<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<b><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://tinyurl.com/j3ojjv2">http://tinyurl.com/j3ojjv2</a> </b><br>
<br>
FBI Data Belies Air Force Claim That Open Carry Stops 'Many'
Shooters<br>
<br>
<div class="articleImage"> <img
src="cid:part1.08000905.09020701@frontier.com"
alt="Servicemembers stationed at Minot Air Force Base, N.D.,
fire handguns at an indoor shooting range. (Air Force/John
Farnell)" title="Servicemembers stationed at Minot Air Force
Base, N.D., fire handguns at an indoor shooting range. (Air
Force/John Farnell)" height="400" width="600">
<div class="articleImgCaption">Service members stationed at Minot
Air Force Base, N.D., fire handguns at an indoor shooting range.
(Air Force/John Farnell)</div>
</div>
<div class="byline"> <img class="logo"
src="cid:part2.06050007.01060305@frontier.com"
alt="Military.com" title="Military.com"> <span
class="timestamp">Jan 24, 2016</span> <span class="divider">|</span>
<span class="byline">by Bryant Jordan</span> </div>
<p>FBI data on the number of active shootings thwarted by armed
citizens appears to contradict an <a
href="http://www.military.com/air-force">Air Force</a> argument
for authorizing off-duty airman to open-carry and conceal-carry
weapons while on base.</p>
<p>In a reminder to commanders on Wednesday, Maj. Keith Quick, an
Air Force Security Forces Integrated Defense action officer said
national data analyzed by the Air Force showed that "many
[active-shooter incidents] ended without police intervention
because there was somebody there who had a concealed carry permit
or somebody interdicted the active shooter."</p>
<p>But the data, which the Air Force said came from the FBI, states
that only 5 of the 160 active-shooter incidents between 2000 and
2013 -- or 3.1 percent -- ended "after armed individuals who were
not law enforcement personnel exchanged gunfire with the
shooters."</p>
<p>The FBI report can be found <a
href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/september/fbi-releases-study-on-active-shooter-incidents/pdfs/a-study-of-active-shooter-incidents-in-the-u.s.-between-2000-and-2013">here</a>.
An Air Force spokeswoman on Friday said the officer may have used
other data, which officials are now trying to identify.</p>
<p>Across the country, there are discussions, especially after mass
shootings, over whether having more civilians armed would prevent
mass killings by deranged gunmen or terrorists.</p>
<p>National Rifle Association Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre
Jr. famously advocated for armed civilians by claiming that "the
only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a
gun."</p>
<p>The Air Force programs permitting base commanders to allow
qualified airmen to carry weapons on base, on and off duty, were
prompted by specific attacks on military installations, including
one in July 2015 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that left four Marines
dead and a sailor wounded.</p>
<p>The gunman, a Kuwait-born naturalized U.S. citizen, was shot and
killed by police.</p>
<p>Following that attack, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter directed
the service secretaries to beef up armed security, including at
facilities off base.</p>
<p>In December, Air Force Secretary Deborah James, referencing the
Chattanooga attack as well those at <a
href="http://www.military.com/base-guide/">Fort Hood</a>, Texas,
in 2009 and at the Washington <a
href="http://www.military.com/navy">Navy</a> Yard in 2013. <a
href="http://www.military.com/army">Army</a> psychiatrist Maj.
Nidal Hasan, who would admit to jihadist sympathies, killed 13 and
wounded more than 30. At the Navy Yard, former Navy employee Aaron
Alexis killed 12 people before turning the gun on himself.</p>
<p>"In the wake of [those attacks], we worked closely with DOD, the
Joint Staff and other services to identify and provide effective
and long-lasting force protection enhancements," James said.</p>
<p>The Air Force has three programs intended to enhance security
through conceal-carry or open-carry by qualified airman. All
require the approval of unit commanders and the authority of the
base commander.</p>
<p>The programs are the Unit Marshal, the Security Forces Staff
Arming and Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act, and the Law
Enforcement Officer Safety Act -- the latter a federal statute
established for civilian police but now available to service
members through their commanders.</p>
<p>Some will allow for conceal carry and others for open carry. In
all cases the airmen have to be properly trained and qualified
with the weapon. Unit level commanders may request the armed
credentialing for their airmen but the base commander is the
approving authority.</p>
<p>"We take the safety of our service members, civilians and their
families who support them seriously and continue to examine ways
to make our installations and facilities safer."<br>
</p>
<p><b><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://tinyurl.com/j3ojjv2">http://tinyurl.com/j3ojjv2</a> <br>
</b></p>
<p><b>Again, t</b>he FBI report can be found <a
href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/september/fbi-releases-study-on-active-shooter-incidents/pdfs/a-study-of-active-shooter-incidents-in-the-u.s.-between-2000-and-2013">here</a>.<br>
</p>
<p><br>
Ken<br>
<br>
</p>
</body>
</html>