Should Military Police Soldiers be allowed to carry concealed weapons on post?

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 12:05:29 -0400

Should Military Police Soldiers be allowed to carry concealed
weapons on post?

In 2004 Congress enacted the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act that allows two classes of persons the
"qualified law enforcement officer" and the
"qualified retired law enforcement officer" to carry a concealed firearm in any
jurisdiction in the United States, regardless of state or local laws,
with certain exceptions.

In 2013 LEOSA
was amended and contained language which further clarified that Military Police
Officers (enlisted and officers) and civilian police officers (DACP) employed by
the U.S. Government unambiguously met the definitions in the original Act. DoD
released a directive this year for all the services to implement LEOSA and
allow MPs (and retired MPs), with a “Police ID card” to carry in all 50 states.

My understanding is that by the end of the year DA will start issuing ID cards
to most MPs. MPs will have to have at least 2 years law enforcement experience
to apply for the ID card. It is also my understanding that Military Bases will
still be “gun free zones” and MPs will not be able to carry on post unless they are
performing law enforcement duties (working the road).

There has been a lot of
discussion that Soldiers should be allowed to carry on post. As a Soldier and a
Citizen I am torn on what the right answer is when it comes to allowing
Soldiers to carry on post. But by allowing qualified MPs on and off duty to
carry, it creates a “reserve force” in the case of another active shooter.
While this might not have prevented the Lopez shooting since it happened in a
unit area. It might have prevented or neutralized the Hassan shooting earlier,
since he started shooting at an SRP site. It would be prevention at a place
like the PX or Commissary. In no way would this open up weapons in the
barracks, since Soldiers would still have to store their weapons in the arms
room.

Since there is 2 year law enforcement experience required, and an age
requirement (21) to own a pistol, most junior Soldiers (E1-E3) would not
qualify. In a standard large post like Fort Drum or Fort Carson there is
usually 1 BN of MPs and a separate companies worth scattered though out the
DIV. (one PLT per BCT, plus PMO cells). With the 2 year LE experience, there
would be a few hundred MPs allowed to carry (200-300, I'm gessing, counting Senior NCOs and
officers). Commanders would still have the authority to confiscate police creds
for any MP that is under investigation (art 15, court marshal stuff like that),
facing chapter or is generally “pulled from road duty”.

What is everyone’s opinion on LEOSA and MPs on base? Good idea, or a bad idea?