It’s been three years since a dozen people were killed by an active shooter at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., but Republicans in Congress are still not satisfied with the processes in place to protect troops on military bases.
The fiscal 2016 National Defense Authorization Act passed late last year required Defense Secretary Ash Carter to establish a process to authorize troops to carry “an appropriate firearm” for personal protection on a military installation if the base commander feels it’s appropriate.
The section of the policy bill was in response to the 2015 shootings at two military installations in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The Pentagon, however, has still not delivered a plan. As a result, the House-passed version of the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act would withhold 15 percent of the operation and maintenance budget for the undersecretary of defense for policy until Carter establishes procedures for troops to carry firearms on base.
It’s unclear if the provision, which was added in an amendment by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., will make it into the final bill, which senior lawmakers are working to finalize.
The Navy Yard shooting on Sept. 16, 2013, killed a dozen people and injured three others. Aaron Alexis opened fire in the Naval Sea Systems Command building before being killed by police about an hour after the shooting began.
While the Pentagon has not put a policy in place to allow troops to carry personal weapons on base for protection, some changes have been made since then.
In July, the Navy announced that it would put armed sailors at recruiting stations, since they are often off-base and open to the public.
Carter also put out a memo in July 2015 that called for increased security measures at small facilities, such as recruiting centers, and allowed commanders to arm “qualified” Defense Department employees involved in law enforcement, as well as those not working in law enforcement to fill an “immediate need to protect DoD assets and lives.”
The Pentagon has pushed back against the movement to arm more troops on bases. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told Congress in April that he would not support troops carrying concealed, privately owned weapons on base.
“I’ve been around guns all my life. I know how to use them, and arming our people on our military bases and allowing them to carry concealed, privately owned weapons — I do not recommend that as a force protection,” Milley said.
