To those who have served or are currently serving...

[classicman]

What if those "citizens were deemed terrorists and were perpetrating an act of potential horrific proportions.

I think thats what this pretty much comes down to is having some troops prepped in case they are needed for a natural or unnatural disaster where the local law enforcement would be totally over matched and in need of some additional manpower and expertise.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by classicman

What if those "citizens were deemed terrorists and were perpetrating an act of potential horrific proportions.

I think thats what this pretty much comes down to is having some troops prepped in case they are needed for a natural or unnatural disaster where the local law enforcement would be totally over matched and in need of some additional manpower and expertise.

Terrorists don't have large forces. They aren't armies. You don't need large numbers of armed soldiers to fight them.

I think it's great if the military is doing disaster preparedness and disaster response, as long as they leave their weapons at home.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by classicman

What if those "citizens were deemed terrorists and were perpetrating an act of potential horrific proportions.

I think thats what this pretty much comes down to is having some troops prepped in case they are needed for a natural or unnatural disaster where the local law enforcement would be totally over matched and in need of some additional manpower and expertise.

Goddammit. I'm not going to be able to keep up today, I can tell.

We've had our f*cking fill of being "deemed" this or that. We have a system of LAW with rules. Abandon or ignore those rules, and we're back in the freakin jungle. Who rules there? The dudes in the camos with the guns. Just stop it.

Whose doing the "deeming"?! Oh my god, we've been down this road before. What are you afraid of? You can't PREVENT something bad from ever happening. It's not possible.

Besides, who's job is it to maintain law and order? Hmm? The police. Local and state police. An army is for war, not for policing. Sure, you can just call in an air strike and settle those fuckers' hash post haste, but it is a momentary pleasure at best and bound to get you talked about.

And to whom shall the military troops report? Naturally, their commander in chief is the president. You, classicman, are showing far more confidence in the officeholder's ability to handle such responsibilities than I can summon or even imagine. For a disaster that has already happened? Ok. I can handle that. Walking around, like a cop on a beat, "handle civil unrest or crowd control". You're kidding right? How can handling civil unrest be anything other than I have a gun so you better lie down and put your hands on your head? Civil did you see what I did thar? That means "applying to ordinary citizens as contrasted with the military; "civil authorities" " NOT military. So what, you got machine guns and tanks and planes and... Ok, good point. I surrender.

Is that what you think should happen? That the army should handle this kind of stuff? If you had a badass junkyard dawg you let roam your property, you'd have some good protection of your turf. But would you let the dog patrol the house, negotiating who is taking too long in the bathroom or who forgot to put the dishes in the machine?

glatt is right on at least one important point. At a minimum, no weapons. Nope, no. This topic blows my mind. Best we don't start down this path.

Or, if you want to train for humanitarian relief efforts, don't be the Army. Be something else. I don't want soldiers on my street, lookin at me like a perp. Dammit.

[Pico and ME]

Originally Posted by BigV

Or, if you want to train for humanitarian relief efforts, don't be the Army. Be something else. I don't want soldiers on my street, lookin at me like a perp. Dammit.

AND...this group has JUST came back from Iraq. They are battle-hardened....prepared to fight.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Pico and ME

AND...this group has JUST came back from Iraq. They are battle-hardened....prepared to fight.

I suspect its the last thing they want as well.