A shooting that injured five soldiers at one of the country’s largest military bases on Wednesday has resurfaced questions about a long-standing army policy that largely prevents service members from carrying personal weapons on military installations.

Soldiers in the area who witnessed the shooting at Ft. Stewart in Georgia “immediately and without hesitation” tackled the shooter to subdue him before law enforcement arrived, Brigadier Gen. John Lubas said at a news conference Wednesday.

But they didn’t have firearms to shoot back because of a policy first enacted decades ago to ensure safety by limiting armed members on army bases to military police. The suspect in the shooting, logistics Sgt. Quornelius Radford, used a personal weapon, Lubas said.

Questions about why soldiers didn’t h

See Full Page