NAS Pensacola attack: Base security act may be rolled into national defense budget

Kevin Robinson
Pensacola News Journal

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott's proposal to enhance vetting and increase security around foreign students training on U.S. military installations is being considered as part of the overall defense budget.

Scott put forward the Secure U.S. Bases Act after a flight student from the Royal Saudi Air Force killed three people and wounded eight others in a shooting spree Dec.6, 2019, at Naval Air Station Pensacola. Subsequent investigations found the gunman had spent years planning the attack in collaboration with al-Qaeda and that his personal social media accounts contained anti-American rhetoric and jihadi ideology. 

In light of the government's failure to flag the student as a danger, federal and military officials have committed to making the screening and security controls for foreign trainees much more comprehensive.

"When something like this happens, you have to sit back and say, 'OK, is there something you can do to change this? Is there something you can do to make sure it doesn't happen again?' and you do everything you can to stop it," said Scott, R-Fla. "So we started looking through what this individual's vetting process was, and what I did is, hopefully, propose a way to prevent this."

In this Nov. 5, 2019, file photo, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., questions FBI Director Christopher Wray during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.

► NAS Pensacola shooter had ties to al-Qaeda dating back to 2015, FBI says

► New security measures include continuous vetting of foreign military trainees after arrival

The Secure U.S. Bases Act calls for thorough vetting of prospective foreign students seeking training on U.S. military bases, as well as screening of their immediate family members and ongoing monitoring of their activities once they arrive in the U.S.

Foreign trainees would have prominent visual markers on their government-issued IDs, and their base access would be limited to facilities directly related to their education and their authorized destinations.

Scott's legislation complements security enhancements implemented by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper earlier this year following a base-wide review of safety protocols early this year.

"We recently worked with Secretary Esper and the Department of Defense to make sure we got their feedback and they are supportive of what we're doing," Scott said. "Secretary Esper is very focused on security. ... He's been supportive of this, they took it seriously, and so I'm very optimistic this is going to get through with the National Defense Authorization Act."

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The front gate at NAS Pensacola is closed after a shooting Dec. 6, 2019, that left four dead, including the gunman, and eight others injured.

The National Defense Authorization Act is the country's national defense and national security budget. It is set for $740.5 billion in the 2021 fiscal year. Scott said there is no funding appropriation attached to the Secure U.S. Bases Act. 

The act could potentially be altered or stripped out of the NDAA as the House and Senate fine-tune it in the coming weeks, but Scott said his hope is the act and the NDAA would be approved and sent off to the president by August.

"Hopefully we'll get to the point where if you're on a base or right next to a base, you're going to feel more safe and actually be more safe," Scott said.

Kevin Robinson can be reached at krobinson4@pnj.com or 850-435-8527.