COLUMBUS, Ohio — Adjutant General of Ohio, Major General Mark E. Bartman, is updating policies and training requirements for personnel at Ohio National Guard recruitment offices and reviewing all security measures at these facilities. Those updates include granting authorization for them to carry a firearm.
Ohio Governor John R. Kasich issued the instructions to update the policies last week after the Chattanooga, Tennessee shootings.
“The governor has made it very clear that we must take action to protect our members who are actively engaged in public recruitment efforts,” said Maj. Gen. Bartman. “We are updating our policies and strengthening small firearm training so that those men and women staffing our recruitment offices may protect themselves in the event of a threat.”
Last week, Ohio temporarily closed four of its Ohio National Guard “store front” recruitment offices in Painesville, Findlay, Columbus and Dayton in response to the shootings. Staff at those facilities have been moved to nearby armories.
