A new report says the U.S. military is authorizing service members who are at remote locations – such as a recruitment center – to be armed, even if they’re not in law enforcement.
In fact, a military spokesman said commanders already had the authority to “arm qualified troops at recruiting and other off-base sites.”
Whether that’s a clarification of existing authority or an expansion, the protocol certainly now is being emphasized that the U.S. military needs to be aware of “the continuing threat to DoD personnel in the U.S. homeland posed by Homegrown Violent Extremists.”
According to a report at The Hill, Defense Secretary Ash Carter has signed a new memo specifying that qualified troops can be armed, on orders from their commanders, at locations such as the off-base reserve center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that was attacked by a lone gunman.
In that case, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, drove a rented car to the center and crashed through the parking lot gate, opening fire.
Killed were Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson Holmquist and Lance Cpl. Squire Wells, as well as Navy petty officer second class Randall Smith.
Investigators are looking into whether Abdulazeez was “radicalized” before the attacks and for the time, they are treating the case as being by a “homegrown violent extremist.”
He was a naturalized American citizen but was born in Kuwait to Jordanian parents and had traveled to Jordan for a seven-month stay last year.
The Hill report said while Pentagon spokesman Cap. Jeff Davis affirmed that existing Defense Department policy allows commanders to arm “qualified personnel,” the memo from Carter emphasized that threats were to be considered and security plans developed.
Davis said the arming would be allowed for locations including centers “that [exist] outside of actual bases. So this is recruiting stations, ROTC units and reserve centers and there are about 7,000 of these throughout the United States.”
ROTC stands for Reserve Officers’ Training Corp, which trains college students.
Carter had cited the Chattanooga shooting on July 16 as evidence of the “continuing threat to DOD personnel.”
“This incident and the ongoing threat underscore the need for DOD to review its force protection and security policies, programs and procedures, particularly for off-installation DOD facilities.”
Davis elaborated, “The policy does allow for the arming of qualified DOD personnel who aren’t regularly engaged in law enforcement duties, based on the threat and the immediate need to protect DOD assets and lives.”
The memo provides instructions for military branches to develop plans for better security, including additional armed officers, warning systems and other changes.
WND had reported that one of the Marines killed – as well as a Navy officer – apparently had returned fire on the attacker via their personal weapons.
The Navy Times cited several military officials with knowledge of the internal investigation on the shooting that left four Marines and one sailor dead and two others wounded, and reported Lt. Cmdr. Timothy White – the commanding officer for the Navy Operational Support Center – likely fired his personal weapon at Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez .
The newspaper also said the Marine fired his personal 9mm Glock at the attacker.
Abdulazeez opened fire on a recruiting office from his rented, silver Mustang convertible and never got out. He then went to a joint Marine-Navy facility about seven miles away.
Maj. Gen. Paul W. Brier, commanding general of the 4th Marine Division, said 20 Marines and two Navy corpsman were inspecting the joint facility when the attack happened. He said several service members “ran back into the fight” after ushering their colleagues to safety.
from PropagandaGuard https://propagandaguard.wordpress.com/2015/07/31/defense-department-authorizes-arms-for-military-recruiters/
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