[119272] in Cypherpunks
IP: AZ: urban assault training exercise for Marines
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Robert Hettinga)
Wed Oct 20 18:28:56 1999
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Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 16:12:37 -0400
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
From: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
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From: believer@telepath.com
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 12:06:46 -0500
To: believer@telepath.com
Subject: IP: AZ: urban assault training exercise for Marines
Source: WorldNetDaily
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_dougherty/19991020_xnjdo_the_marine.shtml
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 20 1999
The Marines land in Arizona
Units engaged in urban assault training exercises
----------
By Jon E. Dougherty
© 1999 WorldNetDaily.com
Units from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Pendleton,
Calif., have "landed" in parts of Arizona to conduct urban assault training
and to familiarize troops with a "realistic urban combat environment," a
Marine spokesman told WorldNetDaily.
However, residents are being asked not to consider the armed presence of
hundreds of troops an "invasion" or preparation for the implementation of
particular government policies. Rather, he said, the exercises -- underway
through today -- are merely part of a continuing series of urban training
drills designed to familiarize Marines and other U.S. troops with urban
combat conditions.
According to Capt. Arnoux Abraham, spokesman for the exercises, the
300-plus force of Marines are training "in the greater Arizona area," in an
effort to hone their urban combat skills in an environment "that cannot be
duplicated" at any military training center. For security reasons aimed at
protecting civilians, he did not provide the exact training locations, but
did confirm that Goodyear, Ariz., was one site where troops would be
engaging in mock assaults.
In describing the training, Abraham said Marines of the 15th MEU "were
being prepared for their impending six-month deployment," though he gave no
information where they would eventually be sent.
Abraham said the Marine Corps "has a number of military urban training
(MOUT) facilities, but he explained, "Marines who continually trained in
these sites would eventually become accustomed to them. Our purpose is to
prepare them for ... urban operations abroad." He added that though each
urban area is different, "many cities around the world are similar in
nature and make-up to American cities," thus the training on U.S. soil
becomes useful.
In response to earlier controversy regarding the command structure of the
exercises, Abraham vehemently denied a locally published report stating
that the FBI was "overseeing" the exercises. "That is, emphatically,
incorrect," he said.
Abraham told WorldNetDaily that "a young reporter" from the West Valley
View newspaper in Litchfield Park, Ariz., might have misinterpreted
information given to her by City Council officials. He said that while the
FBI was indeed on the scene, those officials were acting merely as a
liaison between "the Marine Corps and local law enforcement officials."
"This is a Marine Corps training exercise," said Abraham. "At no time has
the FBI assumed operational control over it."
"In fact," he added, "current federal law prohibits the military from
engaging in civil law enforcement action." Abraham also debunked another
report that said civilian police SWAT teams were also training with the
Marines.
"We just don't conduct training with civilian authorities," he said. "We
don't participate in any kind of exercises ... with local authorities --
ours or theirs."
The FBI's role, said Abraham, was to coordinate with local police to cordon
off training areas and make them safe, and to ensure civilians did not
stray into live-fire zones. The Justice Department normally sends an FBI
agent to a planned training site "a couple of weeks" before the training
actually begins, "to start the coordination process."
Abraham also said one of the proposed training sites near Goodyear, which
belongs to a local company called Unidynamics, was reported as unsafe by
local residents concerned that Marines could be contaminated by chemicals
that had allegedly escaped into the building and surrounding environment.
But the Marine captain told WorldNetDaily he had personally met with a
Unidynamics representative, who assured him "the Marines were safe," that
"no surface contaminants existed," and that any contaminants that might be
in the area were "about a hundred feet below" the training site.
Regarding the concern some local residents have about seeing armed Marines
in town, Abraham said there is no reason to worry.
"The training that we provide is strictly in preparation for our operations
abroad," he said. "Our purpose ... is not to use it on our own citizens.
We're all Americans too, and we took an oath to protect the people we serve."
"This is an effort to ensure the U.S. Marine Corps is properly trained to
execute its mission abroad," he added.
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-----------------
Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
