There is growing evidence that homegrown terrorists see military personnel and bases as legitimate, high-value targets, lawmakers said ahead of a joint session of the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees on Wednesday,.

“People in uniform are symbols of the United States. They’re symbols of America power, symbols of America might,” Rep. Peter King of New York, the Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told Fox News. “And if they (military personnel) can be killed, then that is a great propaganda victory for Al Qaeda.”

King said there is also evidence that extremists have joined the services. “There is a serious threat within the military from people who have enlisted who are radical jihadists,” King stated. “The Defense Department is very concerned about them. They feel they’re a threat to the military both for what they can do within the military itself and also because of the weapons skills they acquire while they’re in the military.”

The chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman, agreed.

“The records show that the United States military has become a direct target of violent Islamist extremism here in the U.S., and that means soldiers and perhaps their families are potentially vulnerable at work and at rest, in a military setting or a civilian one,” he told Fox News.

Since the Fort Hood massacre in 2009 that left 13 killed and dozens more wounded, the number of alleged plots targeting the military has grown significantly. In June, two men allegedly plotted to attack a Seattle, Wash., military installation using guns and grenades. In July, Army Pvt. Naser Abdo was accused of planning a second attack on Fort Hood. And in November, New York police arrested Jose Pimentel, who alleged sought to kill service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

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