Governors order National Guardsmen to be armed after attacks
Published 9:40 am Monday, July 20, 2015
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Governors in at least a half-dozen states ordered National Guardsmen to be armed in the wake of an attack on two military facilities in Tennessee, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott went a step further Saturday by immediately relocated recruiters to armories.
In an executive order, the Republican governor said he wants Guard recruiters to move from six storefront locations into armories until state officials can evaluate and make security improvements, including possibly installing bullet-proof glass or enhanced surveillance equipment.
Scott ordered the Guardsmen to be armed, as did governors in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Indiana.
Security for the recruiting centers has come under scrutiny since the Tennessee shootings because some people believe they are too vulnerable. U.S. military officials have said security at recruiting and reserve centers will be reviewed, but the Army’s top officer, Gen. Ray Odierno, said it’s too early to say whether the facilities should have security guards or other increased protection.
Scott, however, said during an interview with CNN that recruiting centers could be targets and that’s why he wants the National Guard moved until officials are “comfortable” that they will be safe.
“We’ve got to understand that you know we have people in our country that want to harm the military,” Scott said. “They need to be safe and they need to be armed.”
As governor, Scott oversees the Florida National Guard and can act without federal involvement. He ordered officers to make sure all full-time members of the guard are armed “in the interest of immediately securing Florida National Guardsmen who are being targeted by ISIS.”
The Tennessee attacks have not been linked to the Islamic State group. Authorities have called their probe a terrorism investigation and said they were looking into the gunman’s overseas travel and whether he was inspired or directed by a terrorist group.