{"id":67810,"date":"2016-05-01T09:02:34","date_gmt":"2016-05-01T09:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2016\/05\/01\/arming-military-recruiters-inside-the-pentagon-s-agonizing-policy-review\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:17:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:17:52","slug":"arming-military-recruiters-inside-the-pentagon-s-agonizing-policy-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2016\/05\/01\/arming-military-recruiters-inside-the-pentagon-s-agonizing-policy-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Arming military recruiters: Inside the Pentagon’s agonizing policy review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nearly a year after the terror attack shootings in Chattanooga <\/span>that left killed <\/span>five service members dead in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the top <\/span>Pentagon officials <\/span>remains unsure whether allowing giving more guns to <\/span>recruiters and other vulnerable military personnel to carry guns is would be <\/span>a viable and effective way to improve security at recruiting stations and other remote off-base military <\/span>work sites.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Pentagon has vowed to protect its most vulnerable troops and facilities in the wake of July’s deadly shooting in Chattanooga. But lawmakers and military leaders are at odds over how best to do that.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

The military faces\u00a0has faced <\/span>mounting pressure to arm more troops after the July 16 shootings by carried out by a Kuwaiti-born American whom investigators say was a “lone wolf” inspired by Islamic extremists\u2019 propaganda.\u00a0Mohammad Abdulazeez\u00a0opened fire on a storefront recruiting center<\/a> then drove to a nearby Navy reserve facility, where he killed four Marines and a sailor<\/a>. The commanding officer of that facility fired his personal handgun at the assailant<\/a>, which elicited\u00a0praise from many\u00a0troops, lawmakers\u00a0and gun-rights advocates but briefly raised questions as to whether he’d face disciplinary action for violating regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to the Chattanooga shootings,\u00a0Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced last October his plan\u00a0to arm “appropriately qualified individuals at select off-installation facilities” that require\u00a0greater protection.\u00a0Yet to date top military officials won\u2019t say how many \u2014 if any \u2014 additional troops have been authorized to carry guns while\u00a0on duty.\u00a0And so far the Pentagon has offered no new policies to <\/span>clarifying how and when a <\/span>commanders can approve authorize <\/span>recruiters and other at-risk troops to do so. The issue takes on even greater complexity\u00a0when discussion turns to\u00a0or other military personnel to carry a weapon, especially a <\/span>concealed weapons, at an off-base location that might be at heightened risk for an attack<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After months of consideration from high-level military officials, the issue has proven to be uniquely complex. <\/span>Military officials worry that more weapons or more armed guards could jeopardize their underlying goal of ensuring recruiting stations are approachable and attractive places for prospective recruits<\/span>.\u00a0“We have to create that balance,” said <\/span>Charles Kosak, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for defense continuity and mission assurance, told Military Times during an interview Friday.\u00a0“The mission is really to be accessible. If you try to create a situation where you have armed guards standing all around a facility … that kind of an approach would negate in many ways the very purpose for a recruiting center, which is to have an inviting environment in which a young person with his parents \u2026 can come in,” Kosak said an interview Friday<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are creating policy that creates clarity for commanders to make balanced decisions,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another complicating factor is the patchwork of state and local gun laws. Many recruiting stations are on leased property, giving the landlords some say over the question of guns on the premises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There are so many variables,” Kosak said. “… These facilities are physically different …\u00a0the staffing at those facilities is very different and potentially, for example, the remoteness of a facility as it pertains to first-responders\u2019 capacity,” Kosak said<\/span>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Kosak cautioned that giving more guns to recruiters or others may not improve safety. “You could unleash\u00a0unintended consequences. You could come into situations where you’re not adding value,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kosak said the Pentagon is in the final phase of “clarifying the policy.” He declined to say whether the end result will ultimately give commanders wider discretion to arm recruiters and other off-base personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It probably sounds whishy-washy,” said one defense official familiar with the discussions.\u00a0“But the thing that an outsider doesn’t understand is that there is so much confusion in the [current] policy about what is allowed and what is not allowed, because it wasn’t clarified. So by clarifying it, it really does clear up and explain what options commanders may already have but they just don’t understand.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon’s indecision has frustrated Congress. On Wednesday, House lawmakers threatened to withhold funding if the Defense Department doesn’t finalize its firearms policy by the end of this year. The threat was proposed by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who called it a matter of basic safety and fairness for troops looking to exercise their Second Amendment rights.<\/p>\n\n\n

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House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., spoke to Military Times in July 2015 about his new legislation to arm some military personnel at recruiting stations to provide better security for those facilities.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Kosak said the new policy will probably be unveiled “within a few months.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the issue of arming more personnel remains unresolved, the Pentagon is pushing ahead on several other safety measures for recruiters and others at off-base work sites.\u00a0For example, the Defense Department has established set new <\/span>force-wide standards for physical security enhancements at recruiting stations and set aside $80 million this year to begin installing those\u00a0measures. They\u00a0which <\/span>include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022\u00a0New entry-control points,\u00a0like swipe-card readers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022\u00a0Peep holes for back doors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022\u00a0Window blinds that obscure visibility for passersby<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022\u00a0“Internal ballistic protection” that would give people something to hide behind in the event of an armed attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Installing those enhancements is underway at some recruiting stations, Kosak said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another measure that military officials have agreed to involves new mass-notification procedures. An agreement with state-level officials will require 911 emergency service operators to notify U.S. Northern Command about any major incidents reported at remote off-base <\/span>military work sites, Kosak said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In turn, NORTHCOM would, in turn,<\/span> notify nearby installations and work sites to ensure rapid responses to attacks like the one in Chattanooga.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The 331st Recruiting Squadron (331st RCS) held a grand opening of a new recruiting facility in Prattville, Ala., May 13, 2015. Lt. Col. Jonathan Austin, commander, 331st RCS, officiated the ceremony. Also present at the ceremony were Col. Robert Borja, commander, 369th Recruiting Group, San Antonio and Rick Plaskett, Montgomery area Chamber of Commerce. (U.S. Air Force photo by Bud Hancock\/Released)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force’s 331st Recruiting Squadron opened this new recruiting facility in Prattville, Ala., in May 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Bud Hancock\/Air Force<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 16, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire on a Chattanooga recruiting center then immediately drove to a nearby reserve facility, the Navy Operational Support Center in Chattanooga, where he killed four Marines and a sailor.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The indecision has served only to frustrate those in Congress who feel troops have a right to protect 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