{"id":2587811,"date":"2026-04-06T19:08:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/finally-thanks-to-pete-hegseth-american-servicemen-are-no-longer-sitting-ducks-on-their-own-bases\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T19:11:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:11:06","slug":"finally-thanks-to-pete-hegseth-american-servicemen-are-no-longer-sitting-ducks-on-their-own-bases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/finally-thanks-to-pete-hegseth-american-servicemen-are-no-longer-sitting-ducks-on-their-own-bases\/","title":{"rendered":"Finally: Thanks to Pete Hegseth, American Servicemen Are No Longer Sitting Ducks on Their Own Bases"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffinally-thanks-to-pete-hegseth-american-servicemen-are-no-longer-sitting-ducks-on-their-own-bases%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2587811&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that American service members will be allowed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gun-free-zones-like-fort-stewart-invite-mass-shootings\/\" title=\"Gun-Free Zones Like Fort Stewart Invite Mass Shootings\">carry privately owned firearms<\/a> on U.S. military bases, reversing the long-standing gun-free policy. A new <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >memo directs installation commanders<\/a> to consider requests for personal protection to carry, with a presumption in favor of approval and written reasoning required for any denial. Hegseth argues that citizens\u2019 rights come from God and are protected by the Second Amendment, and that trained service members should have the same ability to protect themselves, their families, and their fellow service members. He notes that bases have historically been \u201cgun-free zones\u201d outside training or military police, making it difficult to carry. The article presents the policy change as common sense and aligned with the bill of Rights, arguing that gun-free zones can be vulnerable to attacks and that allowing law-abiding personnel to carry could deter mass shootings.It references public reactions and social media posts in support of the shift.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced late last week that American service members will once again be allowed to carry personal firearms on U.S. military bases.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our great republic was founded on a simple, yet bold idea. Our rights as citizens are not granted to us by government, but instead, by God,&rdquo; Hegseth said in a video posted to the social media site X on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Second Amendment to our Constitution enshrines the right of all citizens to carry weapons to protect themselves, their families, and their fellow countrymen,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;The War Department&rsquo;s uniformed service members are trained at the highest and unwavering standards. These warfighters, entrusted with the safety of our nation, are no less entitled to exercise their God-given right to keep and bear arms than any other American.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth cited recent terrorist attacks against military bases, noting that &ldquo;in these instances, minutes are a lifetime.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And our service members have the courage and training to make those precious short minutes count,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The former Army National Guard infantry officer explained that it was &ldquo;virtually impossible for War Department personnel to get permission to carry and store their own personal weapons&rdquo; on U.S. bases.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Effectively, our bases across the country were gun-free zones. Unless you&rsquo;re training or unless you are a military policeman, you couldn&rsquo;t carry,&rdquo; Hegseth declared. &ldquo;You couldn&rsquo;t bring your own firearm for your personal protection onto post.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth announced that this is &ldquo;no longer&rdquo; going to be the case.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Our military installations have been turned into gun-free zones&mdash;leaving our service members vulnerable and exposed.<\/p>\n<p>That ends today. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IQ204YepZ0\">pic.twitter.com\/IQ204YepZ0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecWar\/status\/2039803944965185634?\">April 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The memo I&rsquo;m signing today directs installation commanders to allow requests for personal protection to carry a privately owned firearm, with the presumption that it is necessary for personal protection.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If a request is for some reason denied, the reason for that denial will be in writing and will explain in detail the basis for that direction,&rdquo; Hegseth concluded. &ldquo;Again, the presumption is service members will be able to have their Second Amendment right on post.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This is a no-brainer. If citizens are entitled to carry firearms for personal protection, why not service members?<\/p>\n<p>They&rsquo;re trained in how to operate weaponry, can handle life and death situations, and are prepared to go to war at a moment&rsquo;s notice.<\/p>\n<p>If personal firearms are safe in the hands of an average American, then members of the military shouldn&rsquo;t be denied that same protection.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, advertising that a building, military base, or designated area is a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-best-way-to-prevent-school-shootings-is-armed-staff\/\" title=\"The Best Way To Prevent School Shootings Is Armed Staff\">gun-free zone&#038;rdquo<\/a>; is foolish, and can backfire drastically.<\/p>\n<p>Those who support such measures tend to virtue signal and brag about how it helps prevent violence, even when the reality is quite the opposite.<\/p>\n<p>If a potential mass shooter were scouting a target, they would be more likely to attack a place where they knew their victims couldn&rsquo;t fight back.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, if they tried to perpetrate an act of violence among people who were legally carrying firearms, they&rsquo;d likely find themselves on the business end of a weapon that would neutralize them completely.<\/p>\n<p>This could be the reason we&rsquo;ve seen so many shootings at schools, movie theaters, houses of worship, government buildings, and college campuses. These institutions, even if they are well-intentioned, are telegraphing to mass shooters that they will face little resistance if they choose to carry out an assault there.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s always better to have some insurance by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/more-lies-on-concealed-carry-and-violence\/\" title=\"More Lies on Concealed ... and Violence\">allowing law-abiding citizens<\/a> to carry weapons for personal protection, especially service members.<\/p>\n<p>Once again, Hegseth is applying common sense to military regulation and is wisely citing the Bill of Rights to get it done. It doesn&rsquo;t get much simpler than that.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a concise paraphrase of the main article content (excluding the embedded code and UI elements):<\/p>\n<p>Late last week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that American service members will again be allowed to carry privately owned firearms on U.S. military bases. He argued that citizens\u2019 rights are God-given, not government-granted, and that the Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms for personal protection of oneself, one\u2019s family, and fellow citizens. He pointed to terrorist attacks on bases, where every minute counts, and said trained service members should have the ability to defend themselves. He noted that it used to be almost impossible for War Department personnel to obtain permission to carry or store personal weapons on bases, effectively turning bases into gun-free zones. He said this policy is changing, directing installation commanders to consider requests for personal protection to carry a privately owned firearm, with the presumption that such possession is necessary for personal protection; denials must be in writing with detailed reasoning. The overarching message is that service members should enjoy the same Second Amendment rights on base as civilians.<\/p>\n<p>The piece argues that allowing armed service members is common sense, given their training and readiness to handle life-and-death situations. It contends that if ordinary citizens can carry for personal protection, service members should be able to as well. It criticizes gun-free zones as potentially signaling vulnerability to mass shooters, suggesting that armed, law-abiding individuals could deter or counter attacks. The article frames the change as a straightforward, Rights-based policy move that aligns with the Bill of Rights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2587812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-04-06T174913.902.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4505,23344,71172],"class_list":["post-2587811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-military","tag-national-security","tag-pete-hegseth-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-04-06T174913.902.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2587811"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2587815,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587811\/revisions\/2587815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2587812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2587811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2587811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2587811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}