End The Ban

We live in a world where Soldiers, trained in armed combat, are prohibited from carrying a firearm on post. Notice, I didn't say "are not required" as if they have an option. I said "prohibited" as in, not even if they want to. 

One of Bill Clinton's first acts as President after taking office in 1993 was to disarm American servicemen on US Military bases... he then proceeded to GUT the US military (by the way)... closing base after base, forcing senior servicemen into retirement in droves.... no wonder he wanted those bases disarmed.

But this was 20 years ago and the world has changed DRAMATICALLY. Our military installations are now targets for terrorism, and still, our soldiers are disarmed at home.

There are two possible reasons for this. One, the military and government are hiding the truth. A decade of war has left our armed forces filled with people who are mentally damaged and pose a danger to themselves or others. I don't believe that by the way. I think our fighting men and women are still some of the most steel nerved and honorable people on the planet. 'Love the solider' even if you 'hate the war' has always been my motto.

The second possible reason our military installations have remained gun free zones? Perhaps something more sinister... destroying morale and readiness or even opening our military bases up to attack from the inside, something we have in fact seen more and more frequently.

MAYBE the pressure of forcing women into combat roles, allowing serious breaks in unit uniformity like turbans, and corn rows, attacks on Christianity on base, gay and lesbian servicemen, maybe all of that is geared toward increasing the pressure within the ranks, at highlighting differences instead of concentrating on unit cohesion... creating the gas filled room only waiting for a spark... and then, in the gun free zone... everyone becomes a target.

I'm not, by the way, saying gays and women and people who wear turbans SHOULDN'T serve. I'm saying that a time tested tradition in the military is the concept of 'unit cohesion' or 'fighting as one'. When the military becomes a hodge podge of personal differences, you destroy unit cohesion and weaken our fighting forces.

In 2009 Muslim Major Nidal Hassan ambushed his fellow soldiers at Ft Hood, killing 13 and wounding 30 others. As a result, the restrictions on carrying a weapon on base were expanded, and still the base has seen a rash of suicides, and now, another attack.

Ask a solider about his or her rifle. What it means to them, what it symbolizes. And now realize we've got troops at Ft Hood who consider that base to be a COMBAT zone, and we have disarmed them. And we wonder why they are struggling. Mass killings where defenseless soldiers had to stand by and watch their friends murdered.

Time after time after TIME murder sprees occur in GUN FREE ZONES, be it movie theater, public malls, or military base.

So right here. Right now. I issue the call: President Obama, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, if you are true Americans, concerned about the safety and security of the men and women who defend this Nation from ALL enemies, foreign AND domestic... end this ban.

Allow our men and women who serve to defend themselves at home. Since we very clearly cannot protect our soldiers from harm, the least we can do is allow them the tools to protect themselves.