Pentagon plan: Personal guns, firearms allowed on base

U.S. troops may soon get to bring personal firearms on base, thanks to a Pentagon directive released late last week.

“Arming and the Use of Force” was published Nov. 18 by the Department of Defense. The document, approved by Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work, gives military commanders, O-5 and above, the ability to grant “permission to DoD personnel requesting to carry a privately owned firearm (concealed or open carry) on DoD property for a personal protection purpose not related to performance of an official duty or status.”

Second Amendment advocates have argued for years that such a policy would have saved lives during the Nov. 5, 2009, massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, or the  July 16, 2015, shootings near military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

“Written permission will be valid for 90 days or as long as the DoD Component deems appropriate and will include information necessary to facilitate the carrying of the firearm on DoD property consistent with safety and security, such as the individual’s name, duration of the permission to carry, type of firearm, etc.,” the document continues, Military Times reported Monday.

The Pentagon’s directive is noteworthy since Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley was publicly against allowing servicemembers the ability to carry personal firearms on post.

“I’ve been around guns all my life. I know how to use them, and arming our people on our military bases and allowing them to carry concealed, privately owned weapons — I do not recommend that as a force protection,” the officer said April 7, 2016, during an appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Applicants for the Pentagon’s new policy must be 21 years of age or older, and they must own a concealed handgun license that is valid under federal, state, local or host-nation law where they are stationed, the website reported.