Following a shooting last month by a Royal Saudi Air Force officer that left three U.S. sailors dead at Naval Air Station Pensacola, tensions remain at the Florida base between local military families and the Saudi student officers who are still posted there.
“It’s something the command is aggressively working on,” Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told reporters this week while visiting the base that, along with U.S. military personnel, also trains hundreds of foreign military pilots.
Base officials are looking into increasing patrols on base, both moving and stationary, to give military families and student officers a renewed sense of confidence in their security.
Second Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani was killed by law enforcement officers who responded to the violence. After going through the evidence and conducting about 500 interviews, FBI officials concluded it was a terror plot and that the gunman was motivated by anti-U.S. and anti-Israel propaganda, officials said.
A search of Lt. Alshamrani’s belongings later uncovered a legally-purchased handgun and several ammunition magazines. U.S. officials said Saudi Arabia recalled 21 of their students from Pensacola after jihadi literature and child pornography were found in their belongings.
The Defense Department will start taking a larger role in the vetting of foreign military students who come to the United States to train. In the past, the State Department and the student’s home country took on the responsibility but that’s about to change, officials said.
The Defense Department inquiry will closely examine every aspect of the student’s life, including monitoring their social media presence.
“It will also involve continuous monitoring once they’re here. All foreign students will undergo these procedures,” Secretary Esper said.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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