Hegseth Memo Presumes Approval for Troops’ Personal Firearms on U.S. Bases, Citing Recent Base Shootings
Hegseth signed a memo, announced in a video on X, directing commanders to permit troops to carry privately owned firearms on U.S. bases with a presumption that carrying is “necessary for personal protection” and requiring any denial to be explained in detail and in writing. He cited recent base shootings — including a 2025 Fort Stewart attack he referenced — to justify the change, while critics such as Brady senior counsel Tanya Schardt warned loosening a policy that dates to the George H.W. Bush era and long required secure on‑base storage could increase suicides and other gun violence amid Pentagon data showing active‑duty suicide rates rose from 2011–2024 (despite a 2024 dip).
📌 Key Facts
- Hegseth released a video on X and signed a memo that presumes approval for troops to carry privately owned firearms on U.S. military bases, framing the change as grounded in the Second Amendment and saying carry is presumed ‘necessary for personal protection.’
- The memo requires commanders to provide detailed, written explanations whenever they deny a service member’s request to carry a personal firearm on base, tightening the practical standard for denials.
- Hegseth cites recent base shootings, including a 2025 Fort Stewart, Georgia incident in which an Army sergeant used a personal handgun to wound five soldiers, as part of his justification for the policy change.
- The move reverses long‑standing practice dating to the George H.W. Bush era, under which personal firearms were generally kept in secure storage on base and only checked out for hunting, ranges, or other limited uses, with military police usually the only armed personnel outside training areas.
- Advocates for gun safety, including Brady senior counsel Tanya Schardt, pushed back, noting data that most active‑duty suicides involve personally owned firearms and warning that loosening base rules will ‘undoubtedly’ increase suicides and other gun violence.
- Coverage places the memo within Hegseth’s broader agenda to roll back what he calls ‘woke’ policies in the military—changes to equal opportunity, grooming and fitness standards, ties to some graduate programs, DEI‑related library directives, and Chaplain Corps reforms.
- Reporting links the policy rollout to a newly released Pentagon report showing active‑duty suicide rates gradually increased from 2011 to 2024 (with a dip in total suicides in 2024), a statistic cited in discussions for and against the change.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2023, Black service members comprised 16.8% of the active-duty U.S. military, compared to 13.6% of the U.S. civilian population, indicating an overrepresentation.
DOD's 2023 Demographics Report Indicates More Women, Fewer Separations — war.gov
In 2023, women made up 18.5% of active-duty U.S. military personnel, up from previous years, with a female-to-male ratio of 1 to 4.6.
DOD's 2023 Demographics Report Indicates More Women, Fewer Separations — war.gov
The 2019 Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting was carried out by a Saudi national trainee, resulting in 3 deaths and 8 injuries, classified as a terrorist attack.
Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting — Wikipedia
The August 2025 Fort Stewart shooting involved an Army sergeant who shot 5 soldiers, with the perpetrator seeking 'suicide by cop' in a domestic-related incident.
Fort Stewart sergeant testifies he sought 'death by cop' in shootings — AOL
The March 2026 Holloman Air Force Base incident was a domestic shooting where a civilian woman shot at a service member before killing herself.
Woman shoots at service member, kills herself at Holloman Air Force Base — El Paso Times
Between 2020 and 2025, there have been multiple shootings on U.S. military bases, including incidents at Grand Forks AFB (2020), Fort Stewart (2025), and others, ranging from isolated events to mass casualty attempts.
How common are US military base shootings? A look at recent attacks — USA Today
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Confirms via Hegseth’s video that denials of personal-firearm carry requests must be explained in detail and in writing by commanders, not just generally justified.
- Explicitly frames prior bases as ‘effectively’ gun‑free zones except for military police, training, or hunting/range use, quoting Hegseth’s own language.
- Details specific example of a 2025 Fort Stewart, Georgia shooting where an Army sergeant used a personal handgun to wound five soldiers before being tackled, which Hegseth cites in his justification.
- Notes that the current restrictive personal‑weapon policy dates back to the George H.W. Bush era and outlines standard check‑in/check‑out procedures for personal firearms under the old regime.
- Includes pushback from Brady’s Tanya Schardt stressing that most active‑duty military suicides involve personally owned weapons and warning that loosening base rules will ‘undoubtedly’ increase suicides and other gun violence.
- Connects the policy rollout to a newly released Pentagon report showing active‑duty suicide rates have gradually increased between 2011 and 2024, despite a dip in total suicides in 2024.
- Hegseth, in a video on X, explicitly frames the new policy as grounded in the Second Amendment and says he is signing a memo directing commanders to allow troops to carry privately owned firearms on base with a presumption that carrying is ‘necessary for personal protection.’
- He states that any denial of a service member’s request to carry a personal firearm must be explained in detail and in writing, tightening the practical standard for commanders.
- The piece adds pushback from Brady senior counsel Tanya Schardt, who notes Pentagon leaders and senior brass have opposed loosening the Bush‑era policy, cites data that most active-duty suicides involve personally owned firearms, and warns the change will ‘undoubtedly’ increase gun suicides and other gun violence.
- The article clarifies prior policy practice: personal firearms generally had to be kept in secure storage on base and checked in/out for hunting areas or ranges, with MPs usually the only armed personnel outside training or controlled areas.
- The CBS piece situates this memo within Hegseth’s broader campaign to unwind what he calls ‘woke’ policies, including changes to equal opportunity, grooming and fitness standards, efforts to cut ties with certain graduate programs, directives to target DEI‑related books in base libraries, and recent Chaplain Corps reforms.