Carter to allow more armed troops
Chief Tango sends us a link to the Washington Post which reports that Ashton Carter, the Secretary of Defense, will authorize more troops to be armed in the wake of the attack last week on a recruiting station and a Reserve center in Chattanooga, Tennessee;
The decision was outlined in a two-page memo released at the Pentagon on Thursday. Carter in the memo said the ambush, in which an armed gunman opened fire at two military facilities, illustrates the threat posed to the service members in the United States by homegrown violent extremists.
“This incident and the ongoing threat underscore the need for DoD to revise its force protection and security policies, programs, and procedures, particularly for off-installation DoD facilities,” Carter said in the memo, signed Wednesday.
The Defense Secretary called for an evaluation from each of the services on their requirements for enhanced security precautions.
Carter’s memo authorizes commanders and civilian directors to “arm qualified DoD personnel for security, law enforcement and counterintelligence duties.” But it adds that those who are not engaged in law enforcement, such as military police, also may be armed “based on the threat and the immediate need to protect DoD assets and lives.”
The announcement also follows a report published by the Congressional Research Service which leaned heavily on a paper from the Federation of American Scientists which proposed that the Secretary of Defense could change the policy without Congressional approval.
The decision probably was made quickly because of the armed, untrained civilian folks who are standing outside recruiter offices with weapons.
Category: Big Pentagon
Oh, we are truly through the looking-glass… I give it about one day before Barry steps on the SECDEF’s nuts for this but it was a beautiful dream while it lasted.
Oh, and you are HIGH if you think brigade commanders at USAREC allow this.
This sounds like good news. I hope the reality that comes from it will provide protection for our troops.
It’s a smokescreen. The current regulation already authorizes Commanding Officers to do that. DoD Directive 5210.36 outlines the requirements.
“…Qualified personnel shall be armed when required for assigned duties and there is reasonable expectation that DoD installations, property, or personnel lives or DoD assets will be jeopardized if personnel are not armed. Evaluation of the necessity to arm DoD personnel shall be made with the consideration of the possible consequences of accidental or indiscriminate use of those arms. However, the overriding factors in determining whether or not to arm are the mission and threat. Arming DoD personnel (i.e., administrative, assessment, or inspection, not regularly engaged in or directly supervising security or law enforcement activities) shall be limited to missions or threats and the immediate need to protect DoD assets or persons’ lives. DoD Components have the discretion to keep designated staff personnel qualified and available or on call to perform duties.”
I pointed that Directive out last week and a lot of what Carter said is almost verbatim from that document.
Betcha they didn’t even know it existed until some coffee-making grunt pointed it out to them.
“Coffee making-grunt”? You mean they finally asked someone who actually knows what is said, where? Shocking!!!
And they probably sat around the table looking blinky-eyed at each other, too.
They probably sent another grunt to look up the directive, and had him read it to them.
So what Commanders will do is every 5th or 6th Soldier will be armed with a wristrocket and a pocketful of ball bearings. The Commanders will exclaim “There Honorable Secretary! You said to arm them but you didn’t say with what!’ Just be glad it wasn’t something similar to that big rubber dick from the movie Idiocracy.
Rather have armed “untrained civilians” than armed officers……
See what I did there.
Just a question: Does Sec’y Carter have any idea what he’s supposed to be doing?
yep, just about as much as the communist, muslim, queer, illegal alien in the dark house!
Should be done/not done in concurrence with DIA threat levels and current FPCONs…in conjunction with local commanders and whatever input local AT reps have.
And everyone knows how this will work. Every day, a different recruiter will have to draw his weapon and one mag of ammo. He’ll pull guard duty all day, then be required to turn the weapon in before he walks across the parking lot to get in his POV and drive home.
First, I clicked on that damn “report comment” button without meaning to. SORREEEEE!
J.M., what you write reminds me of Navy topside watches. It’s got potential, but will probably fail in practice. We’ve seen the tragedies that have happened when topside watches have been confronted with a lethal force scenario.
To be able to have a chance of fighting through such a scenario, you need to train to it. If you’re just taught how to fire a pistol, then given one and told to “protect the office,” well, I think we all know what will happen.
Now, I’m couching this in terms of Sailors, not Marines or soldiers, cause I know Sailors and they wouldn’t be ready for something like this (of course SEALS and such excepted). I’m harking back to the minimal training I received on using a weapon. Maybe it’s changed since the early 90s. I hope so cause it was pretty pathetic.
Anyway, I sure as hell hope that I’m wrong about the level of training, but I suspect I’m not.
Wouldn’t be surprised if old Ash decreed that only the trans-gendered service members can be armed.
We must really live in an age of diminished expectations when we are celebrating a secdef memo that basically restates policies permitted by a 20+ year old executive order.
ARMED FORCES RECRUITING STATION IN MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE PROTECTED BY SANDBAG BARRIERS.
I saw this posted at the FREE NORTH CAROLINA web site.
http://www.fox17.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/Army-Recruiting-Center-Puts-Up-Sandbags-as-Safety-Precaution-170902.shtml
PHOTOGRAPH OF ARMED FORCES RECRUITING OFFICE IN MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/writesong/19537997063/in/dateposted-public/
Another news source:
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2015/07/26/fundamental-change-military-recruitment-centers-in-obamas-america/
So, essentially no change to previous policy, but it sounds, to the rubes, like ‘something’ is being done.
SSDD….
My story would still be going to the gun range after work to keep up my skills. My firearm is safer from being stolen than in the trunk of my GOV or POV. Joe