Concealed carry for all current service members (CAC holders)?

Yes, I think current military and veterans (who are allowed by federal law) should be allowed to carry. Threats to the nation are increasing and we all took the oath. If carrying overseas is mandatory, carry at home should be optional.

I think that military members should be allowed to take a course which allows on and off base concealed carry. It should be federal level approval, issued at the local level. I currently have NO CCL because my LES says I am an Illinois resident (for tax purposes), however, I own a home, have 2 cars, a motorcycle, an ATV, and a camper registered in MT...so the local sheriff department says I am an "out of state" and do not qualify. I have talked to other county departments and have been told that in the same situation, if I lived in their county, I would have it no problems. I can't get UTAH, because they say I must already have a CCL from the state of residence (mailing address) and when I included a letter describing my issue they denied me anyway. THANKFULLY, I can legally carry in the car on trips and I open carry when in the forest/woods/camping/fishing/etc.

They should still have to follow state and local laws regarding age restrictions, but other than that, I can agree that most of us Soldiers and other branches have a very strict discipline when it comes to weapons and safety and when and where to use their right of self defense.

... federal law ... why we even talk about this?

If only we train our armed force a lot more on "armed", maybe then people will allow us to carry for "self defense".

Lots of comments here on RallyPoint about the training level needed for military members to be allowed to carry concealed in whatever state they are stationed in, or on base.

You don't need to be a pistol "expert" to safely and effectively carry a pistol for self protection. I make my current living partly from firearms training. NRA Training counselor, NRA Pistol Trainer for 7 years now. I can confidently say that the *minimum* skills necessary to be safe in public can be taught in a day. The judgement for when to use it can be introduced in a day and requires lifelong commitment to master. We've all been exposed to most of this already.

It's honestly much harder to master the physical skills and judgement necessary for driving a car than to carry a pistol in public. Most people do benefit *quite a bit* from attending training, even most military folks need some brush-up on fundamentals of pistol safety and operation. They also need to explore the concept of carrying "concealed" as opposed to as part of their duty gear, and ROE for being in a civilian self-defense situation.

However, let's take off our asshats for a second and rather than worrying about commanders' individual *liability*, start thinking about command *responsibilities* like force protection. (I know, "crazy talk".)

Would you rather depend upon the judgement of a relatively untrained individual who felt the sheepdog call strongly enough to raise their right hand and sign a blank check to the people of the United States of America, or would you rather have them disarmed with a target on their chest?

There will be mistakes. But we work in the Profession of Arms. We are meant to take risks on behalf of our society. If you want "safety", go be an accountant. If you're more worried about your career than your troops, you don't belong here.

As a retiree, I would like to carry on post also.

No. I am retired military AND a North Carolina Concealed Carry Instructor. I agree that they have had lots of weapons training, HOWEVER, in North Carolina a fourth of the class MUST BE about NC Law. LAW about what happens IF you use Deadly Force, your ROE if you will. Because, make no mistake friends, IF you resort to Deadly Force, it is WHEN you go to court NOT IF you go to court. It is critical that concealed carry holders KNOW the ROE.

It depends, I think the first must meet requirements to even use the weapon. Just because they are military doesn't mean they know how to first; take care of the weapon and secondly use the weapon properly.

A CAC should not be the only qualifying factor. The M9 and rifle qualifications are a joke. They do not simulate a realistic scenario and they teach bad habits. Just because you can score well on them, it doesn't mean that you are safe with the weapon aystems. I wish I had a quarter for every time an "expert" pointed a gun at me. If a serviceman is going to carry (open or concealed) they should be trained better than what our "standard" is now.

If a service member has reason to believe that they are in danger, then they should apply for a CCW just like the rest of us. Most states make it relatively simple to gain a CCW. If the service member lives in a state like California, Maryland , Jersey, NY, etc that make it very difficult to get a CCW, then I believe that some changes to laws would be necessary to help the SM get his permit. SMs shouldn't just be given a permit based only on the fact that they are on active duty.