Your Tax Money Well-Spent

[DanG 1]

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The internet makes everyone an expert.

Apparently it makes everyone rude, too. I have an opinion, and it was politely stated. I never said I was an expert, but you don't have to be an expert on the police to have an opinion as a citizen.

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Put the foil hat away, even the conspiracy guy in the bar was good with it, once I explained the rules.

"Foil hat" implies that I'm some crazy conspiracy theorist. I'm not saying the the Guard is going around behind our back conducting illegal law enforcement operations. In fact, they are doing it in the open. I just am of the opinion that they shouldn't be.

- Dan G

[Andy9o8 3]

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the whole tactic of making something illegal, forcing it into the criminal economy, then using the association with criminal violence to justify making it illegal is totally circular and self-reinforcing.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

[skycop 0]

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Apparently it makes everyone rude, too. I have an opinion, and it was politely stated. I never said I was an expert, but you don't have to be an expert on the police to have an opinion as a citizen.

Well forgive me, the spirit of your post implied Posse comitatus applied to the national guard mission, it doesn't.

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"Foil hat" implies that I'm some crazy conspiracy theorist. I'm not saying the the Guard is going around behind our back conducting illegal law enforcement operations. In fact, they are doing it in the open.***

They are doing it in the open because it is part of their mission, and always has been. The only differences are the technology and the platforms.

I just am of the opinion that they shouldn't be. ***

Your town has a large event, drawing hundreds of thousands of people, your local PD does not have the manpower or equipment to deal with the situation. They ask the state for help and the governor decides to use guard resources to help. That is what they are there for, that is the guard mission.
Same goes for disasters, critical incidents, and in some cases tactical situations.

Rude, no
Grumpy, yes..............I just went to nights, and at my age that ain't easy...........

"Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

[DanG 1]

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Well forgive me, the spirit of your post implied Posse comitatus applied to the national guard mission, it doesn't.

I know that it does not currently. I think it should.

I'm not arguing about what is, I'm commenting on what should be.

- Dan G

[GeorgiaDon 385]

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I'm not saying the the Guard is going around behind our back conducting illegal law enforcement operations. In fact, they are doing it in the open. I just am of the opinion that they shouldn't be.

While I share your dislike of the National Guard being used to spy on me, it does seem this is not a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. From the Wikipedia article on the Act:
"The Act only specifically applies to the Army and Air Force, as amended in 1956. While the Act does not explicitly mention the naval services – the Navy and Marine Corps – the Department of the Navy has prescribed regulations that are generally construed to give the Act force with respect to those services as well. The Act does not apply to the Army and Air National Guard under state authority from acting in a law enforcement capacity within its home state or in an adjacent state if invited by that state's governor. The United States Coast Guard, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security, is not covered by the Posse Comitatus Act either, primarily because although the Coast Guard is an armed service, it also has both a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency mission." [I indicated the relevant bit in bold].

Like you, I assumed the Act applied to all military, so I learned something. I still don't like the idea of National Guard aircraft being used to survey the sheep.

Don

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Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996)
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

[skycop 0]

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Your town has a large event, drawing hundreds of thousands of people, your local PD does not have the manpower or equipment to deal with the situation. They ask the state for help and the governor decides to use guard resources to help. That is what they are there for, that is the guard mission.
Same goes for disasters, critical incidents, and in some cases tactical situations.

A small town has some type of major event described above, they need an aerial platform for any number of reasons. The support has to be requested and approved by the guard.

It doesn't happen much, where I worked previously we had an annual event that attracted 250,000 people. Our 45 man department couldn't handle that alone. Our city manager declared an emergency and guard help was requested. They usually sent about 100 MP's or a mix of MP's and regular guardsmen, they manned entry posts and directed traffic mainly. This freed us up to do the enforcement side, this has gone on for over 30 years with no problems. And for such a large event there were very few problems.

Enter the internet keyboard warriors over the last 8yrs or so, who think they know about Posse Comitatus, they don't. A few of them (from out of town) run around occasionally and scream about Constitutional violations. There is no reasoning with these people.

The OH-58 was very well suited for the counter drug mission, it wasn't well suited for other missions. The states with the most marijuana grows kept the OH-58's, the were built in the late 60's early 70's and needed replacement.

The guard now has the UH-72 Lakota, it's a multi-mission aircraft and much cheaper to operate than a Blackhawk, especially in the search and rescue area. These aircraft are not strictly used for counter-drug.

It's simply a support function and good training for the aircrews, which enhances mission readiness.

"Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"