Concealed carry for troops GTG
 

The devil will be in the details for sure on this one. Expect a lot of push back from CDR's not crazy about Joe being armed.


Acknowledging domestic terror threat, Pentagon says troops, recruiters can carry concealed guns

By: Jeffrey Schogol, November 21, 2016

U.S. military personnel can now request to carry concealed handguns for protection at government facilities, according to new Defense Department directive issued last week in response to a series of deadly shootings over the last seven years.

While service members already were authorized to carry weapons as part of specific job responsibilities, the new policy allows them to apply to carry their privately owned firearms “for personal protection not associated with the performance of official duties,” the directive says.

It also clarifies when military recruiters can be armed, said Army Maj. Jamie Davis, a Defense Department spokesman.

“Commanders have always had that authority to arm recruiters,” Davis told Military Times on Monday. “Some of the wording wasn’t very clear, so they’ve gone through and cleaned it up so it is very clear now that the commanders have that authority to use at their discretion.”

Effective Nov. 18, the directive culminates years of work, Davis said.

The effort began after the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, where former Army Maj. Nidal Hasan killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others. It accelerated after the July 2015 attacks on a recruiting station and Navy reserve center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. That incident claimed the lives of four Marines and a sailor. Both lone-wolf attacks were believed to be inspired by international terrorism.

Rest of article here: http://bit.ly/2gwXrq0

I wonder who will get the first negligent discharge

An officer :D

Butter Bar or O-7 ?? :munchin

Key word.

Indeed... It's a micro-version of the civilian world's local Sheriff or Police Chief's personal opinion.

I've been at installations where the Provost or Base commander did not approve of POW freedoms so it just wasn't going to happen.

Is there a link somewhere to this Policy letter? I am not seeing it on the typical channels.

I and some friends have been pushing this for YEARS. You would not believe the amount of senior folks (particularly GO's) who fear their troops being armed. When I try to talk to them about it being a training issue and perhaps they haven't trained their troops properly, things get interesting.

Just before I retired I gave a personal class to my three-star in his office on his issue weapon. Said I taught him shit in one hour that he never learned in 40 years - and he was one of the GOOD guys.

Also, a lot of closet-Dems in the leadership ranks.

Army leadership is TERRIFIED of guns.
...look at the fascination with clearing barrels. Wouldn't it just be easier to treat all guns like they are loaded and not play with them??


NO !!!
...troops cannot be trusted with loaded weapons !!!


Instead, we should tell soldiers to charge the weapon, place it on fire, point it into a barrel, and pull the trigger.
...some troops simply forget to add the steps about unloading it


I'm not sure "closet-dem" is the best way of putting it. They aren't in the closet, they just aren't outspoken about it.
Most of them are very much OUT of the closet in word and deed.

May I present to you the most intellectually dishonest op-ed from a GO I have ever seen:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/06/17...&_r=0&referer=

Thank you. The DTIC link was not working here.

Flag grade officers apparently fear an armed citizenry as much as the politicians do.

Not surprising considering the author.

DoD Releases Plan to Allow Personnel to Carry Firearms on Base
 

DoD Releases Plan to Allow Personnel to Carry Firearms on Base
(Military.com, Nov. 21, Matthew Cox)
The Pentagon recently released detailed guidance that allows U.S. military personnel to carry privately owned, concealed firearms on base, a move that the Army's service chief argued against publicly.
"Arming and the Use of Force," a Nov. 18 Department of Defense directive approved by Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work, lays out the policy and standards that allow DoD personnel to carry firearms and employ deadly force while performing official duties.

But the lengthy document also provides detailed guidance to the services for permitting soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guard personnel to carry privately owned firearms on DoD property, according to the document.

Commanders, O-5 and above, "may grant permission to DoD personnel requesting to carry a privately owned firearm (concealed or open carry) on DoD property for a personal protection purpose not related to performance of an official duty or status," the document states.

Applicants must be 21 years of age or older, the age many states require an individual to be to own a firearm, according to the document. Proof of compliance may include a concealed handgun license that is valid under federal, state, local or host-nation law where the DoD property is located.

"Written permission will be valid for 90 days or as long as the DoD Component deems appropriate and will include information necessary to facilitate the carrying of the firearm on DoD property consistent with safety and security, such as the individual's name, duration of the permission to carry, type of firearm, etc.," according to the document.

Until now, DoD personnel have not been authorized to carry personal firearms on military installations, a policy that has come under scrutiny in the wake of "active-shooter" attacks at U.S. military bases resulting in the deaths of service members.

Lawmakers have questioned military leaders about the policy, arguing that allowing service members to be armed might have prevented attacks such as the July 16, 2015, shootings at two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in which four Marines and a sailor were shot and killed. The gunman, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, was killed by police in a gunfight.

But Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley has argued against reversing the DoD policy that prohibits service members from carrying concealed weapons on post.

Testifying at an April 14 congressional hearing, Milley cited the Nov. 5, 2009, mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in which 13 people were killed and 42 others were injured. The day of the shooting, Nidal Hasan, then an Army major and psychiatrist, entered the Fort Hood deployment center carrying two pistols, jumped on a desk and shouted "Allahu Akbar!" -- Arabic for "God is great" -- then opened fire.

Milley defended the short time it took for law enforcement to secure the scene and said he is not convinced that allowing soldiers to carry privately owned weapons would have stopped Hasan.

The directive states that personnel authorized to carry privately owned firearms must "acknowledge they may be personally liable for the injuries, death, and property damage proximately caused by negligence in connection with the possession or use of privately owned firearms that are not within the scope of their federal employment."

The eligibility requirements also state that applicants should not be subject to past or pending disciplinary action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or in any civilian criminal cases.

Personnel carrying firearms "will not be under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance that would cause drowsiness or impair their judgment while carrying a firearm," the document states.