Secretary Hegseth authorizes off-duty troops to take personal firearms onto military bases
FORT BLISS, Texas (KVIA) -- The U.S. Department of War (DOW) and the Pentagon announced Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo directing military installation commanders to allow service members to request to carry privately owned firearms while off-duty on DOW properties in the country.
"Before today, it was virtually impossible for War Department personnel to get permission to carry and store their own personal weapons, aligned with the state laws where we operate our installations. … Well, that's no longer," Hegseth said during a social media video posted Thursday.
"The memo I'm signing today directs installation commanders to allow requests for personal protection — to carry a privately owned firearm — with the presumption that it is necessary for personal protection," Secretary Hegseth added.
Secretary Hegseth also said the Constitution's Second Amendment applies to all Americans, including those in uniform.
"The War Department's uniformed service members are trained at the highest and unwavering standards. These warfighters — entrusted with the safety of our nation — are no less entitled to exercise their God-given right to keep and bear arms than any other American," Secretary Hegseth said.
The DOW's announcement also says that Hegseth cited several active-shooter incidents on U.S. military installations in recent years as examples of when personnel having the ability to return fire on the threat could have potentially reduced the human damage inflicted.
He specifically mentioned the Dec. 9, 2019, terrorist attack at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, which killed three men and injured eight others; the Aug. 6, 2025, shooting and wounding of five soldiers by one of their fellow soldiers at Fort Stewart, Georgia; and the shooting of two individuals — one whom died — at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, on March 17.
The DOW also said, "The memo to senior Pentagon leadership, defense agency and War Department field activity directors titled 'Non-Official Personal Protection Arming on Department of War Property,' states that the new policy is consistent with section 526 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016."
"The memo goes on to state that the undersecretary of war for intelligence and security will be responsible for updating War Department Manual 5200.08 — the document that lays out physical security measures for DOW, and that will authorize permitting officials to review service member requests to carry personally owned firearms," the department added.
ABC-7 has reached out to Fort Bliss for comment
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