Pentagon to soon resume Saudi training halted after base shooting

The Pentagon has said it would soon announce a resumption in operational training of Saudi military officers in the United States, suspended after a Saudi officer’s fatal shooting of three Americans at a Florida naval base last month. The US military restricted the some 850 visiting Saudi military personnel in the country to classroom training as part of a “safety stand-down” during which time it reviewed vetting procedures.

Saudi Arabia subsequently withdrew 21 cadets. Next week, Defence Secretary Mark Esper is due to visit the base in Pensacola, Florida, where the shooting took place and will brief base leadership on planned improvements in vetting of foreign military personnel and changes to security procedures, including physical security at US bases, the Pentagon said.

Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said the US military also expected to soon announce a resumption in operational training. “We’re looking forward to turning that (training) back on in the coming days,” Hoffman told a news briefing, adding “we should have an announcement for you soon.”

Three US sailors were killed and eight other people were wounded in the attack at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. A deputy sheriff shot dead the gunman, Saudi Air Force Second Lt Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani.