Last Updated Dec 16th, 2019 at 9:45 am

Dozens of U.S. Navy pilots have written a letter to lawmakers and military officials demanding that they be allowed to carry arms on bases and when standing guard.

The letter, which comes in the wake of a deadly shooting last week at the Naval Air Station Pensacola by a Saudi officer training there, is a form letter that the pilots hope their colleagues will use to write to their own lawmakers.

"It is reprehensible that a military installation, much less its warfighters based there, be at the mercy of off-base, civilian law enforcement when faced with an immediate threat to their lives," the letter says.

Fox News obtained the letter from two U.S. Navy instructor pilots.

The letter blames a law from 1992, which "caused military bases across the United States to become ‘soft targets.' On-base security is often provided by contracted civilians whose physical fitness requirements and specialized training fall far short of the standard servicemember's."

An official said on Thursday that the Pentagon was not considering the request at the time.

Read more: NAS Pensacola shooter hosted party days before attack to watch mass shooting videos