WATCH: Pete Hegseth pulls trigger on whether or not service members can carry guns on military bases

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Thursday that he is lifting the ban on service members carrying personal firearms on U.S. military bases.

Base rules generally did not allow service members to openly carry personal firearms on base. Under Hegseth’s new directive, base commanders must approve service members’ requests to carry personal firearms on base so they can protect themselves.

“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. Our warfighters defend the right of others to carry. They should be able to carry themselves,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth cited recent events to highlight the dangers service members can face even at home.

“Recent events like what happened at Fort Stewart, Holloman Air Force Base, or Pensacola Naval Air Station, have made clear that some threats are closer to home than we would like. In these instances, minutes are a lifetime, and our service members have the courage and training to make those precious, short minutes count,” Hegseth said. “Before today, it was virtually impossible—most people probably don’t know this—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.”

The Defense Department previously prohibited privately-owned weapons on military property, citing the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, which regulates gun-free zones on federal land.

Violent incidents on U.S. military bases highlighted the dangers that troops can face even at home. In August 2025 at Fort Stewart in Georgia, an Army sergeant opened fire with his personal handgun, injuring five fellow soldiers before being tackled.

At Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, an active-duty airman was shot in March during a domestic-related dispute, leaving their civilian partner dead. In 2019 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, a Saudi trainee carried out a terrorist attack, killing three service members and wounding eight others, underscoring the need for service members to defend themselves.

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