Command deputy director of public affairs, wrote in an email. “Recruiters showing up armed is not going to make either educators or parents comfortable.”
Instead, officials will consider other security upgrades such as adding security cameras, remote-locking doors, or ballistic protection such as movable shields and desk partitions to protect recruiters during possible future attacks such as the one in Chattanooga, when a lone gunman attacked two military sites in the city and killed five service members.
Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, first opened fire on a military recruiting center in a shopping center along Lee Highway on July 16, wounding one Marine recruiter, before driving across town and attacking a reserve facility near Amnicola Highway.
The attack sparked a national debate on whether recruiters and other military personnel stationed on U.S. soil should begin carrying weapons. Under current federal regulations, most service members are prohibited from being armed at reserves and recruiting centers. After the attack, some politicians called for service members to be armed and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter asked military branches to review their security policies.