Thanks to a new policy change, military members will be able to carry personal firearms on Department of Defense (War) property.
On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum authorizing off-duty service members to carry private firearms on installations.
In his announcement, Hegseth cited safety and several attacks that happened on U.S. military bases and sites.
“Recent events … have made clear that some threats are closer to home than we would like,” he said, adding, “In these instances, minutes are a lifetime, and our service members have the courage and training to make those precious short minutes count,” said Hegseth.
In Chattanooga, service members and the community are remembering the July 16 terrorist attack that claimed five lives in 2015. During this attack, a gunman opened fire at an Army Recruitment center off Lee Highway. The gunman later carried out a second attack at the Navy Operational Center on Amnicola Highway.
Memorial on Lee Highway
Now, with this change, a retired Navy commander, who remembers July 16th far too well, is elated to hear the news.
“Clearly, it was the terrorist’s responsibility. He was the cause of the attack in Chattanooga, but I think that a policy like this would have likely dissuaded that attack. And I think, I think this is a wonderful move,” said Tim White, retired Navy Commander.
During the attack in 2015, White pulled his personal gun to defend himself and others against the attacker. However, at that time, federal rules banned personal firearms on the base. White was met with both support and criticism over that decision.
“I know I’ve had a lot of opportunities to talk with service members about my experience. And about the Chattanooga attack, and about my actions. And several, or many of them, have expressed their frustrations that, ‘why can’t we defend ourselves?’ And I’ve also talked to other people that— they’ve said, ‘Well, I don’t think we should be able to,’” said White.
White believes this policy change will have the same mixed reaction, but the majority of service members will be happy to hear of the change.
Questions regarding the logistics of the plan are also on the rise. Despite this, White says the change was needed.
“I think that’s one of the things that has prevented this policy update for so long, because there are some logistical things that leadership has to come to grips with. Are we going to allow service members to carry inside the buildings, or is it just going to be from their car?” said White, “Just because there is some difficulty in logistically figuring out, ‘how are we going to do this?’ I think that shouldn’t keep us from making the change, and I’m, again, just elated.”
You can read Hegseth’s full announcement here.