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Posted on 04/05/2026 6:12:40 AM PDT by MtnClimber
When I served in the USAF as a security policeman, we were among the very few airmen or officers allowed to carry weapons on base. There are the “rivet counters,” airmen armed with rifles—M-16s back then, M4s now—who guard aircraft, missiles and related installations. And there are traditional police officers who in those days carried S&W Model 15 “Combat Masterpiece” .38 Special revolvers. We were issued 18 rounds of lead, round -nosed .38 special ammunition, and no speed loaders. Alert aircrew were allowed to carry revolvers, but only when climbing aboard their bombers and other aircraft.
Then, as now, most military bases are protected by nothing more than chain link fences and the few military cops who try to cover enormous tracts of open land. Sure, there are several gated access points on bases, IDs are checked and there are a few other security measures, but searches of persons or vehicles are uncommon, and dangerous military members, like criminals everywhere, don’t obey the law, particularly not while contemplating mass murder.
Most Americans don’t know this. Our continental US—CONUS—bases, repositories for everything from pistols to heavy weapons to nuclear weapons, are scarcely safer than blue cities where Democrats do everything they can to strip the law abiding of arms while simultaneously coddling criminals. Aware of the issue, the first Trump Administration talked about doing something about it but didn’t follow through. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, is following through.
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
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About time.
The first Trump administration attempted to do this, but were blocked by military bureucrats using the technique:
Defiance through Compliance
A small gesture, IMHO. You are required to submit a written request just to keep a gun inside your military home. Or to carry it concealed. And those of us who are retired? Can’t even ask for permission to CCW.
So if I go to town and need to visit the base for some reason, I cannot even carry a gun in my car. I have to either disobey the rules (!) or be totally unarmed my entire trip. Spent most of my adult life with a TS clearance, CCW almost all the time legally now, but cannot even keep a .380 in the car while stopping to do something on the base.
I rarely use the base anymore, but I think the entire policy is STUPID!
Second Amendment is what keeps America free.
“and dangerous military members”
Huh? What? They aren’t the threat.
Also good on Secretary of War Hegseth. About time.
I spent a lot of time on a military base.
Being a LEO at the time I was given special compensation to carry on that on base.
I could never understand why our military personal. could not also carry on base.
Thanks for the article link.
This has gotta be a case of the bureaucrats running the military. What the hell good is, arguably, one of the finest revolvers on the planet and 18 rounds of ammo without a couple of speed loaders?
So please clarify, do you support the change that Hegseth has made or not?
Yes, we had a member of the military go jihad here in Texas on base.
At the time they were originally issued, dump pouches were standard in both MIlitary and civilian LE.
As Equipment progressed, the military standard of being risk averse reared its head. Speedloaders were verboten, although some special units turned a blind eye.
Some of us took to swapping the shitty standard grips out for Pachmyers every shift at the armory window (They would not allow them to be stored with non-standard grips) and sneaking our 12 spares into Bianchi speed strips to put into the dump pouch
There was always a mixed bag of “Leadership” so we had to pick and choose what we could get away with.
Then the M9 came along. Guess where those went. A standard flap holster. Piss poor for Police use, but dammit, it’s what we always used, cause that’s what my daddy used.
In the 90s, they started doing some real research into what worked. The troops have better gear now. Training as always, lags behind, but they are geting there.
Some units are even issuing standard police defensive rounds instead of the shitty ball ammo of the past. But, there’s the main stream commanders with no balls that will jabber “Geneva Convention” as a reason use substandard shit for peacetime police operation on a base.
More bad news. Secretary Hegseth’s order lays responsibility on installation commanders.
These risk averse rectums will find every bit of bureaucratic bullshit they can to make it impossible to get authorization, all while highlighting that is is authorized, really, honest.
Only way to fix it will be fore the Secretary to make a couple examples of commanders that pull that crap. I hope he does
National Cemeterys are disarmed enclaves. Time to end that.
One of the largest concerns with firearms on a military installation is suicides. Dormitory residents, especially dormitory residents at training bases (or dorming for training classes at regular bases) have a higher incidence rate than others.
The installation commander needs latitude for rules in certain scenarios.
It's one thing at an operations base were everyone is a regular assigned to a unit versus unknown trainees, especially the first time away from home and struggling with personal issues.
Given those statistics (Which I agree with), the installation commander would be justified in restricting trainees.
For the most part that is handled by current law because CHLs and handgun possession for under 21 is pretty much a no go (I know-there are exceptions)
You’re also right in that the commander needs lattitude based on circumstances.
But, experience shows that they have no ability to use that level of abstract thought and deductive reasoning. They prefer the blanket all or nothing approach.
It has been pounded into them by institutional peer pressure that “Guns are bad” and they react like good little amoebas to that stimulus.
Secretary Hegseth needs to make smarter commanders. I think he’s on the rightpath, but its gonna take some time and “Directive Improvement”
They had a field grade officer kill a bunch of soldiers on Fort Hood. I’d say he was a dangerous military member.
Have a blessed Easter.
Same to you sir
Nidal Hasan ,Major, Ft. HOOD.
During my time as an Airman first class I served with the 509th Bomb wing of the Strategic Air Command at Pease AFB,New Hampshire.
During that time I served as a close in Rivet Counter watching and protecting Class A Nuclear Armed FB-111 Medium Bombers during the Height of the Cold War. A Also served as A Patrol dog handler guarding the Base Perimeter against unauthorized penetrations of the base.
The thing I observed was that with all of the precautions we took on the base we still had violent people get on the base and if the Crap it the fan we would have had some serious issues.
Chain link fences do nothing to stop high powered ammunition and people that don’t care if they lose their lives to push a political or military issue forward.
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