Navy to station “watch standers” at recruiters
The Navy Times reports that the Navy has decided that they’ll protect their recruiters with armed “watch standers” at their recruiting stations after a lengthy investigation of the terrorist attack on recruiters in Chattanooga last year.
“We are in the final stages of preparations for implementation” of the policy, said Cmdr. Dave Aliberti, policy branch head for Fleet Forces Command’s anti-terrorism, force protection directorate. “It is going to be a system put in place to arm personnel that are there for deterrent value and to provide protection.”
The guards will be trained, uniformed sailors, but are strictly for security, said one official on background. They will not be authorized to respond to crime in the area of the stations, which is prohibited by law.
[…]
Those sailors, mostly activated reserve masters-at-arms, were in place within weeks of the attacks.
Well, at least they’re doing something.
Category: Navy
One more full time position to hold at a recruiter stations across America.
If Johnny starts having second thoughts about shipping off to Great Lakes, the watch standees may be able to persuade him to honor his commitment.
Hmmm… shore duty at the local recruiting office, not too far from Starbuck’s or Dunkin’ Donuts. Sounds good to me. Where do I volunteer?
Here’s hoping this practice ends the jihad wannabes before they get any more sailors….
I guess simply giving recruiting station commanders the authority to make this call locally, and train one or more of their people to perform the role, wasn’t “in accordance with Naval tradition”. Oh well.
Still, we have a rarity: at least a small measure of common sense from within the Five Sided Asylum across the river from the Open Air Brothel on the Potomac. Good to see that.
From the linked article, “The Army Corps is also making alterations to buildings that make them more secure”.
They should have the Engineers build sandbag bunkers topped with a parapet and manned by MPs. Would make a great recruiting tool as a demonstration. For Navy types, let the Seabees do the same thing, build and defend.
Yeah, I know.
This common sense action is a great opportunity to provide some employment for these Reserve Sailors. Lots of these places are in economically depressed areas and besides being a well paid and respected position in the community, this will help bolster their retirement.
Good on the Navy.
Having served on recruiting duty I can tell you that we put in some long hours, 6 sometimes 7 days a week. It’s going to get old pretty quick for the security guard sitting around the recruiting station.
Why not just allow concealed (or open) carry for the recruiters?
There were plenty of times during my trips to MEPS in Newark, NJ that a firearm would have been nice to have…
Oh well, at least one branch is doing something.
While suffering the curtailment of recruiting duty my company headquarters was in Newark. The only town but Baghdad where I’ve seen a bullet hole in a car.
Oh FFS, give the recruiters side arms and let them do their own security.
They’ve been effin’ trained haven’t they?
Navy weapons training is situational to the Rating,NEC and assignment…qualification in arms is not even a requirement in basic training.
Not to denigrate anyone, it’s just the truth.
IDC, thanks for the info.
IMHO every swinging dick in the military – yes even the swabbies – should get basic firearms qual.
There are a lot of rates that just don’t require it. An admin rating on a ship, or some other rate super far removed from anything like that doesn’t have any need to. Forward deployed admin types carry and are trained within the NECC, but in the fleet, you’d be surprised at the complete lack of need for it.
It was strange to me too, with my first exposure to the fleet. But hey, more range time for me I guess.
IDC SARC-Firearms training is provided at Navy boot camp and all Sailors shoot the M9. They have a nice FATS range and indoor life fire range. They go through quite a bit of brass there.
This is a half-assed response. One armed person, who never gets a break, goes to the head, or gets to take leave? Unrealistic. I will not go deeper into this in a public forum but I know the advice given to leadership and they are taking the cheap way out.
I had the misfortune of being sentenced to recruiting duty in a previous life. It was a shitshow and all of us literally wished to be back in Iraq.
I highly doubt they’ll follow a recruiter around during their 15+ hour work days. Sounds like they’ll just have guards available to work shifts to protect the RSS/PCS as those facilities tend to be targeted almost all of the time. That and schools won’t let armed people walk around, which is where recruiters get the vast majority of their contracts.
Carrying a civilian firearm is verboten in federal facilities, this includes recruiting offices, unless somebody is specifically appointed to be there with an issued weapon. And again it’s a practicality issue when recruiters have to interface with teachers/parents/family members/etc in the office. They don’t like talking to armed people. You can’t really conceal a weapon very well when you’re in a tailored service/dress uniform either. They have a hard enough time talking to somebody in uniform as it is. It runs contrary to the whole “building rapport with the community” thing they have to do.
Recruiters are also under a great deal of career-ending stress to perform and guns are a distraction. Alcoholism, divorce, and anti-depressants are commonplace. Fights break out behind closed doors all the time and people stay persistently angry throughout their tour. Letting them run around with guns all day/night probably isn’t the best idea.