Must move recruiters, Guard told

Gov. Asa Hutchinson directed the head of the Arkansas National Guard on Monday to temporarily empty the state's nine National Guard storefront recruiting centers because of concern about the possibility of an attack.

An executive order issued Monday also directs Maj. Gen. Mark Berry, adjutant general of the state National Guard, to arrange for local law enforcement agencies to make regular security checks at all National Guard locations.

Hutchinson signed the order in response to Thursday's deadly attack at two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn., where four Marines were killed. A sailor injured in the shooting rampage died of his injuries Saturday.

"The State of Arkansas will take any and every measure available to protect and secure military personnel against attacks," the order reads.

The order follows a message Hutchinson sent the adjutant general Friday evening, asking Berry to arm full-time soldiers and airmen.

Governors in at least seven other states have issued similar orders or asked their state military leaders to identify possible security threats.

Berry began discussing a security plan with the governor's office soon after the Chattanooga attack. Specifics of the plan will not be publicly released, but it includes arming some full-time personnel with state-owned weapons, said Lt. Col. Joel Lynch, Arkansas Guard spokesman.

Each guardsman, not including chaplains, is trained and qualified to use either an M4 carbine or M9 pistol. Starting this week, the guardsmen selected to be armed will receive more weapons training and instruction on use of force, Lynch said.

"We'll learn how to shoot better and know when to shoot, to make sure we make a good choice," Lynch said. "That will be in our recipe for how to attack this problem."

Guardsmen selected to carry weapons come from a group of approximately 500 full-time soldiers and airmen who work at the state's recruiting stations and 62 armories.

Col. Jeff Wood, judge advocate general for the Arkansas Army National Guard, pointed to a Defense Department policy as the basis for which Hutchinson has the legal authority to arm some guardsmen.

Qualified personnel can carry weapons during duty when "there is reasonable expectation that DoD installations, property, or personnel lives or DoD assets will be jeopardized if personnel are not armed," says Defense Department directive 5210.56.

Because the soldiers and airmen are on Title 32 full-time duty and paid with federal funds, Wood said, they fall under the policy's purview.

The directive states that military personnel "have the inherent right to self-defense."

Some law enforcement agencies have already been asked to check National Guard facilities -- something that "will be part of the way we just do business from now on," Lynch said.

Little Rock police spokesman Lt. Steve McClanahan said Friday that the department had increased patrols at Arkansas National Guard facilities in the city.

He said officers are keeping "an eye out for anything suspicious in the area."

On Monday, a total of about 20 soldiers and airmen from the state's nine recruiting offices packed up their computers and other supplies and moved to nearby National Guard armories.

Recruiters will work temporarily out of the armories for what Lynch said would be "a matter of weeks or less."

The state operates two Air National Guard recruiting centers -- one in Little Rock and the other in Fort Smith -- and seven Army National Guard recruiting centers, which are located in Jonesboro, Jacksonville, Sherwood, Little Rock, Conway, Fort Smith and Fayetteville.

"The reason for the temporary relocation is to make sure these recruiting centers are adequately protected from drive-by shooting scenarios -- as have previously occurred in Arkansas and elsewhere," says a statement accompanying Hutchinson's executive order.

National Guard recruiting facilities are under a separate chain of command from others in the state that recruit for the active-duty military, such as the Little Rock location that was the target of a fatal attack in 2009.

In that attack, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, a convert to Islam, opened fire at the Little Rock Army-Navy Career Center on Rodney Parham Road. U.S. Army Pvt. William "Andy" Long, 23, of Conway was shot and killed, and Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, then 18, of Jacksonville was wounded.

The U.S. military has directed active-duty recruiting centers to step up security by increasing surveillance and taking basic steps such as closing blinds at the offices, The Wall Street Journal reported. Active-duty recruiters have not been authorized to carry weapons in their centers, a move that would require higher action.

Some lawmakers have announced their support for legislation that would allow service members to carry firearms at active-duty recruitment centers.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter ordered a review of security procedures at military facilities and said he wants a report this week.

After Thursday's attack, Lynch said it was "no secret that the military has become a target across the nation."

In the Chattanooga shooting, a gunman identified as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, opened fire at a recruiting center and then a U.S. Navy operational support center. Police shot and killed Abdulazeez. The correct spelling of his name was still in dispute, with federal officials and records giving at least four variations.

Officials said they are investigating the attack as a possible act of terrorism.

Among those killed was Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, a Russellville High School graduate. According to his obituary published by Chattanooga Funeral Home on Monday, Wyatt, 35, was born in Morganton, N.C., and grew up in Ozark and Russellville. His mother and stepfather, Deborah and Martin Boen, live in Atkins, and a sister, Dawne Trent, lives in Conway.

Wyatt, a husband and father of two, joined the U.S. Marine Corps after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks and served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Chattanooga shooting prompted governors in Oklahoma, Indiana, Louisiana and Texas to authorize some guardsmen to be armed. Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered a review of security at the state's recruitment centers and moved recruiters into armories.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley also asked their National Guard leaders to review security procedures.

In a written statement Friday, Hutchinson said he wanted to join those who had already called for heightened security measures.

"We've had numerous instances of attacks," he said in the statement. "Clearly they are a target, and for us to have unarmed military personnel makes no sense."

Metro on 07/21/2015

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