Fort Bragg officials increase awareness of weapons policy

Fort Bragg, N.C. — In response to the November shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead, Fort Bragg officials are trying to increase awareness of its weapons registration policy

The policy applies to military personnel and civilians who enter Fort Bragg or travel on the post.

“Under the current regulation, all military or civilian personnel that bring privately owned firearms onto Fort Bragg are required to register the weapon with the provost marshal’s office,” Fort Bragg Emergency Services Director George Olavarria said in a release on Tuesday. “This applies regardless of the person’s status. Personnel who are traversing the installation without entering through an access-control point are not required to register their weapons.”

A state-issued concealed handgun permit does not allow owners to carry their concealed weapons on Fort Bragg.

“Under no circumstance will the transportation of loaded or concealed handguns, shotguns or rifles be permitted on post, except by duly authorized law enforcement personnel or by military personnel in the performance of their official duties,” Olavarria said.

Infrequent travelers are not required to register their weapons on post but are subject to being searched, according to officials.

Weapons can be registered at the All-American Expressway access-control point; in the basement of the Soldier Support Center; at Gavin Hall in the 82nd Airborne Division area; at McKellar’s Lodge Hunting and Fishing Center; and at the Fort Bragg Clay Target Center.

To register a weapon, personnel are required to bring their military identification cards or any other government-issued identification, along with the weapon’s caliber, type, model number, finish and manufacturer.

“Do not bring the firearm into the registration office,” Olavarria said.

Ammunition being transported on post must be stored separately from the cased and unloaded firearm, Olavarria said.

Military personnel who don’t comply with the rules are subject to judicial or non-judicial punishment, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Civilians and other government employees who don’t comply could face prosecution in federal court and possibly be barred from post, referred to civilian authorities or subject to disciplinary and administrative action.

Maj. Nidal Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the Nov. 5 attack at Fort Hood, Texas.

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a possible drill for the fort hood massacre is as follows:

coordinate with the pentagon to make sure things don't get out of hand. make sure all (known) firearms on base are properly accounted for and their owners are secured.

pick an arbitrary location on base and fire off about six blanks. lose the gun.

a satisfactory completion of the drill would include the return of your weapon and a summary of what happened, including your role in it.

any cowboys that think they are going hunting may be interpreted as real bad guys. there appears to be a wisdom to the policy. the problem is identifying friend and foe.

it somehow seems inappropriate to characterize a special ops soldier as a sitting duck.

goldeagle
December 30, 2009 7:32 p.m.

My dad retired from the Army in 1980 after 30 years of service. And in all Forts he was in, you cannot carry a private weapon unless it is registered. In some cases like overseas bases, they must be locked in the unit's weapons room.

As for the other part of the article, there a a couple of major roadways that go all the way thru Ft Bragg. If you are using that road as a thruway, then you don't have to register the weapon.

chfdcpt
December 29, 2009 6:38 p.m.

This policy was in effect at Ft Hood. It meant that the targets were unarmed and had to wait for security officers from elsewhere while being shot. Not the way soldiers dream about going.

Viewer
December 29, 2009 5:53 p.m.

i'm not real good at understanding the military, but my interpretation is: 1. guns go in one location, either clearly visible or not easily accessible. 2. *ALL* ammunition goes in another location, clearly separate and removed from the first location. 3. if you go thru an access control point, they want to know about all firearms, whether they search you or not. if you hang around the base with guns much, they might not mind knowing about it even if you don't go thru the control points. 4. don't push your luck with the military. getting shot at is part of the job, and they're not necessarily allowed to solve the problem that is shooting at them, but they're only supposed to get shot at by the other side. there's a war going on and they're jumpy right now.

what did i miss?

goldeagle
December 29, 2009 5:00 p.m.

“Under the current regulation, all military or civilian personnel that bring privately owned firearms onto Fort Bragg are required to register the weapon with the provost marshal’s office,”. and then we read; "Infrequent travelers are not required to register their weapons on post but are subject to being searched, according to officials." ------------------------------------------------------------ so with great military clarity we now know that "all military or civilian personnel" must register weapons unless they are "Infrequent travelers". what constitutes "infrequent" and what part of "all" don't they understand? clear as mud everyone?

dbcooper41
December 29, 2009 3:54 p.m.