Guest Post: Military Rolls Tanks Onto St. Louis Streets...But Why?

Zero Hedge ^ | 6/23/2012 | Tyler Durden

[JohnKinAK]

Submitted by Brandon Smith from Alt-Market

Military Rolls Tanks Onto St. Louis Streets...But Why?

I have to say that this event, which is being labeled a "training exercise", makes very little sense to me. U.S. Army troops all the way from Maryland running open exercises in armored personnel carriers on the busy streets of St. Louis? I know Maryland is a small state, but is there really not enough room at Ft. Detrick to accommodate a tank column and some troops? Are there not entire fake neighborhood and town complexes built with taxpayer dollars on military bases across the country meant to facilitate a realistic urban environment for troops to train in? And why travel hundreds of miles to Missouri? At the very least, this is a massive waste of funds.

On the other hand, such an action on the part of the Department of Defense makes perfect sense if the goal is to acclimate citizens to the idea of seeing tanks and armed military acting in a policing capacity. Just check out the two random idiots the local news affiliate picked to interview in St. Louis on the subject. Both state that they think the exercise is a "great idea", because having the military on the streets would help to "reduce crime":

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/06/us-military-to-run-urban-exercises-in-north-st-louis-residents-hope-it-will-cut-down-on-crime/

I suspect that the news affiliate did not go out of its way to get any counter-opinions, even though they admitted to being contacted by those voicing concerns over martial law.

Even so, it's sad and simultaneously terrifying that there are plenty of mindless dupes out there who do not understand the dangers of the Army crossing the Rubicon and acting in a civil law enforcement capacity, never mind that they are completely ignorant of the fact that it violates the Posse Comitatus Act. One of the interviewees even points out that in some countries they don't use police at all; only military. This is true. We call those countries "tyrannies"...

Add to the mix the reality that the DOD refuses to respond to any further inquiries by the press concerning details of the training, and you get yet another suspicious instance of behavior on the part of the establishment that seems preparatory for domestic action. I believe that the high frequency at which these activity reports have been coming in over the past year is certainly cause for alarm...

[USNBandit]

Freepers who vilified democrat Gov. Kathleen Blanco after hurricane Katrina should reflect that she was very properly resisting a federal power grab.

Curling up in the fetal position in the immediate aftermath then blaming the federal government for inaction when it was her responsibility to request assistance is not worthy of praise.

[rawcatslyentist]

>"I think of it as the NATCCC, or simply the NATCs...

Heilarious!

[archy]

so they DROVE from Maryland to St.Louis to train troops in St.Louis how to drive them instead of FLYING the troops to the vehicles... BRILLIANT!!!

Gateway Yard, E. St Louis IL:

[Travis McGee]

Welcome to the USSA, comrade.

[robowombat]

Detrick is bugs and gas central. I suspect this some sort of a lethal chemical or biological incident control drill that the geniuses at DA think is better just to not explain to the peasantry as they are to stupid to deal with the truth. That is the true meaning of the ‘You can't handle the truth.’ line in ‘A Few Good Men’. I doubt the script writer understood it either. He just heard it and it sounded cool. There are a lot of officers who are very professional and are, by their lights, patriots who really believe the average American is just to stupid, lazy, self indulgent and uninformed to be able to understand the mission and functions of the armed forces.

[LegendHasIt]

Although strictly speaking those aren’t tanks (at least in the photo... I can’t watch the video with my crappy internet connection). I believe that they are more properly considered “Armored Security Vehicles” of the M-1117 type?

[UCANSEE2]

“Military Rolls Tanks Onto St. Louis Streets...But Why? “

They are going to redo the main roads and are using the tanks to break up the surface so they can repave it. Saves money.

[rawcatslyentist]

They need to train in Chicago. If they want REAL experience.

[Ellendra]

Wasn’t there a line in “Iron Man” about “training exercise” being the usual excuse?

[PA Engineer]

No worries, plenty of combat engineers in the state to repave any streets that get cracked or rutted.

I hope they can fix old cast and ductile iron water mains too. Very tragic turn of events.

[Chode]

the video showed ONLY wheeled vehicles and said if was a Military Police training exercise that would be rolling through residential neighborhoods, it said nothing about M1's...

and even if they are using armor, it's GOT to be cheaper to fly the troops to the armor instead of bringing the armor to them

[man_in_tx]

Save Anheuser-Busch...save the world.
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Of course, after all, it is a Belgian company now, or so I understand.

[blackdog]

Did the tank crews have forks?

[null and void]

That depends entirely on where you want/need the armor to be when you are done...

[robowombat]

Bunko was no hero. She was just a typical Swamp State politician that wanted the feds to turn on the money spigot for the LA ANG and Air NNG and not ask any questions about how many drill pays were actually doing anything and what rh operations and maintenance billings really were for. Like every thing else in Louisiana a major disaster is viewed as an opportunity for political patronage. The AG of La at the time, Maj. Gen. Bennett Landreneau was sort of a poster boy for the complicit political enabler and court jester which is why he served under three different governor's. I regret that President Bush didn't simply declare south Louisiana ‘National Defense Zone’ due to the significance of the petro chemical industry, off shore oil port facilities and the port of New Orleans and declare marshal law and appoint a competent, not an affirmative action clown such as was eventually appointed as federal coordinating officer, general officer to control the chaos rampant in south Louisiana. The state and local governments displayed the Louisiana sickness of whining incapacity and psychological weakness to a florid degree and the Swamp State should have had its nose thoroughly rubbed in its governmental failure. Those who paid their taxes, bought adequate insurance, added prudently and functioned competently were the victims of mass governmental collapse and incompetence. Bush was far to kind to the local incompetent, weak kleptocrats.

[rwa265]

Let’s make some sense out of this. There is an Army Reserve unit on Goodfellow Boulevard in north St. Louis. The reservists have been training at this facility for as long as I can remember, since before the Vietnam War. They have dozens of army vehicles at the unit. Ten trainers are coming from Ft. Meade, MD, to provide training to these reservists at their training facility.

[Kirkwood]

Blanco's stupidity and indecisiveness had nothing to do with resisting federal power.

[OwenKellogg]

Did the tank crews have forks?

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Don’t know about the forks, but I’m sure they are not into venture capital or private equity.

[man_in_tx]

Only the window dressing is different. The right will do behind your back what the left does in your face. Neither side wants a strong sovereign United States.

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Well put. You sound a lot like Michael Savage.

[Happy Rain]

An apt and thus terrifying synonym...

...God bless the founders and their 2nd Amendment foresight.