Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
1-3-2020

The US Airforce commander of the 55th Wing at Offutt AFB has instituted a new policy on the base. Beginning January 2, 2020, the commander has directed that the transportation of privately owned firearms on Offutt Air Force Base, with few exceptions, will be prohibited. This means personnel with lawful concealed handgun permits will no longer be able to carry a personal firearm on the base.

Our armed forces on the base are now un-armed forces.

I disagree with the commander’s policy change. In it he states, “…the commander’s intent for this change is that firearms will be effectively controlled and safely handled on Offutt AFB and is reflective of the full confidence in the 55th Security Forces Squadron’s ability to defend the installation and its personnel.”

Apparently our warfighters can only be trusted to “effectively control and safely handle” a firearm when they are deployed to a combat zone. People on the base need to know that when seconds count, the military police are only minutes away.

Infringing upon the constitutionally-protected rights of any American is alarming. In light of recent events where lawfully armed citizens prevented horrific tragedies, such as the recent church shooting in Texas, this policy change is simply astonishing. I hope he re-considers this decision and restores these rights immediately. It is well within his authority to do so.

It’s my hope he could take a lesson from the US Marine Corps. Recently, Lieutenant General George Smith, Deputy Commandant, for Plans, Policies, and Operations, announced that the Marines were changing their policy following the December shootings at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola and at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii. He said, “These tragic events prompted Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) to accelerate existing efforts to develop concealed carry policies.”

Nearly every day there is another example of how restricting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans does absolutely nothing to reduce or stop gun violence. Instead, we see example after example of a lawfully armed citizen preventing or stopping a mass shooting. Perhaps I am wrong and there are in fact good reasons not to trust military personnel on Offutt AFB to responsibly carry a gun. If that is true, then I fear there are problems far deeper than just this policy. Let’s not forget, the military personnel at Offutt AFB are in charge of America’s nuclear weapons. One would think they could be trusted to carry a pistol.

Please contact my office with any comments, questions or concerns. Email me at; tbrewer@leg.ne.gov. Mail a letter to; Sen. Tom Brewer, Room #1101, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509 or call us at (402) 471-2628.

Note to Editor: Senator Brewer is a retired Army Colonel. He is a decorated, combat-wounded veteran of multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, and was once stationed at Offutt AFB serving the Secretary of Defense aboard the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) aircraft based there.