[107324] in Cypherpunks
SNET: The plan for massive military mobilization
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Vladimir Z. Nuri)
Sun Jan 10 21:56:42 1999
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Date: Sun, 10 Jan 99 18:48:41 -0800
From: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>
Reply-To: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>
From: "Mark A. Smith" <msmith01@flash.net>
Subject: SNET: The plan for massive military mobilization
Date: Wed, 06 Jan 1999 16:16:26 -0500
To: Mark <msmith01@flash.net>
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WEDNESDAY
JANUARY 06
1999
------------------------------------------
[WND Exclusive ]
------------------------------------------
The plan for massive
military mobilization
National Guard exercises unprecedented
since World War II set for May Y2K test
------------------------------------------
Editor's note: This is the first of a
series of investigative reports on this
subject.
-------
By David M. Bresnahan
=A9 1999 WorldNetDaily.com
The National Guard is planning its first
national mobilization of troops since 1940
in preparation for civil unrest resulting
from the Y2K millennium bug, WorldNetDaily
has learned.
The National Guard Bureau in Washington is
currently formulating plans for a
mobilization test, in conjunction with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency. If
Y2K causes a complete shutdown of all
communications, the National Guard will
need a way to mobilize troops, according
to several officers who believe their
careers would be at risk if their names
were made public.
These officers spoke separately with
WorldNetDaily. Each is in a position to
know about the plans at a national level
within the National Guard Bureau.
"What's driving this thing are the folks
underneath the senior leadership," said
one officer. "Some of the IT guys and
command and control guys are the ones who
are driving this because they see what the
problem is," one of the sources told
WorldNetDaily in an exclusive interview.
The plan as it is now being designed, will
be a mock mobilization of all 480,000
members of the National Guard in all 54
states and territories. Exercise
COMEX/MOBEX will be conducted without
telephone, radio, or television to get the
word to all guard members.
"This will be a simulated COMM-Out,"
explained another member of the group. "In
other words, the standard method of
recall, the telephone, will not be an
option. The driver for this exercise is
Y2K," she added.
Concern about potential panic and unrest
over Y2K failures of communications,
power, and transportation has prompted the
National Guard Bureau to plan for the
worst. If such a scenario occurs, the
guard will need to be mobilized through
some means other than standard electronic
communications.
Exercise COMEX/MOBEX will be a test, not
an actual mobilization. Guard members will
be contacted, but they will not actually
have to report.
WorldNetDaily spoke with several full-time
guard members who work at the national
level. Each is an officer, and each is
concerned that the public is not being
properly informed of the extent and
seriousness of problems -- including civil
liberties issues -- associated with the
Y2K computer bug.
"I've taken an oath, and I don't see some
of the senior folks following through on
their oath," explained one officer of his
reasons for making this known. "Not only
is my oath to the Constitution, but it's
to the people. As far as I'm concerned,
the faster and sooner people are educated
on this stuff the less panic will ensue."
Another officer is equally concerned and
agreed. He pointed out that people panic
when they are caught unprepared and
unaware. He says the Clinton
administration should be doing more to
prevent panic.
"No one with any leadership has stepped
forward and said we need to take prudent
steps," he explained. "The Canadians are
way ahead on this. They've already told
their folks. They're doing a good job of
letting their people know what's going
on."
WorldNetDaily has also learned that all
military and civilian federal employees
are scheduled to be paid a little
differently in December 1999. Payroll for
January 2000 will be paid a month early.
One of the officers says that is to place
guard members in a situation where they
cannot refuse duty in the Y2K crisis
because they will have already been paid
in advance.
"Our guess is, we've been paid so if we
don't show up we're defrauding the
government. I think that's what the
rationale is, although they'll tell us
it's to keep the troops happy. Bull.
People won't be able to get their money
out of the banks anyway," predicted one of
the officers.
The Defense Department is reported to be
far behind in preparations for Y2K
compliancy. It is working only on
mission-critical systems, according to
Sen. Bob Bennett, R-UT, chairman of the
Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000
Technology Problem. The National Guard is
no exception.
"The field units are way behind,"
explained one source. "There's no way in
hell we're going to be compliant by March
31, 1999 (the target date announced by the
National Guard)."
A letter from the National Guard Bureau
will soon be in the hands of every
adjutant general. The letter will inform
the guard leaders of each state about
COMEX/MOBEX and how it will be conducted.
Although the exercise, tentatively
scheduled for May 1 and 2, will be no
secret, the various aspects of the
exercise will be kept under wraps until
the mobilization begins.
"Everyone knows it's coming, but there's
going to be scenarios written into it,"
explained one officer. "There will be as
many different things they can throw into
it at once to see how the
command-and-control structure handles it."
The test will do little to simulate the
actual panic that may be involved in an
actual Y2K mobilization.
"I think in a real situation, where you've
got a guy standing there with his wife
looking at him with tears in her eyes and
two kids hanging on his leg, and he's
being drug out the door by a couple MPs --
not that he doesn't want to serve -- but
it's got to be absolute pandemonium at
that point. I see that as a very difficult
situation," said one of the sources.
Although the National Guard Bureau expects
to be able to contact 95 percent of their
troops for COMEX/MOBEX, far fewer will
actually turn out in an actual Y2K
emergency. General panic by the public
will create a desire for many guard
members to stay home and protect their
families, said some.
The logistics of such a mobilization are
significant. The Clinton administration
will argue that the National Guard can be
used as a national police force, in spite
of the Posse Comitatus Act. FEMA and other
federal agencies will also be involved in
COMEX/MOBEX. Orders will be given without
the use of standard communications. The
country will be divided into seven
different regions. Plans include imposing
restrictions on civilian travel and limits
on bank withdrawals, according to sources.
"I have no doubts about the bunker
mentality of the Clinton administration,"
said one of the officers. "Let's put it
this way, our civil rights are going to
take a nosedive."
-------
David M. Bresnahan, a contributing editor
for WorldNetDaily.com, is the author of
"Cover Up: The Art and Science of
Political Deception," and offers a monthly
newsletter "Talk USA Investigative
Reports." He may be reached through email
and also maintains a website.
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