Answers
1. Honoring state CCWs on military installations could reduce the FP posture of those installations. Is the additional Antiterrorism/Force Protection rapid response capability afforded by soldiers carrying their own personal weapons concealed on post likely to result in more Hassan wannabes defeated or more soldiers killed or wounded by themselves or other soldiers?
2. The fact that American police are generally armed has nothing to do with whether active duty soldiers should be generally armed in garrisons in CONUS.
3a. I don't know what the average American expects. The American Armed Forces have a wide variety of machines with which to kill people and break things. Only the Army and Marine Corps arm most of their troops with individual weapons.
3b. Who really cares what the average American prefers? The Army is not a democracy.
4. If my preferences were a matter of major concern, I would prefer not to be there that day. Commanders decide where and when they want their troops armed. A disciplined force cannot allow large numbers of junior soldiers to pack their own privately-owned heat under their ACU's whenever they feel like it.
5. No. "Lone wolf shooter" attacks have always been rare, but not unknown. How rare are they, really, and how much nut roll should we go through to predict/prevent/mitigate them?
Bookmarks