The Devil Is In The Details

Yesterday, I reported that Maj. Gen. Max Haston, the Adjutant General of the Tennessee National Guard, had authorized the carry of firearms by Guardsmen and Air Guardsmen while on duty. That, on the face of it, was and is a great leap forward in protecting the men and women of the Tennessee Guard from terrorists of all stripes.

However, as they say, the devil is in the details. Thanks to a Tennessee blogger who wishes to remain anonymous so as to protect his source I have those details. The key points as he summarized them are:

Here are some of the restrictions:

• The carried weapon must “meet identical or nearly identical specifications of the M9 Beretta service pistol or smaller”, and the local Commander gets to decide what that means. No revolvers or derringers.
• .380, 9mm, .40, and .45 only
• It must be carried in a holster that is “identical or nearly identical to the service-issued holster” worn on either the right or left hip. 
• While not explicitly stated, it appears that open carry is not allowed.
• You may only have one.
• No carry in Government Vehicles or Storefront Recruiting Stations. This basically means that Recruiters–the ones being targeted–are effectively not allowed to carry.
• You may only carry in ACUs or Class A uniforms. 
• Class A uniform carry is only allowed if you don’t print and won’t be required or expected to remove the jacket later. 
• ACU carry is only allowed if blouse remove is not authorized. So if you’re on kitchen duty, you’re not allowed to carry even if you don’t take off your blouse, because blouse removal is authorized in that scenario. Same thing if it’s more than 85 degrees.
• You are carrying as authorized by the Handgun Carry Permit statutes. As such, you’re not allowed to carry in schools or businesses that post 1359 signage.

The document you are required to sign before being allowed to carry places these additional restrictions:

• While not in the actual orders, the paper that the soldier is required to sign requires them to carry with no magazine in the weapon. I have confirmed with my source that this is, indeed, the intention of that language.
• Only allows carry on “authorized Military Department State properties”, ie, not while in uniform (while out) in the general public.

The key document is the Personally Owned Weapons Policy, ver. 4, which I have embedded below. In addition, here is the link to the document that must be signed and to the announcement sent to members of the Tennessee Military Department (NG and ANG).