Over the weekend, Delaware National Guard officials removed their off-base recruiters from their offices after a deadly shooting that killed five military members in Chattanooga, Tennessee last week.
National Guard recruiters in Dover, Glasgow and Newark will continue working elsewhere while state officials assess how to better secure their off-base facilities.
Lt. Col. Len Gratteri says last week’s shooting exposed what could be security risks should anyone try to storm any of the three locations in Delaware.
“Right now, they’re soft targets, so we’re going to try to harden them the best we can. We’re going to employ some other safety measures and we once we feel that it’s safe to put them back in there, we’re going to have them back out. It’s very important for us to be out in the community,” Gratteri said.
He notes there are several options available to the agency, but that he can't discuss specifics.
“You can cover the windows with a bulletproof film. We’re working with local law enforcement. They’re going to step of their patrols of the area,” Gratteri said.
No timeline has been set for when recruiters might return to off-base facilities.
Gov. Jack Markell (D) spoke with Adjutant Gen. Frank Vavala several times over the weekend about the plan and says he has his “full support” in implementing it.
Vavala opted not to arm recruiters as several other states have. Gratteri says another option may be to station an armed guard instead.
Last Thursday, 24-year-old Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez killed four Marines and a Navy petty officer during two shootings at military sites and later died in a shootout with police.