For the last two years, the Department of Defense has been increasing its purchase of weapons suitable for use inside the borders of the United States.
Why?
The Army is buying such items as helicopters, artillery (!!), armored vehicles. It is part of a section of the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the purposes of “homeland defense missions, domestic emergency responses, and providing military support to civil authorities.” Officially, this is for use by by “the active and reserve components of the Armed Forces for homeland defense missions, domestic emergency responses, and providing military support to civil authorities.” This is authorized under section 1815.
Section 1815 of the FY2008 NDAA requires that every five years the Secretary of Defense work with the Secretary of Homeland Security to determine “military-unique capabilities needed to be provided by the Department of Defense to support civil authorities in an incident of national significance or a catastrophic incident.” The section defines “military-unique capabilities” as those that “cannot be provided by other Federal, State, or local civilian agencies” and are “essential to provide support to civil authorities in an incident of national significance or a catastrophic incident.”
Section 1815 of the FY2008 NDAA was put together by something called the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves (CNGR). It is a 13-member independent commission created by Congress in 2004.
In their final report published in 2008, the CNGR describes section 1815 as a way of prioritizing domestic support missions within the military, allowing DoD to explicitly budget for resources needed in providing military support to civil authorities. The final report of the CNGR describes the Department of Homeland Security as “the federal agency with the most comprehensive national perspective on the response capabilities present in federal, state, and local government” placing it in the “best position to generate civil support requirements.” The CNGR report also recommends that DoD, the National Guard and DHS work to “exchange representatives” and personnel in advisory positions to increase common knowledge and training related to civil support missions.
So, the Department of Homeland Security is involved. This is to be expected.
Central to all this is equipment that has two uses: domestic and international. This is CDU: critical dual use.
Nearly a year after it was passed, the House Armed Services Committee reiterated its “strong support” for section 1815 of the 2008 NDAA and “urged” the DoD to comply with its planning requirements. . . .
Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno wrote in a recent article in Foreign Affairs that the increasing use of the military in domestic situations will be part of a necessary evolution as it transitions to “responding in force to a range of complex contingencies” both inside the U.S. and abroad. Odierno states that the “need for U.S. armed forces, and the army in particular, to provide planning, logistical, command-and-control, and equipment support to civil authorities in the event of natural disasters continues to be demonstrated regularly and is unlikely to diminish.” The Army will “contribute to broader national efforts to counter those challenges at home, if needed” including using “active-duty forces, especially those with niche skills and equipment, to provide civilian officials with a robust set of reliable and rapid response options.”
Foreign Affairs is the publication of the Council on Foreign Relations. It is highly influential.
We are seeing the extension of military affairs, under the authority of the Commander-in-Chief, into domestic law-keeping.
I think they getting ready for a rebellion or civil war.
I am begging my wife to leave the country with me, but she will not because of the grandchildren. I guess I will just have to stay and hope for the best.
It seems like citizens are being led up a cattle shoot to who knows where while we're not doing anything.
Do you get the uneasy feeling we ought to be doing something?
The word ' shoot' rather than chute was chosen as a double entendre.
In other words THINK.
We have long used the state militia (national guard) in times of civil unrest with varying degrees of success; Kent State in Ohio comes immediately to my mind. The Army supports the national guard and in many cases dictates what equipment they are to use. This is not a big stretch in concept; what frightens me is the scope and the reasoning behind it. I have absolutley no faith in our current Commander-in-Chief to do the right thing as his office is constitutionally mandated to do. I fear we could soon look like a third-world nation with our active duty soldiers in the streets of American cities – a far cry from a governor calling out the national guard!
Where is this going? Check out Syria, it will be their model!
first they are updating their supplies of weaponry just to disarm the people. this is to be sure the people cannot defend themselves. then martial law will be declared – hence the people will be enslaved to the obama plantation.
I think you are fight, the Biggest enemy to the civilians is the Home Land Security Dept,. TSA, Defense Dept, Attorney General,and the President and his staff, Since they will not protect the borders, arrest any illegals or the Muslins the only ones left are the Christians so we are the enemy.
We really need to get a new commander in chief who has the will to support the US Constitution and the Second Amendent. Get off you butt and vote Obama out in November!!!
I have read all of the above comments and agree with them all. It use to be that Americans could, at least most of the time, depend on the Military not to fire on the Civillian Public. Now, I'm not that sure anymore. There are too many Foreigner's in our Military Ranks to rule that out now, IE; Mexican's, Isralie's, Iraqi's, Ect;, Ect;. We may, as some have purported in these comments, have to depend on ourselves to take back this Great Nation. The only thing I question is; Where will our Leaders come from ?? Another question that comes to mind: Can we be prepared quick enough to keep from being over-run by Obama's Forces?? Keep your Powder Dry and your weapons cleaned. We may need them sooner than we think. Thank you for your time. TSgt., USAF Retired.
It's sad that we have to fear our own goverment more then our foreign enemies!! Our founding fathers knew this day would come, that's the reason they put the 2nd amendment in. The fools do not understand that.
I think that this "mission creep" caused by the realization that the War on Terror is not a long term solution. So these agencies are seeing "new opportunities" on a domestic basis. The money must be spent by the end of the fiscal year or the budget is cut next year. Doubtless other "venues" will be considered as time goes by – such as the use of Army Intelligence "working in partnership" with local urban police agencies, or more Military Doctors working in urban trauma centers.
Domestic control? Be worried if the US Military partitions the US into "commands", assigns a high level officer to each "region" and then puts together a "skeleton staff" or Cadre so that they're "prepared". They will have "contingency plans" to "mobilize" National Guard, Police Forces and "Volunteers" who will work under military command and control, mostly drawn from the Individual Ready Reserve, "unorganized militia", police agencies, and so on. Such a massive commitment of forces does not portend well for the rest of us.
The US has used "private/public" forces. Google "American Protective League" and the "slacker raids" of the 1910s.
If on the other hand they're just buying "stuff" then this is budget preservation. The materials will be given to local National Guards who will keep them "on hand" and then later "surplus" them to urban police agencies, who might even get to use them once in a while.
Do’t make the mistake of forgetting about the NSA… An incredibly corrupt and vile agency in as far as the management goes. The degenerate managers there have been abusing the NSA Security group to stalk, harass, intimidate, slander and provoke hate crimes against anyone (civilian or NSA employee) critical of the criminal abuses going on by “elite management”, from fraud waste and abuse, to rampant sexual predation on the work force, to selling secrets to foreign powers.
Correct me if I am wrong BUT isnt the regular Military BARRED from operating on US soil EXCEPT their bases and specifically designated areas,,,ie not my town or yard. ONLY National Guard can operate inside the US borders,,and I really doubt the honest military soldier will follow an illegal order. Im sure the immoral, no counts might, but majority I doubt would break constitutional law. But I MAY be wrong.
You need to remember the Commander-in-Chief is an imposter.
You have that right…. and frighteningly so. This is misuse of military budget and personnel. BUT.. if no one has called him on his lack of eligibiilty, who thinks anyone will calll him on qhat amounts to "jusst one more" unconstitutional move? When they get the ink on that coming UN arms trade treaty, they will try and ram it through the Senate at some crazy hour….. if that passes the Senate, one of two things will happen: WE THE PEOPLE will tell them NO WAY, or WE THE SHEEPLE will lay down, say BAAAA, and let them take our guns….. or, at least some of the people will let them take some of the guns. A disarmed population are no longer citizens, but slaves. Who will remember Patrick Henry and gove his oppressors two opetions…. endow him with liberty or kill him. The fifty four signers of the Declaration of Independence knew full well their signatures on that parchment was proof of treason…. and still, "we therefore pledge TO EACH OTHER' our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor". Will we do the same? Or will we submit?
Pain rays, water cannons…and giant microwave dishes mounted on flatbed trucks that can be trained on those pesky Americans and boil the skin when they take to the streets to protest a corrupt and bankrupt national government.
Hot this summer, what with all the 'urban' [inner city] "flash shoplifting and bash whitey mobs".
Imagine the EBT cards 'refills' run late, or low, or run out. Or when election votes are tallied, what scenes we'll see. Any of this weaponry slated for that ? How about using it to 'convince' the crips, bloods, latin kings, gangstas to behave somewhat civil??? Nope, Christians, Jews and other whiteys will be more likely.
The head of the snake needs to be cut off.