Oklahoma City — A disagreement over foreign troops training on Oklahoma military installations has erupted among Republican state Senators.

On Wednesday, state Senator Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, assailed news reports indicating that elements of the Ukrainian military would be training in the state.

Republican colleagues responded on Thursday, led by the GOP leader in the upper chamber.

According to a Senate staff press release, Senator Dahm’s Senator Concurrent Resolution 2 would direct “the Pentagon, Department of Defense, and the federal government to no longer send foreign troops to Oklahoma for training, despite the state’s military installations having a rich history of training programs with different countries.”

With Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, leading the way, Dahm’s proposal was criticized in a joint statement. Joining Treat were Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada; Sen. Roger Thompson, R-Okemah; Sen. John Michael Montgomery, R-Lawton; Sen. Brenda Stanley, R-Midwest City; Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond and Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City.

The responding senators said: “Oklahoma has had partnerships with military forces from partner countries to train and maintain the safety and security of the United States and other allied countries for decades. To cut these ties would be akin to jeopardizing our national security. The resolution that was issued does not speak for the vast majority of the Oklahoma Senate, or Oklahomans, who welcome training exercises to defend the lands we love and our neighbors in other countries. We hope the troops from other countries currently training on our beloved military installations in Oklahoma feel welcomed and experience what makes our state the best in the country.”

When he announced the filing of S.C.R 2, Dahm said he wanted “to reject the insertion of Ukrainian troops in Oklahoma.

“These America Last policies of the current regime should not be tolerated in Oklahoma. We saw how recently the Ukrainian military fired a rocket into Poland killing two innocent civilians. We certainly don’t need them practicing here in Oklahoma where our citizens could be under the constant threat of a similar failure.”

Dahm’s sketch of the Resolution said it “would direct the Pentagon to reverse course on their recent announcement to send 100 Ukrainian troops into Oklahoma for training on U.S. missile systems.”

Dahm said, “This resolution rejects this attempt by the feds to put foreign troops in Oklahoma. It even encourages the governor, county officials, and law enforcement to use their powers to prohibit these foreign troops from being on Oklahoma soil.”

Dahm wants S.C.R. 2, if approved, to “remain in effect until superseded by a new resolution to ensure the feds don’t make another attempt in the future to send even more foreign troops.”

“We must put the people of Oklahoma first,” Dahm said.

“We shouldn’t be allowing the unaccountable spending, corruption, and potential money laundering to now flow through Oklahoma with the presence of foreign troops on our land.”

Note: Pat McGuigan – founder, publisher and editor of CapitolBeatOK.com – prepared this report for posting, working from two press releases received from members of the Oklahoma State Senate. CapitolBeatOK.com is an independent, non-partisan and locally-managed news service.