Amid Iran war, some soldiers banned from wearing uniforms off base
USA TODAY
Bases on U.S. soil shut down after reports of active shooters and suspicious packages. Some have banned uniforms off base.
Military bases on American soil have banned service members from wearing their uniforms off base as threats of retaliatory attacks against soldiers bubble up since the United States jointly launched its war in Iran.
Following the United States and Israel's initial attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, U.S. bases in the Middle East came under heavy fire from Iranian missiles and drones, killing seven U.S. soldiers stationed in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Six soldiers were later killed in an air tanker crash in Iraq, and at least 200 have been wounded across the Middle East.
Threats to American troops have not been confined to the war zone. Bases on American soil have shut down in response to reports of active shooters, suspicious packages and other unidentified threats. Since the war began, a growing number of military bases in the continental United States clamped down on security, banning visitors and ordering service members to change out of uniform when they leave the premises.
On March 16, a report of a suspicious package near an entrance gate at Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base, the headquarters of U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, prompted a gate closure. The FBI's Tampa office later stated that "possible energetic materials" were found inside the package. MacDill issued a shelter-in-place order two days later on March 18, citing an unidentified targeted "threat."CENTCOM is the military branch leading operations in the Iran war. It’s unclear if the threats were related.
On March 17, officials at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in southern New Jersey said that "suspicious packages" were found on the base, prompting a lockdown. They later determined the packages did not pose a threat.
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