| Well, looks like they called it off! |
(hat tip to Mike V.)
Posted: February 20, 2009
4:24 pm Eastern
By Drew Zahn
© 2009 WorldNetDaily DES MOINES, Iowa – Following publicized reports that the Army National Guard was planning a military training exercise on the streets of a rural Iowa town, the commanding officers have called off the mock "invasion."The Guard had planned a four-day urban military operation in tiny Arcadia, Iowa, population 443, sending troops to take over the town and search door-to-door for a suspected weapons dealer.
The exercise was designed as a mock scenario to give soldiers the skills needed for deployment in an urban environment, and military officials stressed that only households that consented to be part of the drill would be searched.
"It will be important for us to gain the trust and confidence of the residents of Arcadia," Sgt. Mike Kots, readiness NCO for Alpha Company, told Carroll's Daily Times Herald. "We will need to identify individuals that are willing to assist us in training by allowing us to search their homes and vehicles and to participate in role-playing.
"We really want to get as much information out there as possible," Kots continued, "because this operation could be pretty intrusive to the people of Arcadia."
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood, however, told WND that the operation has now been "scaled back" and no longer involves an "invasion" of Arcadia.
And while Hapgood confirmed the Guard had been inundated with objections from citizens concerned about soldiers patrolling the streets of an American town, he said most came from people out of state and unfamiliar with the operation. Iowans, he explained, typically cooperate with the Guard. The change in plans was based on troop evaluation, he said, not public outcry.
...."There are no active duty bases in Iowa, so there are no urban warfare training areas of any size," Hopgood said. "In order to get that larger neighborhood feel or city feel, we have to be creative and partner with our communities."
Hopgood further told WND that in past cooperative exercises with the community, the people of Iowa have welcomed learning how their sons and daughters operate in action.
Plans for the urban operation training, Hopgood explained, are still set to continue, but will be conducted in a smaller, platoon-by-platoon basis in the near vicinity of the Carroll armory.
Read the whole thing here.
Well now, that's interesting! So, "the change in plans was based on troop evaluation, he said, not public outcry." I have my doubts about that!The public outcry was pretty loud, including people beginning to plan to stage demonstrations, marches, and even half in jest proposals for patriotic Americans to show up and serve as OPFOR (opposing forces for training). Only half in jest ... that means at least half serious.
Americans just do not cotton to the notion of any troops training to go house to house and search for guns, even if it is explained as being done with the best intentions. The current political environment is just too much on edge, as I noted here.
Stewart
8 comments:
I'm glad they called it off before we rented out buses ;)
Ha! Yes, I was already hearing rumblings of plans to go and protest, and some of those were coming from me as well - a protest against mock gun raids in APRIL would have been just too fun to resist - evoking the "shot heard round the world" on April 19, 1775, of course!
It's almost too bad they canceled it. I was looking forward to an opportunity to do some serious outreach to the troops, face to face.
"To the Utmost Extent of Our Power"
so how do you propose to better prepare the troops? we know what you don't like, whats your alternative? not everyone is gonna luck out and skip getting shot at. as the grandparent of some kids who do get shot at i want them to be as well trained as possible.
Anonymous said...
"so how do you propose to better prepare the troops? we know what you don't like, whats your alternative?"
They can train at the dedicated MOUT training village set up a mere 80 miles away at camp Dodge. Go read this:
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:ogUn2nBuCBEJ:www.iowanationalguard.com/CampDodge/Documents/MOUT_SOP.pdf+%22MOUT%22+facilities+iowa&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a
That is a memorandum "To provide guidance for the safe, efficient and economic conduct of training on
the Military Operations in Urban Terrain at Camp Dodge, Johnston, Iowa."
And read this:
http://www.iowanationalguard.com/CampDodge/Documents/MOUT_SOP.pdf
Which describes the facility thusly:
"5, a. Buildings range from one to three stories high."
That is how I expect them to train, and that is my alternative to having them go house to house in an American town, searching for guns.
"not everyone is gonna luck out and skip getting shot at."
Luck out? Skip? Is that aimed at me? At 18 I volunteered for the Army, for combat arms, for Airborne, and for service as a long range airborne scout, with a mission of dropping in behind enemy lines to conduct reconnaissance (and we fully expected it to be a one-way mission).
I broke my back during a night jump while training in rough terrain parachuting and now have a fused spine with two steel rods.
And that was the second time I nearly died in service.
I was hardly looking to "luck out" or skip anything.
Nor am I trying to "skip" anything now. What I am trying to do is prevent the needless deaths of good men both in the military and among us veterans when/if the orders come down from Obama instructing NG and regular Army and Marines to go and assist in house to house searches for weapons, just as happened FOR REAL in New Orleans during Katrina. Here is the proof:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm5PC7z79-8
The treasonous snake of a mayor of New Orleans and his faithful little Nazi police chief issued an order that "no one will be able to be armed (except cops and soldiers)... we will take all weapons."
And they did just that, disarming all civilians, with the full assistance of ALL the cops and ALL the National Guardsmen on the scene. And they disarmed even people who lived in neighborhoods where there was no damage, and where the residents were allowed to remain in their homes (mansions).
That's not conspiracy theory. That's fact. Go watch the video proof.
Can you point me to ANY example, even one, where a National Guard unit, or even one National Guard troop refused to obey those evil orders from the mayor?
I'll bet you can't find one example.
Don't you know that Obama is every bit as anti-gun as that pathetic mayor, and now he is the Commander in Chief.
If you do not see what may well be coming, with anti-gun freaks like Obama, Holder, Rahm Emanuel, and Bobby Rush just itching to use the full might of the US military against us, then you are hopelessly asleep at the switch.
Stewart
And they did just that, disarming all civilians, with the full assistance of ALL the cops and ALL the National Guardsmen on the scene. And they disarmed even people who lived in neighborhoods where there was no damage, and where the residents were allowed to remain in their homes
all?usually when someone uses the word all so declaritively i assume they are very young. especially when they use it in a situation where it is so definitively untrue.
did they disarm all the residents? get everygun?
they got the full assistance of everycop and every guardsmen? human history in the making! generally you don't get full assistance from any group of folks larger than 5.
darn and from the number of folks shot after katrina your definition of all must be different than mine.
"Can you point me to ANY example, even one, where a National Guard unit, or even one National Guard troop refused to obey those evil orders from the mayor? "
how do you prove a negative?
http://www.iowanationalguard.com/CampDodge/Documents/MOUT_SOP.pdf
Which describes the facility thusly:
"5, a. Buildings range from one to three stories high."
That is how I expect them to train, and that is my alternative to having them go house to house in an American town, searching for guns.
you got folks in that pretend village? hundreds of em?they have traffic there? how many square miles they got?
i once heard a combat vet say train the way you fight, you?
you jump outa pretend airplanes?
worst thing about roleplay exercises where all the players are either military or leo is the players don't act right. not random enough no women kids and old folks.its why using civilians is more effective for training. kinda like they've been doing around fort bragg for a lil over 50 years. or at quantico or a dozen other places around the country.
and shock of shock no blue helmets in all those years though they do use black helicopters
"If you do not see what may well be coming, with anti-gun freaks like Obama, Holder, Rahm Emanuel, and Bobby Rush just itching to use the full might of the US military against us, then you are hopelessly asleep at the switch."
i don't question your character sincerity or motivation but there is an alice in wonderland character to your position that seems to surround and emanate from certain political elements. more the shame cause there are parts of that element i really admire. but its tainted irreparably
ed
Cassandrasdaddy said:
"all?usually when someone uses the word all so declaritively i assume they are very young. especially when they use it in a situation where it is so definitively untrue.
did they disarm all the residents? get everygun?
they got the full assistance of everycop and every guardsmen?"
Typical internet chat-board response: snipe at the edged of my argument over semantics and throw in some ad hominem attacks for good measure.
So, this response is not really for you, Mr. Highroad keyboard commander, but for others who may read this who don't have their minds slammed shut.
The fact is an order went out from the mayor and police chief of New Orleans that NO ONE (no civilian) could be armed, and ALL guns would be taken. Sadly, that order was carried out, by both police and NG troops and they did disarm plenty of people (as is clear from multiple videos, including one of a little old woman being slammed to the floor).
While we have ample video and first hand accounts of those orders being carried out, we have no reports whatsoever of any police or NG in New Orleans refusing to follow that order. Not one.
I'm not asking cassandrasdaddy to prove a negative, as refusing an order is a pretty damn positive act. If it had happened, I think we would have heard. I would love it if someone could present such evidence, as I would like to know at least some of the police and NG present in New Orleans refused.
What is important is that we have seen it happen already on American soil - US NG and police going house to house and disarming citizens.
That's why Cassandrasdaddy cannot wrap himself in the flag and yell at me "how DARE you suggest that any soldier would disarm citizens!" (come on, you know he would do that if he could!).
He can't do that because it has already happened and it was abundantly documented. he can only whine that it was not that bad, they didn't get all the guns, blah, blah, blah.
Does the fact that it happened in New Orleans mean mean all troops will obey those orders? No, it does not.
I know for a fact that some will not obey, and not only will they commit the negative act of not enforcing such an order, they will also very positively fight against those who give the order.
I know that from my own experience in the Army, where I served with some very brave, committed men of conscience and loyalty to the Constitution who I can say without hesitation would not only have refused to obey such an order to disarm the people, but who would have fragged the officer giving that order and who would have then joined the American resistance against the treasonous bastards in DC.
And I know men of equal courage and commitment now serving who would do likewise. You can take that to the bank.
Not all will obey such evil orders, but the events during Katrina serve as warning that some probably will.
So we are in a battle for the hearts and minds of our own troops, our own police, and our fellow citizens to prevent it from every happening again, and if it happens, to have them on our side.
That is a battle I am willing to wage, because I still have faith in the American soldier - but we can't take it for granted, and we must work to stiffen their resolve and strengthen their understanding of what it is they took an oath to defend.
That is all.
Stewart
Stewart,
I'll bet your "Anon" commenter has NO military background or training at all.
I commented over at WoG on this, and it does not look good to me, especially now knowing that there is a MOUT facility within easy deployment distance for weekend warriors.
My question to Anon is this: Would you want those soldiers in YOUR home, one YOUR time, looking for YOUR weapons. Training or not, that's a breach of MY privacy! ESPECIALLY since the initial plans sounded as if this "training" was going be unannounced before it was leaked and changed.
--Jamie
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