"This policy should tell you something about the actual cost/benefit of private arms as far as overall safety goes. Cuts through the noise and hypotheticals rather nicely."

Yes, most people will feel quite safe in a secured facility with controlled access, simialar to court houses. Imagine living in a place where everyone has been vetted and the perimeter is secured with armed guards.

This is a genius idea. Sell on-base housing to safety-minded civilians. The HOA fees will generate a tidy profit.

Believe it or not, the general public can live in military housing. When the number of vacant homes on any base rises above a certain level, the housing contractor can rent them to anyone it likes. This isn’t common, but it’s possible.

Or living in a country like Japan.

Or.. very many countries that aren't the USA.

There are many parts of the US that people feel safe in as well.

There are tons of incidents with intruders on military bases where I am from. They are atrractive targets for criminals like thieves, too. Guards aren't a very effective deterrent.

Also, everyone I talked to who found suspicious activity while on guard duty confessed to me that they were terrified in the moment even though they were trying to project authority on the outside.

Depends on the base. Most bases have controlled entrances and patrolled perimeters. I do know of some that are more or less open or only require a photo ID for entry, but those don't seem as common. Or maybe times are changing.

Are you in the US? All of the US military bases I have ever been on either have far tighter perimeter security than anywhere bar maybe a high security prison, or have generally pretty good perimeter security and are so far out in the boonies that geography itself limits access.

That mostly tells you about the cost/benefit at a military base. Which is a place where you have to go through a checkpoint with armed people to even get in there in the first place.