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[The Air Force said Wednesday installation commanders will be authorized to implement three programs that grant some service members the right to carry weapons, giving their bases additional security.The programs commanders may implement are the Unit Marshal, Security Forces Staff Arming, and Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act, the Air Force said in a release. The Air Force is focusing on new protocols following various mass shootings on installations, most recently, on a recruiting station and a Navy Reserve Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“None of these programs gives the installation commander authorizations they didn’t already have the authorization to do,” Maj. Keith Quick, Air Force Security Forces Integrated Defense action officer, said in the release. “We are now formalizing it and telling them how they can use these types of programs more effectively.”
Quick said the service looked at active-shooter statistics across the country and many incidents “ended without police intervention because there was somebody there who had a concealed carry permit or somebody interdicted the active shooter.”
“These programs allow commanders the ability to arm additional trained airmen who could interdict before police arrive and are trained to stand down when police arrive,” he added.