Self-Appointed Guardians At Military Recruiting Centers Plan To Stay ‘As Long As It Takes’

An impromptu show of support following last week’s recruiting station shootings in Chattanooga is quickly becoming a common scene around the country — men with pistols and high-powered rifles, sweating in the summer sun, acting as self-appointed armed guards. 

Federal recruiting store-fronts in Gallatin, Clarksville and Murfreesboro have attracted volunteer patrols.

So have facilities from
Texas to
Virginia.

Organizer Brandon Curran in Murfreesboro says his volunteers will stay “as long as it takes.” They want to change a
1992 federal order that bans most service members from carrying a gun on bases and in recruiting offices in the U.S. Curran grasps his AR-15 with a high capacity magazine as he explains.

“Strange that a civilian can sit outside with this kind of weapon, and [service members] can’t even put a handgun on their hip,” he says.

Like many recruiting stations, this one in Murfreesboro is in a strip mall, wedged between a Gold’s Gym and Hobby Lobby. A sign taped in the window says no guns allowed.

“That’s not only people walking in the door. That’s people working inside. When those come down, we will leave,” Curran says of the signs.

They’re preparing to stay for a while, “months,” says Curran, who has been scheduling shifts. A couple of days in, reinforcements arrive. Some are military veterans. Others are part of the Minute Men citizen militias that patrol the border with Mexico.

Timothy Pollard isn’t part of any group. He walks up and flashes his handgun carry permit.

“Just want you to know I’m trained,” he tells Curran.

Pollard says he wants to honor those in uniform, which he argues the Defense Department isn’t doing.

“You don’t honor somebody if you make them a target or a sitting duck,” he says.

These fellows get some sideways glances from passers by. After all, they’re holding what look like weapons of war on a suburban sidewalk. But most in-person reaction has been positive. Sympathizers drop off drinks and donuts.  

“Thank you guys so much for what you’re doing,” Charlotte Masek tells the crew after offering to run errands. “If I could carry a gun I would.”

Sherry Floyd drove 45 miles from Tullahoma to drop off a $20 bill. Her son, a Marine, is currently in basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina.

“This is his home recruiter, so I’m very honored, and I get it now, when the public is behind what our military is doing,” Floyd says. “This is the heart and soul of our country — people who will stand up and do what the government finds conflicting.”

Members of congress
from both parties have proposed lifting the ban so service members can carry weapons while on stateside assignments. Several governors have already acted to arm National Guardsmen in store-front locations.

A few officers, including
a general from Tennessee, have warned against knee-jerk reactions, to consider the unintended consequences. As for the recruiters themselves, they’ve been asked not to weigh in.

“Yeah, I’m not going to comment on the weapons policy because that’s not something that I’m going to have the ability to change whether or not I wanted to or not,” Murfreesboro Navy recruiter Christopher Cormier says.

But he does tip his camouflage cap to the ragtag group of civilians outside his office door.

“We love the support that we’re getting and we feel protected,” Cormier says. “It’s important for us as recruiters and just as military members to know that our community supports our cause.”

With that, the Sailor turns around and locks the door to this Navy recruiting outpost — a practice now common during business hours following last week’s deadly shooting.