Blake Hall
In a move that shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been living in the United States for the past few years, the U.S. Navy is getting ready to implement a plan to place armed sailors at the branch’s many recruiting stations all across the country.
The goal? To protect service members, civilian personnel and potential recruits from harm, after an internal investigation discovered that recruiting stops and reserve facilities are real targets for domestic plotters and lone wolves aimed to strike the military.
More on the broad security measure from American Military News:
The guards will be trained uniformed sailors that are placed there strictly for security, not recruiting purposes. Immediately after the Chattanooga shootings, Fleet Forces head Adm. Phil Davidson, ordered armed guards to begin patrolling all 71 of the Navy’s reserve centers, called Navy Operational Support Centers. Military officials hope that armed guards at recruiting stations will be a more permanent solution.
Cmdr. Dave Aliberti, policy branch head for Fleet Forces Command’s anti-terrorism, stated that the plan is in the final stages of preparation before being implemented.
The [guards] will not be authorized to respond to crime in the area of the stations, which falls under the jurisdiction of local police and is prohibited by law. Several lawmakers called for service members, specifically recruiters, to be allowed to carry their personal firearms to work so they could respond to an attack. Aliberti claims that the idea was looked at in detail but it is not being considered at this time. They cited concerns about armed military personnel causing confusion among local police as the reason for not allowing recruiters to carry.
The U.S. military is also saying publicly that the men and women tasked with securing these recruiting and reserve centers will also receive intensive anti-terrorism training. Also, a digital notification system will be built and utilized to alert the military community of all immediate threats in real-time.