"When the governor speaks, we march."
--A spokesman for the Arkansas National Guard
Who's carrying? Who's not? Who's full-time? Who's on drill? Who's been trained? Who has just joined the Arkansas National Guard and hasn't even been to Basic yet?
Let the crazies, or jihadists, try to figure that out. And the harder it is for them, the better for everybody else--especially for the military that's protecting the rest of us.
Hundreds of National Guardsmen in this state have begun training on when and where to use firearms on duty. Not how, necessarily. They've been taught how--and how. Ask any one of them about those hot summer days on the firing range. They know from locking and loading.
But selected full-time soldiers in the Guard will now carry weapons at their side even when not at the range. Soon after the attack in Chattanooga on July 16, in which the shooter killed four Marines and a sailor at a couple of military sites, Governor Asa Hutchinson ordered it so. And the Arkansas National Guard takes his orders seriously.
So earlier this week Guardsmen packed into a classroom at Camp Robinson to learn more about when and where to unholster their M9 pistols. When should they fire? When should they call 911 and wait for the cops? Scenario after scenario, threat after threat, special circumstance after special circumstance. And anybody who's been in the military can tell you the training isn't over. It never is.
The military--the United States version or our Guard units--should never be soft targets. As the governor said a few days ago, having an unarmed military unit just doesn't make sense. What makes sense is having a few captains and first sergeants in each outfit armed and trained.
Who's carrying? Who's not? Who's full-time? Who's not?
Let the crazies or jihadists try to figure that out.
And here's wishing them all the bad luck.
Editorial on 08/01/2015