What We SHOULD Do With Our Military

[Orcbert]

I was talking with some friends about the problems in the inner cities and the extremely high violent crime and murder rates. The police in these areas are generally strapped for funding and low on man power. Detroit police response time is about an hour. I saw a stat that showed a black man was 12 times more likely to die in an inner city then on the front lines in Afghanistan.

What if we had these areas declared 'Federal Emergency Crime Areas' and used military resources to support the police? As we're withdrawing troops the military is looking at a lot of men with no place to use them. I have a friend in the army who tells me that many service men basically show up at the beginning of the day and leave a few hours later having nothing to do. This seems like a logical distribution of resources.

Obviously we have to do PR to show those in these areas that this isn't military lock-down but an effort to give them the tools to be safer.

[Deleted]

I am going to assume you are American, there is no need for you to have such a huge military, even cutting the funding in half you will still have the most powerful military force by miles.

Holy fuck we are 4th? That actually surprises me considering we have a greatly reduced air force now.

[Deleted]

I am going to assume you are American, there is no need for you to have such a huge military, even cutting the funding in half you will still have the most powerful military force by miles.



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I was talking with some friends about the problems in the inner cities and the extremely high violent crime and murder rates. The police in these areas are generally strapped for funding and low on man power. Detroit police response time is about an hour. I saw a stat that showed a black man was 12 times more likely to die in an inner city then on the front lines in Afghanistan.

What if we had these areas declared 'Federal Emergency Crime Areas' and used military resources to support the police? As we're withdrawing troops the military is looking at a lot of men with no place to use them. I have a friend in the army who tells me that many service men basically show up at the beginning of the day and leave a few hours later having nothing to do. This seems like a logical distribution of resources.

Obviously we have to do PR to show those in these areas that this isn't military lock-down but an effort to give them the tools to be safer.

Welcome to the peacetime Military, its the reason I transferred out of the Infantry, nothing is worse than being in a combat arm with nothing to do but bullshit.

[slackjawsix]

The people would not go with it, it would be seen as marshal law by many and possibly cause even more crime to rebel against the military taking over for the police force.

[Reg]

Even though I agree with a possible use for military within our own country, having the military on our own soil would be considered a very dangerous step for some, mainly all those with a "slippery slope" mentality.

[Deleted]

The people would not go with it, it would be seen as marshal law by many and possibly cause even more crime to rebel against the military taking over for the police force.

Martial law is the worst thing that can happen to a country, it means everything has gone to hell and revolution may be just round the corner.

[Darsithis]

I was talking with some friends about the problems in the inner cities and the extremely high violent crime and murder rates. The police in these areas are generally strapped for funding and low on man power. Detroit police response time is about an hour. I saw a stat that showed a black man was 12 times more likely to die in an inner city then on the front lines in Afghanistan.

What if we had these areas declared 'Federal Emergency Crime Areas' and used military resources to support the police? As we're withdrawing troops the military is looking at a lot of men with no place to use them. I have a friend in the army who tells me that many service men basically show up at the beginning of the day and leave a few hours later having nothing to do. This seems like a logical distribution of resources.

Obviously we have to do PR to show those in these areas that this isn't military lock-down but an effort to give them the tools to be safer.

The military should never be used to police inside of the country. That's for civilian law enforcement. If crime is an issue, there are ways to remedy it:

- Funding for more police coverage
- Better education and more opportunities for those living in poverty (who resort to crime)

Among others. I'm not an expert but the idea of using military resources for civilian criminal functions is just...abhorrent.

[cityguy193]

Not fund it as heavily. Period.
Instead of putting soldiers in the inner city, we use the billions of dollars of military funding to fund a super police force.

[slackjawsix]

Even though I agree with a possible use for military within our own country, having the military on our own soil would be considered a very dangerous step for some, mainly all those with a "slippery slope" mentality.

Or maybe we can have a few watch over public places as some type of "terror response team" grand central and other busy places in NY already have people in military uniforms watching over those areas

[apepi]

Use veterans to defend our borders.

[Tankendog]

Military spending should go to more research of new technology or be routed to DARPA, NASA, etc., but not policing inner city streets. That is what police are for, who have their own budget spent really poorly. And I dont think sending people trained to kill into a crime ridden area be a good idea, just gonna throw that out there.

[Deleted]

Or maybe we can have a few watch over public places as some type of "terror response team" grand central and other busy places in NY already have people in military uniforms watching over those areas

Military police may have their uses, but you do not want Infantry doing that role, they can be a bit heavy handed.

[Puremallace]

OP you might want to look up what Martial law is. Also 3rd and 4th amendment. As interesting as it might be to see Army troops kicking in doors to confiscate guns I doubt it would go over very well.

[cityguy193]

Military spending should go to more research of new technology or be routed to DARPA, NASA, etc., but not policing inner city streets. That is what police are for, who have their own budget spent really poorly. And I dont think sending people trained to kill into a crime ridden area be a good idea, just gonna throw that out there.

Its not that bad of an idea honestly. Using extreme force when necessary.

[Hyve]

The United States (I'm assuming you're from the U.S. so correct me otherwise) has enough firepower to actually blow the planet into tiny pieces. There is absolutely no need for that degree of firepower, as you'll never use it.

The United States could easily divert 50% of its spending to social issues, and still operate the same infrastructure, global support network and the largest army in the world, without even breaking a sweat over national security.

This belief that throwing more money at the military is stupid, and much like the argument Obama & Romney had in a debate about the number of ships the the Navy has. It is not longer about the number of ships, but the capability of those ships. You don't need 190 aircraft, because 10 of them alone carry far more firepower, are far easier to command and control, and cheaper to maintain ...

Get with the modern age America. It isn't about the size of your military, it is about what they can actually do ...

[Tirivaria]

The military should never be used to police inside of the country. That's for civilian law enforcement. If crime is an issue, there are ways to remedy it:

- Funding for more police coverage
- Better education and more opportunities for those living in poverty (who resort to crime)

Among others. I'm not an expert but the idea of using military resources for civilian criminal functions is just...abhorrent.

Additionally, even aside from these considerations, there's this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act which makes deploying the military in that manner a much bigger and more complicated move than the commander-in-chief simply issuing orders.

[Reg]

Or maybe we can have a few watch over public places as some type of "terror response team" grand central and other busy places in NY already have people in military uniforms watching over those areas

Yeah, things like this are the part I agree with. Although I can see how it might be alarming to tourists, we do have what you said in our subways, bus terminals and ports. I don't think using the military as a police force on a city wide scale would be appropriate though.

[Orcbert]

The military should never be used to police inside of the country. That's for civilian law enforcement. If crime is an issue, there are ways to remedy it:

- Funding for more police coverage
- Better education and more opportunities for those living in poverty (who resort to crime)

Among others. I'm not an expert but the idea of using military resources for civilian criminal functions is just...abhorrent.

Police are funded by local and state governments. If there is no money how do you fund more police coverage?

It's not a lockdown or martial law, it's more man power to where it's needed.

[Hyve]

Its not that bad of an idea honestly. Using extreme force when necessary.

I'm all for the National Guard, and the Army being used to support troubled areas, but when you have it as a standard, the Police become a redundant force, as almost every situation will be called an extreme situation requiring extreme force ...

[Raidboss]

National Guard can serve this function as they are funded by the state and not the federal government. They are 12x more likely to die for a reason. Maybe we should just put up massive walls and let them kill themselves off and start fresh.