In response to the shooting at the Navy Operational Support Center in Chattanooga, TN, some commentators have expressed the opinion that we cannot guard against lone wolf terrorist killers.
One way to guard against these killers is to arm U.S. military officers and senior enlisted personnel at U.S. military bases.
Our military people are trained in firearms and firearm safety. They are as skilled, as qualified, and as responsible as police officers. Many of our military people are also experienced with deadly force, having served in combat zones around the world.
Had our military people been armed, the shootings in Chattanooga and at Fort Hood and the Washington Navy Yard would have ended differently. The victims would not have waited those critical minutes for the base police to respond. Had our military people been armed, there would have been less victims and the shooters would been shot dead by military people moments after they opened fire.
Arming responsible military people will make soft military targets like the reserve center and recruiting office in Chattanooga a good deal harder.
But I don't expect our military people to be armed any time soon, considering this administration's history of risk-adverse policies.
Note: I spent nearly all of my working life on Navy ships, Navy bases and Defense Department depots. I specialized in security work and at the Navy base in Philadelphia where I spent the last ten years of my more than 37 years of combined U.S. Navy/Defense Department service, I oversaw and helped develop the security programs that ensured our military and civilian personnel's safety - especially after 9/11.
I'm proud to say that no one was killed or seriously injured on my watch.
