Maryland Guard Takes DHS Rightwing Report To Heart
Apr 17, 2009 Military, Political
On April 9th the Maryland National Guard put out an FPCON (Force Protection Condition) Advisory regarding the upcoming Tea Party Protests. The Advisory came out just about the same time as the DHS report on rightwing extremism and from the sounds of the Maryland Guard report, the same people wrote them.
HEADQUARTERS, MARYLAND ARMY NATIONAL GUARD
13620 Meuse Argonne Circle
Camp Fretterd Military Reservation
Reisterstown, Maryland 21136JFHQ-MDARNG-G3 9 April 2009
MEMORANDUM FOR SEE DISTRIBUTION
SUBJECT: Planned TEA Party Protests (FPCON Advisory 09-004)
1. (U) This Maryland Army National Guard (MDARNG) Force Protection advisory is in response to a nationwide planned protest activities scheduled for April 15, 2009. Although there is no known direct threat to MDNG facilities and MDNG members, they may become a target of opportunity during plan protest activities throughout Maryland.
2. (U) FORCE PROTECTION CONDITIONS.
a. (U) USNORTHCOM FPCON baseline for the continental United States, Alaska, and Canada remains unchanged at ALPHA.
b. (U) MDARNG is not recommending a FPCON baseline change at this time.
3. (U//FOUO) SITUATION: Numerous entities have formed recently to express displeasure/anger over recent federal/state government actions: more taxes, increased spending, higher deficits, a surge of borrowing to pay for it all, bailout of the financial institutions, and etc. This movement can be identified by different variations of “TEA Party” or “Tea Party.” Past “TEA Party” events have been peaceful. There was a “Tea party” event at Solomons, Maryland, on March 22, 2009. “TEA” stands for “Taxed Enough Already.”
4. (U) KNOWN LOCATIONS AND EVENTS: According various websites and open source information, planned protest locations and time on April 15 in Maryland are:
*Annapolis, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm, Campbell Park (Dock/Boardwalk), Annapolis Harbor
*Baltimore, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm, The Inner Harbor
*Bel Air, 12:00 pm, Bel Air Courthouse Plaza on Main Street
*Cecil County, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Elkton Christian Academy, 144 Appleton Road
*Frederick, 3:00 pm, City Hall then march to Winchester Hall
*Cumberland, 12:00 pm, Baltimore and Mechanic Streets
*Havre de Grace, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Tydings Park Gazebo
*Salisbury, 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm, Downtown Salisbury
*Westminster, 6:30 pm, Legends Cafe off of Route 140 in Westminster
*Washington DC, 12:00pm-2:00pm, US Treasury Department – National Stage; 11:00am-3:00pm Lafayette Park – Grassroots Stage (not MD)
5. (U) FORCE PROTECTION RECOMMENDATIONS:
a. (U) Full-time personnel (i.e. armories) and recruiters need to be aware their surroundings. Contact local law enforcement when feel threaten by protesters or protesters trespass into MDNG property.
b. (U//FOUO) Commanders at all levels should establish relationship with local police in order to understand the local threats. Keep family members informed. Talk to other service personnel to share information. Practice OPSEC. Don’t provide personal information to anyone you don’t know. Avoid high risk areas.
c. (U//FOUO) Commanders are encouraged to update alert rosters and review emergency evacuation plans/rally points. Ensure all facilities have emergency phone lists posted (i.e. FBI, FIRE, POLICE, HOSPITALS, EMS, ETC…). Be aware of and avoid local protests. Report all potential protest activities to your next higher headquarters.
d. (U//FOUO) Continue implementation of RAM and a review of policies and procedures, especially in regards to cooperation or assistance with local emergency responders.
5. POC is Antiterrorism Program Coordinator, –[redacted- at (410) 702-[redacted] or by e-mail [redacted]@us.army.mil
[Redacted LTC author’s name]DISTRIBUTION:
ATOs
MSCs CDRs
[Source: Southern Maryland Online]
I spent 24 years in the Army and 14 of those were with the Maryland Guard. In all that time I cannot ever remember seeing this kind of message regarding citizens and protests. The old timers certainly knew about the violence of protests because they served during the Vietnam War when those screaming for peace ran around blowing things up and attacking people.
I certainly understand the need to be prepared but I can’t help feeling that citizens were targeted as terrorists because they wanted to protest. The report talks about military members and armories becoming targets of the crowds. The crowds were mostly right wing people who do not attack armories or military members. Still, I realize the importance of being prepared.
However, hundreds of thousands of people protested peacefully. No reports of violence, no reports of arrests and no reports of vandalism.
But still, the military must be prepared. Unfortunately, these guys were not this prepared during and after 9/11. I never saw these kinds of orders for any other protests like when ILLEGALS all marched around on May 1st and became violent. Never saw an FPCON Advisory warning about military members and armories being targets from the illegal immigration protest crowd.
But still, they need to be prepared.
For civil disturbance you jackasses. You have decided to treat Americans who are exercising their First Amendment right as terrorists. The Point of Contact for the Advisory is the ANTITERRORISM coordinator. If you did not think of the protesters as terrorists then why would you have the antiterrorism coordinator as the POC?
I served as a First Sergeant in two units in Maryland and I have to give some advice to these folks. You encourage units to update recall rosters and make sure that other contingent items are in place. All well and good but this should be at a high level of readiness at all times. If your recall roster is not up to date you are not doing your job. If any of the other stuff is not up to snuff then you are not doing your job. This stuff should be in a high state of readiness at all times. Armories have full time guard members so there is no reason for it to be out of date. If this stuff is not up to par then the First Sergeant needs to have his rear end kicked.
A piece of advice from an old soldier to the new:
It is easier to stay ready than to get ready.
I don’t know the names that were redacted but I bet I know the people. They should know better. Even if the antiterrorism coordinator handles all of this stuff as part of his duties, it is not smart to use that title when discussing who should handle citizens exercising their rights.
The cited article indicates that Col. Kohler of the MD Guard Public Affairs Office confirmed the memo. Sir, how about you guys get your heads out of the warm smelly place you are storing them (rectal cranial inversion) and realize that we are not the bad guys. We are not terrorists.
You would do well to discard that DHS memo and use some common sense.
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Tags: maryland guard, memo, tea party, terrorists
Now Afghanistan Is The Quagmire
Apr 9, 2009 Military, Political
After 9/11 the United States went after terrorists in Afghanistan and then moved into Iraq thus fighting a war on two fronts. The Democrats were up in arms. Remember how Afghanistan was the right war and that Bush took his eye off the ball in Afghanistan and allowed bin Laden to escape because he was focused on Iraq? Iraq was the quagmire, the new Vietnam, the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time. If we wanted bin Laden all we had to do was follow GI Joe Biden into Afghanistan where his helicopter was forced down. Though it sounds good the reality is the chopper was forced down because of bad weather. It was snowing. The only thing Biden would find is Yeti.
Now that the sainted won is in control he has settled on some sort of draw down of troops in Iraq and he is beefing up the forces in Afghanistan, the right war, in the right place, at the right time. Or is it?
Now that Democrats have what they say they wanted, focus back on Afghanistan, they are changing their tune. Now Afghanistan is a quagmire.
“I can’t imagine any way I’d vote for it,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, a California Democrat and leader in the 77-member congressional Progressive Caucus. It would be her first major break with this White House.
Ms. Woolsey fears the president’s plan for Iraq would leave behind a big occupation force. She is also concerned about the planned escalation in Afghanistan. “I don’t think we should be going there,” she said.
Similar sentiments echo across the House. Rep. Jim McGovern (D., Mass.) said he fears Afghanistan could become a quagmire. “I just have this sinking feeling that we’re getting deeper and deeper into a war that has no end,” he said.
Rep. John Conyers (D., Mich.) dismissed Mr. Obama’s plans as “embarrassingly naive,” and suggested that the president is being led astray by those around him. “He’s the smartest man in American politics today,” Rep. Conyers said. “But he occasionally gets bad advice and makes mistakes. This is one of those instances.” Common Dreams
These statements are from people who are part of the party that claimed Afghanistan was the right war. This is where Bush failed to get bin Laden and where he took his eye off the ball. Though Resident Obama vacillated at first, to his credit, he is sending more troops and asking for more money to get the job done. This is something he said he would do when he campaigned and, for now, he is doing just that.
He will face opposition from his own party because now that they are in power and we have victory in Iraq (no thanks to any of them) they have decided that Afghanistan is now the wrong war as well.
It would appear that as long as Afghanistan could be used against President Bush in order to beat him up over Iraq, it was the right war. Now that we have won in Iraq and can refocus on Afghanistan that is no longer the right war.
I know that Democrats are in office and hold the majority and I know that the only thing they know about war is how to lose. They only care about winning one thing and that is elected office. Regardless of who is in the White House my attitude is still the same. There is only one way out and that is VICTORY.
Democrats should keep in mind that Bush won Iraq. Afghanistan now belongs to them. That was the war they wanted and that is the one they got and they will be responsible for the outcome. If they pull out and lose it will be on them.
Patton said it best. Americans love a winner and cannot stand a loser.
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Tags: afghanistan, Democrats, funding, Iraq, Obama, quagmire, vietnam
Obama Cuts Defense and Adds Illegals
Apr 9, 2009 Immigration, Military, Political
I have had a go around with several people who claim that Resident Obama is actually increasing Defense spending. It is true that Obama has increased the budget 4% but he took the war funding, which was not part of the Defense budget (it was funded from other sources) and placed it under Defense but the money did not go with it. This means that The DOD will have a budget cut.
As has been reported, the 4% increase in defense spending proposed by Secretary Gates is actually 4% less than what the Joint Chiefs of Staff wanted; and, if taken alongside the fact that this budget attempts to fold in spending previously funded by supplemental war budgets, the supposed 4% increase is actually a $8 billion cut in defense spending. The Army is worst hit by folding supplemental spending into the base budget, as it was receiving the most ad-hoc funding for Iraq and Afghanistan. Ace of Spades
Ace goes on to explain this for those who care to look at it. It is easy to understand but in DC math this is considered a budget increase. It definitely is NOT.
While all the grenades are being lobbed around by the bumbler in chief, he continues to throw so many things at the public that it cannot keep up. On top of the economy, the omnibus, the trillions in spending, the 90% taxes to punish people whose contracts were honored, Iranian rockets, North Korean missilesm bows to kings, ACORN and the census, shooting pollution into the sky to cool the planet and all the other distractions, Obama is now ready to make millions of ILLEGALS into citizens.
Drudge is reporting that the New York Times will have a page 1 story tomorrow on Obama’s plan:
IMMIGRATION BILL THIS YEAR: Obama to begin looking for illegal immigrants to become legal, NY TIMES planning to lead in Page Ones on Thursday, newsroom sources tell DRUDGE… Developing…
It is time to gear up for a big fight. We cannot allow millions of lawbreakers to become citizens. They broke the law and we need to get rid of them when we find them. We cannot afford to have these blood sucking leeches be rewarded for breaking the law. You get more of what you reward and if we reward these people with citizenship then we will get more and more ILLEGALS coming here expecting the same deal. The amnesty that was provided two times before was billed as necessary to take care of the problem and it would never have to happen again. Now we are looking at millions more becoming citizens, being rewarded for breaking the law.
I read somewhere that immigrant groups (the ones that work hard to help illegals) had John McCain at some meeting looking for his help on this issue. I remember that they all left without a warm and fuzzy feeling because McCain indicated they were on their own. I believe he told them that they made their choice by picking Obama and they needed to go to him for what they wanted.
If I am not mistaken, McCain was basically telling them that he put his neck out for them during the last amnesty debate and bucked his own party which ended up costing him political capital. His message was, I was there for you and in the election you overwhelmingly supported Obama so go ask him for help, don’t come to me.
If that is true then maybe McCain finally got the message. We need to be tough on this. Pay close attention because this is all about politics. Democrats want to increase the number of votes they receive and they can do that by rewarding ILLEGALS with citizenship. Any member who votes for this needs to be voted out of office in 2010. They need to know that is what their vote will cost them.
We will see how this pans out when the NYT publishes the article.
Related:
Flopping Aces
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Obama Enlists Supporters From Military For Staged Affection
Apr 8, 2009 Military, Political
There was a recent comparison as to how Resident Obama was greeted by the troops and how President Bush was greeted. The troops were much more enthusiastic with Bush, golf clap warm for Obama. The left made the excuses, about being at attention (no clapping at attention by the way) and all that. The reality is that an overwhelming number of troops are conservative and vote Republican. Black troops voted Obama about 70% (compared to nearly 95% of the general black population) but over all the numbers were much greater for McCain.
The MSM and the Obama administration were well aware of the comparisons. These people scan the web looking for things that are unflattering to The Won. The MSM were certainly aware of the comparisons. So what do they do? Obama goes to Baghdad and the reports are that wildly cheering troops greeted him, blah, blah. The reporting made it sound like the troops were having orgasms because Obama showed up. MacRanger has a post up and he indicates that he received an email from a soldier who was there. It might explain a few things:
“We were pre-screened, asked by officials “Who voted for Obama?”, and then those who raised their hands were shuffled to the front of the receiving line. They even handed out digital cameras and asked them to hold them up.”
Take a look at the picture at AP and notice all the cameras are the same models? Coincidence? I think not.
The Obama propagandists got there, screened the troops, gave them cameras and then told them to hold them up (so everyone can see how many troops are taking pictures).
I saw raw footage of his speech (could not understand the audio) but the claps and HOOAHs for him were rather restrained. The enthusiasm is not what I would expect from an Army crowd.
I know that Obama would just love to have the troops on his side but most of them do not agree with him and they do not like what he is doing to their country. They will not support him in the next election and I am sure there will be more efforts to disenfranchise them (like went on in New York last week).
No matter. Resident Obama got his photo op. The MSM got its staged photos and can now make the claim that Obama is loved by the troops.
No, they respect the office but so far the reception for the man has been lukewarm at best.
I know he thinks he knows what he is doing but most of those 20 year old men and women have more leadership experience than Obama does and have experienced things in life he will never come close to.
Perhaps one day he will get the big, warm reception but not while he is apologizing to every country in the world and blaming America. Our troops are not too keen on folks who blame America for the ills of the world.
I figured most of them would leave the service if he won but I guess his Democratic buddies have helped him make the job outlook so bad that the troops have to stay in to keep getting paid.
The will continue to succeed (something Obama tried to keep them from doing as a Senator) despite the incompetent boob in the White House.
As an aside, Obama used a lot of phrases that Bush used. Did his speech writers decide sounding like Bush would be better for Obama?
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Tags: baghdad, lies, Military, Obama, pre screened, propaganda, troops
Obama Might Throw Our Troops Under The Bus
Mar 9, 2009 Military, Political
Barack Obama is famous for throwing people under the proverbial bus. He has thrown his pastor, his grandmother and about any other person who was a threat to his quest for power under the bus so as to keep from being harmed. He recently threw his Attorney General under the now overcrowded vehicle. Now it looks like Obama might just well throw our troops under the bus.
The Telegraph UK is reporting that Barack Obama is considering signing on to the International Criminal Court (ICC) which will mean that our troops can be charged with crimes under an international organization. President Bush withdrew the US from the statute to keep our troops from being arraigned for alleged war crimes. Now they might not be protected:
The next logical step is for the United States to sign up to the ICC. That would flatter Obama’s ego as the conscience of the world. It would also put US servicemen at the mercy of any American-hating opportunists who might choose to arraign them on trumped-up charges before an alien court whose judges are likely to be ill-disposed towards America too.
This would, of course, leave the ICC open to charging President Bush for war crimes which might be what the left is looking for. In any event, this is not a good development and Obama should consider it carefully. Signing on could leave our troops at the mercy of those who don’t care for us very much.
Why anyone would serve in the military under Obama is beyond me. If I were still in the service I would get out or retire as soon as possible in order to keep from being The Evil One’s political pawn. Is it any wonder our troops do not trust the man?
So, vengeful Democrats could facilitate the indictment of President George W Bush and all his senior commanders in Iraq. American troops on active service have been shown in polls to have little confidence in Barack Obama. His overtures to the ICC will hardly reverse that tendency. [emphasis mine]
I urge my fellow service members to reconsider your service. If you are on the edge as to whether to reenlist please consider getting out and doing something else. This guy and his Democratic buddies do not have your best interests at heart.
I have always believed that military service was a good thing and a way to give back to a country that has given so much. When young people ask me for advice I tell them the pros and cons and encourage them to join if they truly want to serve.
For the first time in my adult life I find myself telling them to consider something else. Though I have encountered few Obama supporters who want to join the service I do encourage them to join.
They should have to suffer the consequences of their actions.
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Tags: ear crimes, icc, international court, Military, Obama