Don’t get me wrong, Riot control is a long standing mission of the National Guard in the States and the Old Guard in DC. Also, Soldiers will put down rebellion (as was the case in the bonus marchers). The bonus marchers were evicted after 3 months of “Occupy Washington” style of protests that included attempts to coerce the Congress through violent confrontation. — The film here has a very left leaning agenda. Listen to how it talks about the need for a “new system” at the end. — I recall Patton had a very low opinion of them. He believed the marchers betrayed their status and were negligent in their demanding anything for their service.
I recognize the very complicated situation we have today. I, like many others, have no faith in the current administration to do the right thing with regard to the Constitution. But at the same time, having worked in the Federal Emergency Response Process while at the Pentagon, to include the response to the 9/11/2001 attacks, I responded a “truther” type argument which advocated firing on the troops for simply being present. THAT IS WRONG.
There is an appropriate role for the military in assisting Civil Authorities. That role is governed by Posse Comitatus and Constitutional restraints. I constantly worry about those lines being crossed by this government. But there are too many here arguing that any use of Federal Troops is somehow a call for armed confrontation by any one who owns a gun. Such arguments will get a lot of innocent people killed.
Thankfully MLK’s freedom march turned out to be peaceful, so we were ordered to stand down and get back to our usual job of burying dead soldiers with honor. But if we had been sent into the demonstration and ordered to fire on the demonstrators or attack them with bayonets, we would have done so. Soldiers follow orders, period. They do not pick and choose which ones to follow as you state in your #30 or which ones are right or wrong as in your #129.