1. #3861
    Quote Originally Posted by Thekri View Post
    Not sure where you got the idea they were more or less restricted then they were during last year. The actual actions of the NG in both cases were very simular. The major differences are 1) You didn't see the use of force memo last time, and 2) Last time they had a LOT of support by other federal agencies, where they had almost none this time.

    The first is not a big deal, the second absolutely is. As I mentioned in my earlier post on the topic, I am EXTREMELY concerned by the actions of numerous federal agencies during the Washington protests last year. Many of these agencies cannot even be identified, such as who was operating surveillance aircraft over the crowd, or who was providing the "Goon Squads" we saw in both DC and Portland. Other agencies we can identify, such as the National Park service, were operating WAY outside the scope of their authority, and tear gassing crowds. But I can't find any evidence that the National Guard itself was particularly misused in those cases (If you remember the iconic picture of them on the Washington Monument, they had no guns, no riot shields, and weren't advancing on protestors).

    As far as the memo itself, you seem to completely misunderstand what it is. It is a very standard use of force format, I dealt with similar documents hundreds of times. When it says "You can't do this thing without asking permission" that is exactly what it means. It doesn't mean you can't do it, it just means you have to ask the person assigned to approve such things. In Afghanistan we had mountains of these memos, restricting all sorts of things. "Don't use Aerial munitions within X distance of a structure", "Don't obstruct civilian traffic along roads", "Don't enter agricultural areas", but none of those were hard rules, each of them had a person you had to ask before you did something like that. They don't want Soldiers doing donuts in some poor farmers fields, but if one of my Platoons needed to go after a mortar emplacement or something, I was the one authorized to approve that. For something more serious, like Aerial Munitions near a residential structure, if we absolutely needed to do it, I had to ask my boss first (Or provide a really good reason after the fact!)

    That is all this memo is. "Don't do shit that is going to rile up the media unless you ask me first". Of course, Soldiers are ALWAYS allowed to do what they need to defend themselves, and since we saw the NG doing several of the things on that list, clearly they did ask for, and receive, permission to do it. They weren't actually used as traffic control, we saw them in a shield wall moving rioters away from the capital.
    The order literally states they are not allowed to wear body armor. As you can see from the photos from before, they are allowed to wear them.

    I've seen plenty of UOF and SOFA agreements.

    Most of it is fine, but some of it is not. This isn't about misuse, it's about equipping them. I get an order telling hem they are not to act as a law-enforcement entity. I get saying they are not allowed firearms. I take specific exception with not allowing them body armor and helmets.

    Tis isn't an issue with the actions of the National Guard troops, but with their limitations beforehand. And let's not pretend that the National Guard deployment was anything but a major catastrophe. Governors and the DC mayor were BEGGING to have the, and they were being stonewalled. Larry Hogan, a republican was on the phone desperately trying to offer assistance.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kellhound View Post
    And the restrictions are not effectively significant given the equipment authorized in both cases.

    Again, I would have preferred to see them armed with fixed bayonets both times because it is very effective at moving people.
    Body armor and helmets are important when dealing with a riot.
    Last edited by Machismo; 2021-02-02 at 08:54 PM.

  2. #3862
    Legendary! Thekri's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Machismo View Post
    The order literally states they are not allowed to wear body armor. As you can see from the photos from before, they are allowed to wear them.

    I've seen plenty of UOF and SOFA agreements.

    Most of it is fine, but some of it is not. This isn't about misuse, it's about equipping them. I get an order telling hem they are not to act as a law-enforcement entity. I get saying they are not allowed firearms. I take specific exception with not allowing them body armor and helmets.

    Tis isn't an issue with the actions of the National Guard troops, but with their limitations beforehand.
    Again, it does not prohibit wearing body armor and helmets, it merely requires authorization before you do so. At the time that memo was written (January 5th) there was no a clear reason to deploy body armor or helmets in Washington DC. The Military REALLY doesn't like the optics of doing so (The fact that some police agencies dress like they are on patrol in Baghdad is a separate issue...).

    When there WAS a reason to deploy those things, they did so. Look at pictures of the National Guard useage at the capital. You will see helmets, riot shields, and body armor all in use.

    Body armor and helmets are important when dealing with a riot
    Of course it is. And when there was a riot (On January 6) the national guard used Body Armor and Helmets. They used tear gas, armored vehicles, and carried rifles as well. However, on January 5th there was not a riot, so the National Guard wasn't there, and wasn't using those things.

    You keep claiming they were limited, but they clearly weren't. They showed up with all the things they needed, and they did it in about 5 hours. Which is extremely fast for a Tuesday. The National Guard isn't like the regular army, they don't show up and sit around bases all day, they have full time civilian jobs. They had to be called up, equipped, and deployed. I don't know how many they had on standby, but I doubt it was the full number deployed that day.

    If you look at the Troops that were posted around the Capital between Jan 6 and Jan 20th, you see the armor, rifles, and helmets all available. (However I don't see any ammunition, the rifles are just for show/poking people).

  3. #3863
    Quote Originally Posted by Thekri View Post
    Again, it does not prohibit wearing body armor and helmets, it merely requires authorization before you do so. At the time that memo was written (January 5th) there was no a clear reason to deploy body armor or helmets in Washington DC. The Military REALLY doesn't like the optics of doing so (The fact that some police agencies dress like they are on patrol in Baghdad is a separate issue...).

    When there WAS a reason to deploy those things, they did so. Look at pictures of the National Guard useage at the capital. You will see helmets, riot shields, and body armor all in use.


    Of course it is. And when there was a riot (On January 6) the national guard used Body Armor and Helmets. They used tear gas, armored vehicles, and carried rifles as well. However, on January 5th there was not a riot, so the National Guard wasn't there, and wasn't using those things.

    You keep claiming they were limited, but they clearly weren't. They showed up with all the things they needed, and they did it in about 5 hours. Which is extremely fast for a Tuesday. The National Guard isn't like the regular army, they don't show up and sit around bases all day, they have full time civilian jobs. They had to be called up, equipped, and deployed. I don't know how many they had on standby, but I doubt it was the full number deployed that day.

    If you look at the Troops that were posted around the Capital between Jan 6 and Jan 20th, you see the armor, rifles, and helmets all available. (However I don't see any ammunition, the rifles are just for show/poking people).
    When there was a riot on Jan 6th, the National Guard wasn't even there.

    They didn't show up for several hours, despite the governors and mayors literally begging to be able to do it. W already know this, Larry Hogan went on television to state it.

    It does prohibit them from being warn, until they are given permission to do so.
    Last edited by Machismo; 2021-02-02 at 09:06 PM.

  4. #3864
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    Quote Originally Posted by Machismo View Post
    When there was a riot on Jan 6th, the National Guard wasn't even there.
    Which is a much bigger issue then anything to do with the national guard. There are a lot of people responsible for securing the Capital, but there were no resources in place to security. Using the National Guard is absolutely the last resort. It wasn't that large a crowd, it could/should have been handled by Police. It wasn't, because the Police seemed to be complicit AF.

    They didn't show up for several hours, despite the governors and mayors literally begging to be able to do it.
    Were exactly do you think the DC National Guard is physically located? Hint: It isn't at the Capital Building. They use normal trucks and stuff to move, it isn't particularly fast. Then they have to get all their people together, brief them what is going on, issue them their stuff, get them on the trucks, drive to the capital...

    I promise you, it takes forever to get a military unit to go anywhere. Hours is pretty fast, because again, THEY ARE NOT POLICE. They aren't supposed to show up on a minutes notice to quell insurrections, because we aren't supposed to need that capability.

    It does prohibit them from being warn, until they are given permission to do so.
    ... which is exactly what I said, with sentence structure moved around. Since that permission was given, and the body armor was worn, it is a non-issue. Plenty of legitimate issues here, this memo isn't really one of them. I don't like it at the DoD level, as I said the first time, but there isn't a case to be made that it actually hurt anything.

  5. #3865
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thekri View Post
    Were exactly do you think the DC National Guard is physically located? Hint: It isn't at the Capital Building. They use normal trucks and stuff to move, it isn't particularly fast. Then they have to get all their people together, brief them what is going on, issue them their stuff, get them on the trucks, drive to the capital...

    I promise you, it takes forever to get a military unit to go anywhere. Hours is pretty fast, because again, THEY ARE NOT POLICE. They aren't supposed to show up on a minutes notice to quell insurrections, because we aren't supposed to need that capability.
    But there is direct evidence that the National Guard was delayed significantly outside of their normal response times. Trump and his political cronies stalled potential response times with direct orders that stymied communication and orders.

  6. #3866
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    Quote Originally Posted by cubby View Post
    But there is direct evidence that the National Guard was delayed significantly outside of their normal response times. Trump and his political cronies stalled potential response times with direct orders that stymied communication and orders.
    Sure, don't doubt it. Everyone in that administration was a complete POS.

    The only point I was making is that it is silly to claim they weren't allowed to wear armor, when we saw them wearing armor when they showed up. Obviously everything about the Trump administrations response was horrible, but that was just standard for them.

  7. #3867
    Quote Originally Posted by Thekri View Post
    Which is a much bigger issue then anything to do with the national guard. There are a lot of people responsible for securing the Capital, but there were no resources in place to security. Using the National Guard is absolutely the last resort. It wasn't that large a crowd, it could/should have been handled by Police. It wasn't, because the Police seemed to be complicit AF.

    Were exactly do you think the DC National Guard is physically located? Hint: It isn't at the Capital Building. They use normal trucks and stuff to move, it isn't particularly fast. Then they have to get all their people together, brief them what is going on, issue them their stuff, get them on the trucks, drive to the capital...

    I promise you, it takes forever to get a military unit to go anywhere. Hours is pretty fast, because again, THEY ARE NOT POLICE. They aren't supposed to show up on a minutes notice to quell insurrections, because we aren't supposed to need that capability.

    ... which is exactly what I said, with sentence structure moved around. Since that permission was given, and the body armor was worn, it is a non-issue. Plenty of legitimate issues here, this memo isn't really one of them. I don't like it at the DoD level, as I said the first time, but there isn't a case to be made that it actually hurt anything.
    Oh, I agree, the NG should be very low on the list. Capitol Police fucked up, bigly.

    https://www.factcheck.org/2021/01/ti...nt-to-capitol/

    As for the DC armory, it's less than miles from the Capitol Building, give or take. They also could have staged at Andrews, or Anacostia, both of which are within 15-20 min.

    This shows the failure leading up to it all, not just on the day of. As for the day of, getting the approval, then the ensuing shenanigans, is to blame.

    As for the wording, that means a great deal. They were prevented from wearing it, unless approved. And as we've seen, approval was something that was in short supply. Anyone who doesn't see this as an utter failure of the complete chain of command, to include the fucking president, is delusional.

  8. #3868
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vegas82 View Post
    They were allowed to with authorization, and it took forever to even send them in. Add in that you also had the VANG in there and they were under no such orders and this is a weird nitpicky thing to argue about. We have evidence of orders restricting the use of basic body armor in a situation that was known to be volatile. It’s inexcusable.
    Sure, fine. This is exactly why I don't post much on here anymore, people are more interested in being angry then they are about understanding anything. Anger without context is not a helpful situation. Restricting body armor in CONUS is normal, always. Insurrections are not normal, and it is very easy to sit looking back on the situation and be upset because you know what happened next.

    The reason this is important is because the neutrality of the military is a large part of what let us survive the last 4 years. Deploying troops and guns the second some group of Americans start talking shit is a REALLY bad idea. The Guard should never have been called in. Those helmets and armor should never have been needed. The Capital Police should have handled it, with support from other federal and local law enforcement as needed.

    This isn't me defending any part of Trump's administration, this is about something much larger and more important. The sight of military forces in and around that capital building is already a sign of complete and total failure to govern.

  9. #3869
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    Quote Originally Posted by Machismo View Post
    The order literally states they are not allowed to wear body armor. As you can see from the photos from before, they are allowed to wear them.

    I've seen plenty of UOF and SOFA agreements.

    Most of it is fine, but some of it is not. This isn't about misuse, it's about equipping them. I get an order telling hem they are not to act as a law-enforcement entity. I get saying they are not allowed firearms. I take specific exception with not allowing them body armor and helmets.

    Tis isn't an issue with the actions of the National Guard troops, but with their limitations beforehand. And let's not pretend that the National Guard deployment was anything but a major catastrophe. Governors and the DC mayor were BEGGING to have the, and they were being stonewalled. Larry Hogan, a republican was on the phone desperately trying to offer assistance.

    - - - Updated - - -



    Body armor and helmets are important when dealing with a riot.
    Not nearly as important as shields (and face shields) and offensive weapons. Look at pictures of the Guard on the 6th. They have small chest body armor, large face shields, large shields, and lower leg hard armor. That is how you equip troops for riot duty, not normal helmets and combat body armor.

  10. #3870
    Quote Originally Posted by Kellhound View Post
    Not nearly as important as shields (and face shields) and offensive weapons. Look at pictures of the Guard on the 6th. They have small chest body armor, large face shields, large shields, and lower leg hard armor. That is how you equip troops for riot duty, not normal helmets and combat body armor.
    They have helmets.

    They have body armor.

    These are things that others wanted to prevent them from having.

  11. #3871
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    Quote Originally Posted by Machismo View Post
    They have helmets.

    They have body armor.

    These are things that others wanted to prevent them from having.
    In many ways the full combat body armor is a detriment when not facing high velocity projectiles. Its heavy and bulky.

    And they did have helmets, body armor, shields etc. on the 6th.

  12. #3872
    Quote Originally Posted by Kellhound View Post
    In many ways the full combat body armor is a detriment when not facing high velocity projectiles. Its heavy and bulky.

    And they did have helmets, body armor, shields etc. on the 6th.
    Once again, look at what was specifically restricted at first...

    That's the problem.

  13. #3873
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    Quote Originally Posted by Machismo View Post
    Once again, look at what was specifically restricted at first...

    That's the problem.
    No it is not a problem. Even the WaPo says there was little the NG could do because they were not asked to do more in a timely manner.

  14. #3874
    Quote Originally Posted by Kellhound View Post
    No it is not a problem. Even the WaPo says there was little the NG could do because they were not asked to do more in a timely manner.
    Which is also a problem, one that has been pointed out many, many times.

  15. #3875
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    Quote Originally Posted by Machismo View Post
    Which is also a problem, one that has been pointed out many, many times.
    No, that was THE problem.

  16. #3876
    Quote Originally Posted by Kellhound View Post
    No, that was THE problem.
    There's more than one problem, as has been pointed out many, many times.

  17. #3877
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    Quote Originally Posted by Machismo View Post
    There's more than one problem, as has been pointed out many, many times.
    Its been pointed out many many times that what you call a problem, in fact, was not....

  18. #3878
    Quote Originally Posted by Kellhound View Post
    Its been pointed out many many times that what you call a problem, in fact, was not....
    Except, it is a problem, as has been pointed out.

    have a lovely evening!!!

  19. #3879
    Are they really making fun of some of these rioters because they didn't vote in the election? Let's not pretend we forgot your vote only matters in swing states.

  20. #3880
    Quote Originally Posted by Very Tired View Post
    Are they really making fun of some of these rioters because they didn't vote in the election? Let's not pretend we forgot your vote only matters in swing states.
    That's not in the least bit true. 1.) supression tactics. 2.) there are more than 1 race in elections. Hell even the special election in GA that happened on Jan 5th had more then 1 election. Anyone who doesn't vote that isn't effected by 1 deserves whatever they get, and imo, not too bright, and deserve to be mocked relentlessly, as these people justifiably are.

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