(FORT JACKSON, Aug. 28, 2015) In the wake of the July 6 shooting of Service members in Chattanooga, Tennessee, several states have rushed to allow their troops to carry weapons to defend themselves.
By July 30, governors of Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin had ordered their Guardsmen to be armed. North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory recently signed a similar bill into law.
After a lengthy study, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley issued Executive Order 2015-18 last week, ordering upgraded security at Guard installations and allowing certain Guardsmen to carry concealed weapons while in uniform.
Despite the order, S.C. National Guard members cannot carry concealed weapons on federal bases.
Such weapons are "strictly prohibited on federal installations," said Fred Vasquez, head of Fort Jackson's physical security office.
When someone acquires a concealed-carry permit, he receives a list of places where he cannot take a weapon -- and that list includes federal buildings and installations, Vasquez said.
Fort Jackson Regulation 190-11, which supplements Army Regulation 190-11, states that weapons must be registered at the weapons registration office. Those improperly bringing weapons onto the post risk confiscation of their weapons and personal confinement.
Guardsmen must follow federal rules and regulations, said Lt. Col. Cindi King, director of public affairs for the S.C. National Guard.
"We are still complying with federal policies," she said.
Guardsmen cannot carry concealed weapons onto Fort Jackson, or onto McCrady Training Center or McEntire Joint National Guard Base, either, because they abide by Department of Defense policies, she said.
Only those specially trained by the State Law Enforcement Division may carry weapons into armories and Guard facilities when carrying out force-protection responsibilities, she said.
Gov. Haley's order will allow the S.C. National Guard to better protect its more than 65 facilities statewide, King said. It gave the Guard "authority" to put protection measures into place and to work with SLED to begin arming select personnel at those facilities.
State Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Robert Livingston, South Carolina's top military official, called such measures "proactive, realistic and sustainable."
Some of the changes include placing additional barricades and increasing security checks.
The S.C. National Guard routinely reviews and updates its own protection measures, just as all military facilities have done since 9/11 and in wake of the recent escalation of terrorist attacks and threats to military and law-enforcement personnel, King said.
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