More Turn Out to Guard Armed Forces Center

On July 20, 2015, Brian Blackden, the owner of Pepper Defense Supply in Penacook, set up outside the Armed Forces Career Center on Loudon Road in Concord and stood guard protecting local recruiters in the wake of those who died in Tennessee last week.

Today, he stood guard again. Only this time, Blacken wasn’t alone.

During the course of the day on July 21, five other men and a woman came by to lend a hand patrolling the grounds in and around the recruiting center and other businesses. Other people dropped off water, candy, refreshments, and even bought lunch for those guys who wanted something to eat. Two officials from an unnamed New Hampshire department even came by with a case of water to keep them hydrated, Blackden noted.

“Numerous people have stopped by to have conversations with us,” he said. “Everybody is behind us.”

Blackden, it turns out, was not alone in taking action to help protect recruiting center.

Citizen guards were also outside of recruiting stations in Keene and Manchester along with Concord yesterday. According to national news reports, citizen guards have been cropping up in Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, and Tennessee.

Tomorrow, Blackden and others will be back outside the station, standing guard. He said even more volunteers are expected and many have begun sharing a schedule to make sure that the center is protected at all times.

“I think people have been lacking expectations from our government for so long,” Blackden said. “When somebody finally did something, they’re all for it and they’re coming out and supporting it … but the biggest thing that people are talking about is the decline of their respect for the government; that they don’t expect their government to do anything to help and that’s sad when the citizens have to do the government’s job.”