Senator Wants Full Review of the U.S. military programs to train foreign nationals on American soil

Senator Rick Scott released the following statement regarding the shooting at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. 

Senator Rick Scott said, “I’m extremely concerned by the reports that this shooter was a foreign national training on a U.S. military base in Florida. Whether this individual was motivated by radical Islam or was simply mentally unstable, this was an act of terrorism. It’s clear that we need to take steps to ensure that any and all foreign nationals are scrutinized and vetted extensively before being embedded with our American men and women in uniform.

“Today, I’m calling for a full review of the U.S. military programs to train foreign nationals on American soil. There is no reason we should be providing state-of-the-art military training to people who wish us harm. And most importantly, there is no reason to risk the safety and security of our American men and women in uniform. If not for the bravery displayed by the military personnel on the ground and local law enforcement, today’s tragedy could have been much worse. We must be vigilant against those who wish our country and our people harm.” 

Each year the Congress received reports on training of Foreign students:

In Fiscal Year 2016, approximately 122,500 students from 155 countries participated in training, the total cost of which was approximately $953.9 million. Training locations in the United States include Lackland AFB, TX, , Washington, D.C., Carlisle Barracks, PA, US Hurlburt Field, FL, Fort Benning Georgia, Ft. Leavenworth, KS, Stennis Space Center, MS, Wright Patterson AFB, OH, US Carlisle Barracks, PA, US Carlisle Barracks, PA, Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, Ft. Mcnair, NDU, DC, and a host of other locations.

Internationally, the training takes place in dozens of centers and countries, including Chad, Camaroon, Gabon, Germany, Norway, Turkey., Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and a host of other locations, including South America and The Far East. . Take a look at the lengthy report of 2016, 17 from State.Gov.

The U.S. military hosts more than 5,100 foreign students from 152 countries at military sites around the country, a Pentagon spokesman told PolitiFact.

That is on U.S. soil, but most of the training of foreign troops occurs near their native lands or nearby countries. NATO training missions are world wide, not only in the nearby Ukraine where local troops are trained.

” The situation in northeast Syria remains very difficult. But Allies agree on the need to safeguard the gains we have made in the fight against our common enemy, ISIS. To maintain the commitment to our missions and operations in the region. Including NATO’s training missions in Iraq and Afghanistan,” NATO Secretary said recently.

“So we are committed to train, assist and advise the Afghans, to enable them to fight terrorism in their own country. As we also do in Iraq, training the Iraqis. We do that because we think that the best way to create the conditions for a peaceful, negotiated solution in Afghanistan is to send a clear message to the Taliban that they will not win on the battlefield.” 

The training is ongoing and will continue for decades unless drastic changes occur. The shock of the Pensacola shooting by a Saudi National will die down and the dust will settle, and the training will go on.