Hundreds of Saudi military personnel at US bases have been grounded after the deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola

Ryan Pickrell

December 10, 2019 9:46 PM

Roughly 300 Saudi military aviation students at Naval Air Stations Pensacola, Whiting Field, and Mayport have been grounded for a safety stand-down and operational pause in the wake of last week's shooting in Pensacola, Reuters reports .

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The stand-down is a non-punitive effort to prepare Saudi students, which the Navy characterized as the "most impacted" by the traumatic attack, to resume their aviation training.
It is unclear when the safety stand-down and operational pause will conclude as there is currently no set end date, the Navy told Insider.

Around 300 Saudi military aviation students have been grounded as part of an ongoing safety stand-down and operational pause, Reuters first reported .

Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a Saudi military officer in the US for training, opened fire on students and law enforcement officials at Naval Air Station Pensacola last Friday, killing three US Navy sailors and injuring several more people.

The safety stand-down began Monday, the service told Insider, explaining that this was a non-punitive procedure intended to help Saudi students, whom the Navy characterized as "the most impacted" by last week's traumatic shooting.

The aim of the stand-down is to help these students prepare to restart training at a yet-to-be-determined later date.

The pause is taking place at NAS Pensacola, NAS Whiting Field, and NAS Mayport, all of which are US Navy bases in Florida, Reuters reports .

Classroom training for Saudi students is expected to begin soon, but it remains unclear when these students will be able to resume flying. Training, including flight training, has already resumed for US military personnel, as well as other international military students at the bases.

There are roughly 850 Saudi military personnel in the US for training, according to Reuters.

Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, has been calling for "a full suspension of the program until a thorough review by both the Department of State and the Department of Defense are completed," his office told Insider in a statement.

There is currently no indication that the military has plans to suspend its training of foreign military personnel.

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