Troops Can Carry Personal Weapons on Bases

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced this week that he plans to allow U.S. service members to bring personal firearms onto military bases, pointing to constitutional rights and past incidents of violence on installations as reasons for the change.

In a video posted Thursday on X, Hegseth said he had signed a memo instructing base commanders to approve requests from troops who want to carry privately owned guns. The directive states that such requests should generally be assumed necessary for personal protection. If a commander denies a request, the decision must be explained clearly and put in writing.

Current Defense Department rules generally prevent military personnel from carrying personal weapons on base unless a senior commander grants permission.

Hegseth said the previous approach effectively left many installations operating like gun-free zones. He explained that unless a service member was taking part in training exercises or serving as military police, they were not allowed to carry their own firearm on base for personal defense.

Debate over the policy has intensified after several shootings on military installations in recent years. These incidents have ranged from disputes between service members to large-scale attacks. One of the most well-known cases occurred in 2009 at Fort Hood in Texas, where an Army psychiatrist carried out a shooting that killed 13 people.

Hegseth also referenced a more recent incident at Fort Stewart in Georgia last year. In that case, five soldiers were wounded when an Army sergeant assigned to the base used his personal handgun before other soldiers subdued him and authorities arrested him.

Military bases currently maintain strict procedures for handling privately owned firearms. Service members typically must store personal guns in secured facilities and check them out only when heading to approved locations such as on-base hunting areas or shooting ranges. Afterward, the weapons must be returned to storage. Outside of those settings or training exercises, military police are usually the only personnel carrying loaded weapons on base.

Critics of loosening the rules argue the policy change could create new risks. Tanya Schardt of the Brady gun violence prevention organization said Pentagon leaders and military officials have historically resisted altering the restrictions, which date back to a policy established during the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

Schardt pointed out that many active-duty service members who die by suicide use personally owned firearms and warned that broader access to weapons on bases could increase suicides and other forms of gun violence.

In a statement, she said military installations are already among the most secure properties in the country and should not be considered gun-free zones. She added that if violent crime is becoming a problem on bases, the defense secretary should inform the public and explain what steps are being taken to address it.