Pete Hegseth to allow troops to carry personal weapons onto military bases:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that he will allow service members to carry personal weapons onto military installations, citing the Second Amendment and recent shootings at bases across the country.
In a video posted to X, Hegseth said he is signing a memo that will direct base commanders to allow requests for troops to carry privately owned firearms “with the presumption that it is necessary for personal protection.”
He said any denial of a service member’s request must be explained in detail and in writing.
“Effectively, our bases across the country were gun-free zones,” Hegseth said.
“Unless you’re training or unless you are a military policeman, you couldn’t carry, you couldn’t bring your own firearm for your own personal protection onto post.”
Questions about why service members lacked access to weapons have often emerged following shootings on the nation’s military bases.
Such shootings have ranged from isolated events between service members to mass casualty events, such as the shootings by an Army psychiatrist at Texas’ Ford Hood in 2009 that left 13 people dead.
Hegseth cited some of the events in his video, including a shooting that injured five soldiers at Fort Stewart in Georgia last year. --->READ MORE HERE
Pete Hegseth signs memo opening door for troops to carry personal firearms on bases
Hegseth cited recent tragedies at Fort Stewart, Holloman Air Force Base and Pensacola Naval Air Station
War Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo on Thursday ordering a major shift in base security policy, allowing service members to request permission to carry personal firearms for self-defense amid growing concerns about threats on U.S. installations.
In an announcement on social media, Hegseth said all American citizens have a God-given right under the Second Amendment to carry weapons for protection.
However, he said that right has not been extended to uniformed service members, who are "trained at the highest and unwavering standards."
"These war fighters, entrusted with the safety of our nation, are no less entitled to exercise their God-given right to keep and bear arms than any other American," Hegseth said. "Our war fighters defend the right of others to carry. They should be able to carry themselves."
Citing recent tragedies at Fort Stewart, Holloman Air Force Base and Pensacola Naval Air Station, Hegseth said the incidents have "made clear" that "some threats are closer to home than we would like."
"In these instances, minutes are a lifetime, and our service members have the courage and training to make those precious short minutes count," he said. "Before today, it was virtually impossible … for War Department personnel to get permission to carry and store their own personal weapons aligned with the state laws where we operate our installations."
While service members can already own personal firearms, concealing and carrying a weapon was previously not permitted on federal sites — including military installations.
Those who owned personal weapons had to register their guns with base authorities and storage was often controlled by the installation. --->READ MORE HERE
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