[Mil.com] WASHINGTON -- The Army has warned its recruiters to treat the gun-toting civilians gathering at centers across the country in the wake of the Chattanooga, Tenn., shooting as a security threat.Er huh...what about at Walmart, the gas station, or Our Savior's Lutheran. Are those armed fellas 'security threats' as well? Should we call the police ?
Soldiers should avoid anyone standing outside the recruiting centers attempting to offer protection and report them to local law enforcement and the command if they feel threatened, according to a U.S. Army Recruiting Command policy letter issued Monday.
Just a WAG, but something tells me the guy in the photo is 'off-duty' law enforcement. In addition to the Oakley's, guns and gear, check out the bottled water and soft drinks reflected by the window. I'd wager he didn't buy those.
Armed citizens -- some associated with activist groups and militias -- were standing vigil outside recruiting centers in Wisconsin, Georgia, Tennessee, Idaho and elsewhere this week, saying they want to provide protection to service members barred from carrying firearms on duty. Four Marines and a sailor were killed by Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, a 24-year-old Kuwait-born native of Tennessee, during an attack Thursday on a strip mall recruiting center and a Navy facility that is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
Abdulazeez fired into the front of the recruiting station but there were no casualties. The five servicemembers were killed during an attack on the Navy Operational Support Center. A Navy officer and a Marine reportedly fired at the gunman, although it is unclear why they were armed. It is against Defense Department policy for anyone other than military police or law enforcement to carry weapons on federal property.
"I'm sure the citizens mean well, but we cannot assume this in every case and we do not want to advocate this behavior," according to the Army Command Operations Center-Security Division letter, which was authenticated by the service.
Why am I not surprised. We simply can't have citizens doing voluntarily what the gov't is supposed to do, but fails, at great cost.