The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are rolling out new firearms restrictions on foreign troops in the wake of December’s killings at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
A hunting-license loophole used by a Saudi officer in 2019, which resulted in the death of three sailors, is officially closed.
Foreign troops assigned to Navy and Marine Corps bases will no longer be allowed to possess personal firearms as of April 15 and May 1 for the respective services, Military.com reported Monday.
The new rules, which also apply to adult family members of international troop, prohibit the possession, storage, usage, transportation, carrying, purchase, or sales of personally owned firearms.
“Failure to do so will result in immediate expulsion from training or school, and orders generated for immediate transfer back to their home country, to include accompanying family members,” the Marine Corps stated.
The Marine Corps already had made two other policy changes in response to the Dec. 6 killings — one restricting the movements of foreign troops assigned to its bases and another allowing more of its own troops access to personal weapons on-base.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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