Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 15
They would not be organizing so many troops, unless they figured they would need them.
Pentagon readying thousands of Guard ‘reaction forces’ as U.S. mission widens
The Defense Department’s newly established “quick reaction force” within the National Guard must be trained, equipped with riot-control gear and ready for deployment by Jan. 1, according to internal documents reviewed by The Washington Post.
An existing separate but similar structure, the National Guard Reaction Force, is expected to complete civil unrest training and be fully operational by April 1. The total size of the force will be 23,500 troops across all 50 states and three territories, excluding the District of Columbia, the documents say. Most states will supply 500 personnel for the reaction force, with the rest falling between 250 and 450.https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pentagon-ready...Twenty years ago, I took heat for saying the US was becoming a very large, heavily armed, aggressive, banana republic.
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 2
Twenty years ago, I took heat for saying the US was becoming a very large, heavily armed, aggressive, banana republic.</i<>
Here's where it started. I well remember this, because the discussions conjured up memories of seeing the militaristic well armed and armored guards for the Bank in Nicaragua. Struck me at 16 because I'd never seen that.
AI Overview
The 1997 North Hollywood shootout is the most prominent incident where Los Angeles police officers were outgunned. On February 28, 1997, two heavily armed and armored bank robbers, Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Mătăsăreanu, engaged in a 44-minute gun battle with the LAPD.
The lasting impact
The North Hollywood shootout dramatically changed the equipment and tactics of American law enforcement.
Weapon upgrades: Following the event, police departments nationwide began equipping patrol officers with higher-powered rifles, such as the AR-15, to better combat heavily armed threats.
Improved training: The incident led to more advanced training for patrol officers, including tactical maneuvers and communication for high-intensity situations.
Militarization of police: The Pentagon provided military-grade rifles to the LAPD, a practice that soon expanded to police forces in other cities across the country.
SWAT teams came into being after the WATS riots and the Texas Tower shooting. APCs were acquired as the military upgraded.
No. of Recommendations: 3
SWAT teams came into being after the WATS riots and the Texas Tower shooting. APCs were acquired as the military upgraded.
Some of those APCs were MRAPs, built for Iraq and Afghanistan. Sticks in my mind I have seen some on the street in the US, still wearing their desert sand paint. After we got out of Iraq, the MRAPs proved useless in Afghanistan, due to the lack of paved roads, as the MRAPs were so heavy they sank into the ground. So, a lot were surplus, and passed to the police.
I am not objecting to the police upgrading to match the bad guys. I'm talking about troops on the street, implying the local authorities can't be trusted, which is about what his nibs has been saying about people who don't see things his way.
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 2
I am not objecting to the police upgrading to match the bad guys. I'm talking about troops on the street, implying the local authorities can't be trusted, which is about what his nibs has been saying about people who don't see things his way.
And I'm lamenting both the evolution to militarily armed police and to the idea that fake emergencies can be declared and troops spewed onto the streets anywhere. There should be real emergencies, and the Governors should be calling the President.
