Pete Hegseth Allows Troops to Carry Personal Firearms on Military Bases
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo Thursday allowing military service members to request permission to carry their personal firearms on military bases, naval yards, and recruitment centers. The order ends longstanding restrictions that kept most base areas off-limits for personal weapons.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday signed a directive that allows military service members to carry their personal firearms while on base, marking a major shift in military policy.
The memo directs installation commanders to approve requests from troops who want to carry privately owned weapons for personal protection. Previously, most military bases kept large portions of their facilities off-limits to personal firearms, with exceptions only for specific circumstances like hunting or storage in base housing.
The new policy applies to all types of military installations, including Army and Air Force bases, naval yards, and military recruitment centers. Service members will need to request permission from their commanders rather than automatically being allowed to carry weapons.
Military bases have historically maintained strict control over firearms as a security measure. The policy change comes as military leadership under Hegseth moves toward giving troops more personal protection options on installations.
Commanders will now need to develop procedures for processing and approving personal carry requests from service members under their command.
This changes decades of military policy that heavily restricted personal weapons on bases. It could affect safety and security for hundreds of thousands of troops and their families who live and work on military installations across the country.
Installation commanders must implement new procedures for processing personal firearm carry requests from troops.
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