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15 Feb ’12
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wonder if there will be more of this
WINCHESTER, Va. -
The horrific murder of four Marines in Chattanooga showed the vulnerability of military recruitment centers. They are in public locations, and by law, they are “gun free zones” -- meaning the military that are there are not allowed to carry their weapons.
As the country realized the Marines that were killed were unarmed at the recruiting center, people have started showing up to provide security.
At 8 a.m. Friday morning, one man decided to spend his day off standing guard outside of a military recruitment center in Winchester, Virginia.
He is not worried about another attack like Chattanooga here. But he is making a statement.
“People need to call their congressman, they need to call their senators and they need to change these laws that are on the books so these guys can protect themselves so a regular old citizen doesn't have to go out and do it,” he told us.
The man asked to remain unidentified, but he said when he heard about the four Marines killed by a terrorist in Tennessee, he thought, “Here we go again.”
“It’s fundamental Muslim extremism,” he said. “They declared war on us and we seem to not put it in perspective and realizing that the war is here.”
The military has been grateful for the symbolic support.
“I went into each office, the ones that were open, and I was received with handshakes and thank yous,” he said. “They constantly came by, and not only them, but their wives came by in tears thanking me for just being out here. They baked cookies for me and brought lunch by.”
You don't need a permit to openly carry guns in Virginia.
“The police already came by and checked me out, cleared my guns, doing their duty,” said the man. “It was all good.”
We went to two other Virginia Marine recruiting centers and found no change in security since the Chattanooga shootings.
A Marine recruiting center in Chantilly was shot at through the windows one night back in 2010. No one was injured. It was not open when we got there on Friday. It sits openly on a strip mall just like the one in Chattanooga.
But the two warning signs on the door showed the conflict the military faces now.
Bravo -- that is the warning about a heightened threat against military in the United States by the terrorist ISIS group.
Right next to it was a warning sign stating no firearms or weapons allowed inside.
A Marine recruiting center in Fairfax is not visible from the street. But you can’t miss the weapons prohibited sign on the door. The Marines working here are not allowed to have their weapons at work.
“We need to know what our rights are and not let anyone take them away,” said the man in front of the Winchester recruiting center. “Too people died for these freedoms. I’ve never been in the military. I never served as law enforcement, but I certainly am grateful for those men and women who have died in past to secure those freedoms.
15 Feb ’12
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looks like some states are changing their policies
Governors in Indiana, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma have ordered National Guardsmen to be armed. Tennessee, where five servicemembers were killed Thursday in a brutal attack on military facilities, has yet to take any action, but pressure is building for officials to do more to protect members of the military from acts of terrorism.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is allowing the Indiana National Guard to have its personnel be armed at all recruiting offices and state military facilities.
Pence issued his executive order Saturday, saying he won't let Guardsmen be unable to defend themselves and others at facilities in the state.
The governor's order also directs the state adjutant general to review ways to improve security at all Indiana National Guard facilities and recruiting offices.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin is also authorizing his state's adjutant general to arm full-time Oklahoma National Guardsmen at military facilities.
Fallin issued an executive order on Friday granting Maj. Gen. Robbie Asher the authority to arm National Guard soldiers and airmen with whatever weaponry he deems necessary to adequately provide for their safety and security.
Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz says without the state authority, National Guardsmen revert to federal policies, which call for them to be unarmed.
Fallin issued a separate executive order late Friday that calls for all American and Oklahoma flags on state property be flown at half-staff through Monday in honor of the four Marines killed at a military facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he, too, has authorized the adjutant general of the Texas National Guard to arm Guardsmen at military facilities across Texas.
"After the recent shooting in Chattanooga, it has become clear that our military personnel must have the ability to defend themselves against these type of attacks on our own soil," Abbot said. "Arming the National Guard at these bases will not only serve as a deterrent to anyone wishing to do harm to our service men and women, but will enable them to protect those living and working on the base."
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is ordering National Guard recruiters at six storefront locations to relocated to their nearest armory.
Scott announced the order Saturday. He wants a review of security at the Guard recruitment centers, possibly installing bullet-proof glass at the storefronts or video surveillance equipment.
Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Donald Trump also called for an end to a ban on service members carrying guns in military recruiting offices.
On Friday, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson authorized Arkansas National Guard Adjutant General Mark Berry to arm full-time military personnel.
In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal, another presidential candidate, issued an executive order authorizing the state's National Guard adjutant general to arm personnel at Guard facilities to provide protection.
In his proclamation, Jindal says the adjutant general should "identify and arm certain Guard personnel currently on state active duty ... as reasonably necessary to preserve the lives, property, and security of themselves and other persons subject to threat of an attack as occurred this week in Chattanooga, Tennessee."
The ban at U.S. military recruiting and reserve centers became an issue after a man killed four Marines and wounded a sailor and another Marine on Thursday at a pair of military facilities in Chattanooga.
"It seems to me that if you have military bases or recruiting offices, these are symbols of American might, they're targets," Bush said after a town hall-style event in Carson City, Nevada.
"This is how you garner attention. You go to places where there's vulnerability, and it's a very powerful symbolic attack on our country," said Bush, a former governor of Florida.
Walker, Wisconsin's governor, linked threats at home and abroad to the need to drop the ban.
"I think with ISIS now and the threats that we have not only abroad, but domestically, when our military in particular is potentially a target, we need to make sure that in places like this, a recruiting facility, they're able to be armed so our heroes are protected," Walker said.
Attending a state GOP fundraiser in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Trump said the Chattanooga shooting showed the need for ending "gun-free zones" at military facilities.
"This sick guy had guns and shot them down," the businessman and reality TV star told reporters. "These are decorated people. These are people who could have handled guns very easily. They would have had a good chance if they had a gun. ... If these Marines yesterday, the four of them, had guns they probably, at least some of them, would be with us today."
Bush said the attacks should prompt the U.S. to heighten national security and "deal with the rest of the world in a more aggressive way." He said Congress would need to act for the gun ban at recruitment centers to be repealed.
"If the Marines were armed, I think people would've known that, and if they had known it, maybe they wouldn't have come in," he said. "Who knows. I just think it ought to be reviewed, for sure."
On Friday, Gen. Ray Odierno, chief of staff of the Army, said that security at military recruiting and reserve centers would be reviewed but that it was too early to say whether the facilities should have security guards or other increased protection. He told reporters that arming troops in those offices could cause more problems than it might solve.
15 Feb ’12
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LANCASTER – No one was injured in an accidental shooting near a U.S. Armed Forces Recruiting Center on Thursday.
An armed volunteer guarding the U.S. Army Recruiting Center accidentally fired a shot just after noon, according to Lancaster police.
Christopher Reed, 28, of Lancaster, is one of the volunteers who have been guarding the Lancaster recruiting site following the shooting and killing of five service members at an unguarded recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, last week.
The volunteers were a group of citizens who are guarding recruiting centers across the country. Their goal is to not stop guarding the recruiting centers until members of the military at recruiting centers were able to arm themselves for protection.
According to a Lancaster police report, the shooting occurred between 11:30 a.m. and 12:01 p.m. outside the recruiting office, 1534 River Valley Circle.
"I was out here and was talking to a guy who wanted to look at my AR-15," said Reed in an interview with the Eagle-Gazette. "I was trying to clear the weapon and hand it over to him when it went off. I thought it was empty and must have missed it."
Reed said he had the gun pointed down at the time and the bullet hit the pavement.
"Listen, it was a mistake. No one was injured and I owned up to it immediately with the police," Reed said. "I'm glad no one was hurt. I am willing to take the punishment."
The Lancaster police report said the "only damage done was a hole in the pavement."
The police report also said that Reed had said several people "were standing in the area, but they left prior to (the police officer's) arrival and he doesn't know who they were."
Volunteers, including Reed, were back in front of the Lancaster recruiting center after the incident, many carrying sidearms and some with rifles.
Reed, carrying a sidearm Thursday afternoon, said they intended to stay in front of the recruiting station until the military could carry weapons to protect themselves.
The police confiscated the AR-15 and issued Reed a citation for discharging a firearm in the city limits, which is a fourth-degree misdemeanor. He is scheduled to appear in Fairfield County Municipal Court on July 28.
The police report indicated the police would keep his gun until he appears in municipal court.
15 Feb ’12
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and the pentagon responds
The Pentagon has urged US citizens not to carry out armed patrols outside military recruitment centres.
Civilians acting as unofficial guards have appeared outside some centres since five service personnel were shot dead last week in Tennessee.
Military personnel are generally barred from carrying firearms at recruitment centres and bases.
The Pentagon says it appreciates the support but armed civilians could pose an unintended security risk.
"While we greatly appreciate the outpouring of support for our recruiters from the American public, we ask that individuals not stand guard at recruiting offices as it could adversely impact our mission, and potentially create unintended security risks," said spokesman Peter Cook in a statement.
"We continue to partner with and rely on first responders for the safety of the communities where our service members live and work."
US authorities say 24-year-old gunman Muhammed Youssef Abdulazeez acted alone when he attacked two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee, killing five US service members.
Abdulazeez was shot and killed by police during the attack. His motive was unclear.
Since then, armed civilians - some of them members of private militias - have turned up outside recruitment centres saying they are supporting those inside.
One group appeared in Cleburne, Texas, armed with assault rifles and calling themselves Operation Hero Guard.
In Lancaster, Ohio, armed civilians were ordered off the property after one accidentally discharged his rifle into the pavement.
US officials say there is no indication of further danger to recruitment centres and the government does not intend to change the way they are staffed.
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