The military plans to increase security at recruiting stations and reserve centers, following the shooting rampage in Chattanooga, Tennessee, last week that left five service members dead, two defense officials told NBC News on Monday.
Adm. Bill Gortney, the head of U.S. Northern Command, sent a directive Sunday night identifying measures to be taken, the officials said.
The officials could not discuss the nature of the security measures — but they did say that the measures will not include arming personnel at off-base facilities like the ones attacked in Chattanooga.
The Army chief of staff said last week that recruiters are not armed because of the 1878 law that prevents the military from engaging in domestic law enforcement. He also said it would raise the possibility of accidents.
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Asked why Gortney decided to make the changes, one official said that the military is “definitely concerned with homegrown violent extremists,” and that “an additional attack is always possible.”
Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, opened fire at a recruiting station and a Navy and Marine reserve center on Thursday. Four Marines and a sailor were killed.
The governors of at least six states have ordered National Guardsmen armed, and Florida will move its Guard recruiters from storefronts, like the one attacked in Chattanooga, to armories.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said Sunday on “Meet the Press” that he would order a review of security at state military facilities.
Additional reporting by Erin McClaim
Jim Miklaszewski
Courtney Kube