Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has ordered military installation commanders to give uniformed service members a clearer path to carry privately owned firearms on War Department property in the United States while off duty, directing officials to review applications with a “presumption of approval.”
The move is significant because Congress already required the Pentagon in 2015 to establish a process by which commanders may authorize a service member assigned to an installation to carry an appropriate firearm if the commander determines it is necessary as a personal- or force-protection measure.
Hegseth’s new memo appears aimed at changing how that authority is applied in practice by shifting the burden toward approval rather than denial.
In a video released Thursday, Hegseth said the old system made it “virtually impossible” for personnel to receive approval to carry and store personal firearms on installations in a manner aligned with state law.
Our military installations have been turned into gun-free zones—leaving our service members vulnerable and exposed.
That ends today. pic.twitter.com/IQ204YepZ0
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) April 2, 2026
He said commanders must now presume such requests are necessary for personal protection, and any denial must be issued in writing with a detailed explanation.
Hegseth tied the policy shift to recent violence on military installations. In the Pentagon release, he cited the 2019 terrorist attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola, the August 6, 2025 shooting at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and the March 17 shooting at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, arguing that armed service members could potentially reduce the damage in fast-moving attacks.
The directive does not create a blanket right to carry everywhere on base. Instead, it tells permitting officials to review personal-carry requests under a favorable standard and requires any rejection to be individualized, objective, and documented.
The memo also assigns the undersecretary for intelligence and security to update Manual 5200.08, which governs physical-security policy across the department.
The Pentagon is included, but with limits. The policy requires the Pentagon Force Protection Agency to apply the same presumption of approval to personal-carry requests, while stopping short of allowing personal carry inside the building itself.
The memo instead provides for fair consideration of requests to store a privately owned firearm in a vehicle on the Pentagon Reservation.
The practical effect of the change will depend on implementation across the services and at individual installations. But the core shift is clear: the law already allowed commanders to approve armed service members on base; Hegseth is now ordering the system to treat those requests as presumptively valid.
