Saudi trainees get closer scrutiny
About 300 students grounded after shooting
PENSACOLA, Fla. – U.S. and Saudi Arabian officials are taking another look at the background of all Saudi students training at American military installations.
The new round of vetting comes in the wake of a mass shooting Dec. 6 at Naval Air Station Pensacola that resulted in the deaths of four people – including the gunman, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force – and the wounding of eight others.
Wednesday at a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., questioned Secretary of Defense Mark Esper about the status of the international training program that brought the gunman to the USA.
“We have directed, if you will, a stand-down that would limit Saudi participation in our U.S.-based training to classroom training only until we can do expedited vetting of all Saudi students here in the United States,” Esper said, according to transcripts from the hearing. “I spoke to their deputy defense minister yesterday – by the way, a graduate of Pensacola naval air training. He agreed, he fully supports this, they are going to do parallel vetting as well.”
Tuesday, naval officials announced they grounded about 300 Saudi military aviation students, including 140 at NAS Pensacola, 35 at NAS Whiting and 128 at NAS Mayport in Jacksonville.
Gaetz asked Esper whether the United States would take on new Saudi students during the vetting, but Esper was unable to provide an immediate answer. Gaetz urged Esper to make a public statement on the status of the program and whether the application process has been halted.
The NAS Pensacola trainees were restricted to the installation by their commanding officer. The Saudi government pledged it would provide its full cooperation as the FBI investigates the mass shooting.
Gaetz asked who has access to the Saudi students on base, and Esper said, “Of the dozen or so that were immediate friends, acquaintances, etc. of the alleged killer, the FBI. Department of Justice has control of them on the base.”
Esper said a Saudi commander – and potentially a Muslim Navy chaplain – could meet with the students.
Gaetz requested that Esper determine whether other individuals, such as Saudi Embassy personnel, had access, because that would affect how U.S. policymakers interacted with the Saudi kingdom.