Hundreds of Arkansas National Guard soldiers were tested Tuesday on how and when to use firearms some will now carry at Guard installations across the state.
Guard leaders held the training to comply with an executive order Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued July 20 in response to the deadly shooting at military facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn. In the order, Hutchinson directed the head of the Arkansas National Guard to arm guardsmen with the purpose of protecting themselves and others in an attack.
It's the first time Arkansas soldiers have been ordered to carry firearms while on regular duty at state facilities.
"We haven't experienced this type of threat before, where it seems to be growing such that it really compelled us to take action," said Lt. Col. Jason Carter, state judge advocate for the Arkansas National Guard. "I think that's why we saw the reaction we did out of the governor's office, and we've moved as quickly as possible to comply. When the governor speaks, we march."
Guardsmen selected to carry firearms come from a contingent of full-time soldiers who work at the state's nine storefront recruiting stations and 55 armories, said Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Joel Lynch. They will take turns carrying M9 pistols while on duty.
Packed into a classroom Tuesday morning at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, about 110 soldiers learned the types of situations in which they would use their firearms and when they should call law enforcement agencies.
The scenarios escalated in threat level to the last example of an armed civilian fighting with a soldier and reaching for his weapon, which was said to be one instance when a firearm might be used. Other scenarios involved protesters, people filming military installations or arguments among soldiers.
Afterward, the soldiers were tested at a firing range to become qualified to carry pistols.
Another 150 soldiers were tested later Tuesday. Hundreds more guardsmen were to receive instruction today and Thursday at Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center in Fort Smith.
Carter, who taught Tuesday's classes, repeatedly told the soldiers to "protect, not pursue." Carter said "there's always that risk" of accidents when people are armed but that he's confident the soldiers "are going to do the right thing."
In addition to the initial training, he said, guardsmen will get refresher courses periodically.
"What it allows us to do is to arm ourselves, to protect ourselves and to do it in a way that is going to be consistent with the rules of use of force, so the citizens are confident we're not going to unlawfully use force," Carter said. "We're not going to be excessive. We're just going to protect ourselves."
The governors of at least eight other states ordered some of their National Guard forces to be armed since the Chattanooga attack July 16, when four Marines and a sailor were killed in a shooting rampage at a recruiting center and a naval reserve center.
Officials have said they are investigating the killings as possible terrorism.
The Defense Department has not taken action to arm active-duty servicemen at federal military installations, although the shooting prompted some lawmakers to call for it. In a statement issued Friday, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter is reviewing recommendations from all military services on making U.S. facilities safer.
Besides arming troops, Hutchinson also ordered Mark Berry, adjutant general of the state Guard, to close temporarily the state's nine National Guard storefront recruiting centers and to arrange for law enforcement agencies to check regularly on all Guard locations.
Lynch said Tuesday that the state's recruiting centers would remain closed until further notice. Carter said the storefront locations may be opened again when there's less risk.
Staff Sgt. Rachel Bryant of Conway sat on the sidelines of the shooting range Tuesday, waiting for her turn to be tested on the M9 pistol.
Bryant worked at the National Guard recruiting center in Conway before she was ordered last week to pack up her computer and printer and relocate to the armory.
Bryant said she had "felt safe" at the Conway recruiting center, which the Conway Police Department patrolled regularly. But the ability to carry a weapon on duty -- or have other armed guardsmen around her -- makes her feel safer.
"I think it's great. In my honest opinion, it's about time," Bryant said. "It makes us feel more secure with our job. You never know what kind of situation you're going to run into."
Retired Col. Mike Ross is a former commander of the state Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade who sat on the joint terrorism task force at the FBI's Little Rock office after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He praised Hutchinson's decision to arm some state troops, saying U.S. military facilities have become a target.
"That sends a strong message to people, and hopefully it will be a deterrent," Ross said. "The threat is there, and it's not going away."
Metro on 07/29/2015