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Makes Very Little Sense:Why are Army Tanks Rolling Down Residential Roads for Training in St. Louis?
The Blaze ^ | June 25, 2012 | Liz Klimas

Posted on 06/25/2012 2:37:32 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY

Late last week and through the weekend, citizens of St. Louis, Mo., were told not to be alarmed should they see military tanks roll by their home. Even with this warning, though, some wondered why the U.S. Army was taking the vehicles off the base and to the streets in the first place.

According to KSDK-TV, Army specialists from Fort Meade came into town for a training exercise for members of the 354 NP company. As the reporter states, this “drivers’ ed.” for tanks will take place on city streets and the highway.

Watch the KSDK report:

As noted in the video, the military is warning onlookers to steer clear of the tanks should they be seen on the road. Still, this caused Brandon Smith from Alt-Market in a guest post for Zero Hedge to wonder why the military is really conducting this training in public at all, saying it “makes very little sense to me.” He poses these questions:

U.S. Army troops all the way from Maryland running open exercises in armored personnel carriers on the busy streets of St. Louis? I know Maryland is a small state, but is there really not enough room at Ft. Detrick to accommodate a tank column and some troops? Are there not entire fake neighborhood and town complexes built with taxpayer dollars on military bases across the country meant to facilitate a realistic urban environment for troops to train in? And why travel hundreds of miles to Missouri?

(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...


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To: Free ThinkerNY

Send them to Detroit to clear some old houses while they are at it. ;-)


21 posted on 06/25/2012 3:06:44 PM PDT by Average Al (Forbidden fruit leads to many jams.)
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To: freedumb2003
Are the roads able to handle that load?

I see huge potholes in the future.

That was my thought also. I thought they couldn't take tanks onto residential streets because they would tear up the roadway. There are dedicated bases/facilities for this type of training - why aren't they being used instead?

22 posted on 06/25/2012 3:10:32 PM PDT by GreenHornet
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To: Free ThinkerNY
Will we have the courage?


23 posted on 06/25/2012 3:11:28 PM PDT by moovova (Muslims will never know the pleasure of eating BBQ babyback ribs...too bad.)
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To: Free ThinkerNY
“makes perfect sense if the goal is to acclimate citizens to the idea of seeing tanks and armed military acting in a policing capacity.”

Depends on the definition of "policing capacity"... There hasn't been such a major need for military tanks to manuver through suburbia in the past. Other than a muzzy usurper in the WH, what has happened to change that?

24 posted on 06/25/2012 3:11:40 PM PDT by bgill
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Getting ready for the election in November? Maybe BHO is planning on announcing there will be no election (national security reasons) and he’s getting the Army ready for the ensuing riots. Just a thought.


25 posted on 06/25/2012 3:17:14 PM PDT by Snow Eagle ("... Against all enemies, foreign AND DOMESTIC")
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To: Free ThinkerNY; TheOldLady; WildHighlander57; netmilsmom; tomdavidd; Freeper; Gvl_M3; ...
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

‘Makes Very Little Sense’: Why are Army Tanks Rolling Down Residential Roads for Training?

.

26 posted on 06/25/2012 3:23:17 PM PDT by LucyT
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To: Free ThinkerNY
One thing does come to mind - If I were planing to deploy troops for internal missions I would use units from as far away as possible.
Fort Meade being half way 'cross the USA from St Louis.

It would be real interesting if someone could post their observations on just what the armor and associated troops are doing:
Are they going in and out of buildings or aiming cannon at them?
Are there discernable fire zones?
Do those zones point generally outward(a) from a core facility or (b) toward outskirts of the city?, or inward (c) toward a salient facility or area or (d) from outskirts to city core?
Are they setting up check points/outposts, or decontamination centers...or compounds?
Are they running around in bizarre suits and/or gas masks?
Or are they just buying souvenirs and trying to meet girls?

27 posted on 06/25/2012 3:23:24 PM PDT by norton
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To: Sarajevo
Many police SWAT forces use a Textron V-150[Louisiana, Tampa, etc]. Similar to the M117.

My bet is that other police outfits will be getting some of the ol' M117's used in Iraq. It usually works that way.

28 posted on 06/25/2012 3:26:30 PM PDT by Theoria (Rush Limbaugh: Ron Paul sounds like an Islamic terrorist)
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To: norton
Foot note to 27:
See #16,
Just what are we calling "tanks" here?
29 posted on 06/25/2012 3:28:37 PM PDT by norton
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To: Logical me

hunnerd bucks says somebody gets hammered, watches kelly’s heroes and flips a molotov down a hatch for kicks and grins. The more often this kind of crap goes on in close proximity to residential areas instead of manuever training areas, the greater the likelihood there’s an incident. be kind of interesting to see what kind of rules of engagement they’ve got for the homeland, versus the restrictive crap in afghan t.o., etc.


30 posted on 06/25/2012 3:32:26 PM PDT by ameribbean expat
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To: Free ThinkerNY
According to KSDK-TV, Army specialists from Fort Meade came into town for a training exercise for members of the 354 NP company.

I always wanted to be an NP when I was a little kid.

There is no such unit listed at Ft Meade, MD, however there is a reserve unit listed from St Louis, MO that is the 354th MP Company.

I guess I'm just too used to armor going all over hell and creation in Germany. Tiny back roads, autobahns, wherever. Just can't get worked up over this.

31 posted on 06/25/2012 3:38:51 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici (Congrats to Ted Kennedy! He's been sober for two years now!!)
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To: Free ThinkerNY

The drumbeat of Obamanation rolls on: regulate -— control -— destroy -— Regulate -— control -— destroy -— REgulate -— control -— destroy -— REGulate -— control -— destroy -— REGU


32 posted on 06/25/2012 3:45:15 PM PDT by Graewoulf ((Dictator Baby-Doc Barack's obama"care" violates Sherman Anti-Trust Law, AND U.S. Constitution.))
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To: Free ThinkerNY

There are extensive expensive large fake cities for training purposes. Fort Knox is one of them.

There is no good reason for this display of force.


33 posted on 06/25/2012 3:47:39 PM PDT by vanilla swirl (searching for something meaningfull to say)
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To: vanilla swirl
"There is no good reason for this display of force."
The purpose of terror; is to terrorized"
"The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them
between the millstones of taxation and inflation."
.....Vladimir Lenin

34 posted on 06/25/2012 4:11:02 PM PDT by skinkinthegrass (WA DC E$tabli$hment; DNC/RNC/Unionists...Brazilian saying: "$@me Old $hit; different flie$". :^)
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Not that much TEA Party presence in St. Louis, is there?


35 posted on 06/25/2012 4:20:07 PM PDT by JimRed (Excising a cancer before it kills us waters the Tree of LibertyI'm st! TERM LIMITS, NOW AND FOREVER!)
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To: Theoria
We were transfering a lot of equipment to Iraq when I left in 2010. I don't know if these types of vehicles were included in that transfer.

This is just something cops don't need.

36 posted on 06/25/2012 4:21:06 PM PDT by Sarajevo (Ever notice that when a beggar gets a donation, they immediately put their hand out for more.)
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To: Free ThinkerNY

A St Louis cop called into Alex Jones Sunday show and then today another ST Louis cop and a firefighter called in. What they had to say was not reassuring.

The cops are being told that in Oct some horrendous thing is going to happen and they will be fighting the militias etc. and protecting the upper class neighborhoods. Its pretty bizarre.


37 posted on 06/25/2012 4:24:01 PM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: vanilla swirl
There is no good reason for this display of force.

Think about that statement for a moment........

38 posted on 06/25/2012 4:26:41 PM PDT by Roccus (Obama & Holder LLP, Procurers of fine arms for the most discerning drug lords (202) 456-1414)
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To: freedumb2003

They have huge blind spots.
Military service should be zero defence against a manslaughter charge.


39 posted on 06/25/2012 4:31:18 PM PDT by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
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To: VeniVidiVici
The news report said that MP's were coming from Ft Meade to train the 354th MP company (St Louis based) on how to drive the vehicles on hwys and city streets. Also The Army MP training school is at Ft Leonard Wood, MO which is about 150 miles from St Louis. It would make sense for MP's to go to MO for training.

I'm sure that the MP's would prefer to go and train 354 NP's (just not how to drive).

40 posted on 06/25/2012 4:38:50 PM PDT by kaboom
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