Posted on 01/11/2014 5:20:35 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The man in the photo to the left isn't a Ranger in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. He's a Texas game warden, kitted out to check your deer tags or lead a paramilitary, kick-the-door-in assault on your tent. The militarization of every possible law enforcement entity in America is complete: Texas Parks and Wildlife now has a SWAT team.
The 25-man unit can deploy anywhere in the state within four hours, TPWD boasts, and is modeled after what military types call a "force multiplier," which basically means that these guys can shoot a bunch of bullets. At what, you ask? In this Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine story, they list potential missions like "border operations, dignitary protection or any sort of high-risk law enforcement, such as serving felony arrest warrants or hostage situations.
Stuff can get real down in the dusty arroyos of Big Bend Ranch State Park. Hell, a Mexican man on a burro might try to sell you a carved statuette. In fairness, a game warden's average suspect is usually carrying a high-powered rifle. But something tells me some of these guys couldn't wait to shuck those slacks and Stetsons and put on a fresh pair of BDU pants and a Kevlar helmet.
"We're steeped in tradition and very mindful of our past," said special ops chief Grahame Jones. "It's an important part of who we are, but we have to look to the future."
And the future is a camo AR. Now, if Texas truly intends to secede, it's got its own military force ready and waiting. We've even got a Navy! TPWD has 564 vessels, including a 65-foot gulf patrol ship, and gunboats mounted with .30 cal machine guns.
Shooting dogs.
Navy SEAL wannabes. Everybody is a “hero” these days and want to act and dress the part. Even the green eye shade government bureaucrats want to tell their girlfriends/boyfriends that they are “snipers”. Public servants all have turned into The Village People.
Traps are disgusting. And, they often catch collateral victims such as dogs or cats.
cheers
Counter SWAT? At some point we’re going to have to make a decision about the kind of society we want to live in. I used to work in Berlin from time to time, and occasionally took those potemkin ‘Intourist’ tours into East Berlin. I never dreamed back then (early 80’s) that the STAZI and the Volkspolezei would become part of my country’s culture. How strange it is at this time in my life to find myself so uncomfortable around police in America.
Police use to be good old boys on the beat.
Over the last ten years, American cops have morphed into jack booted thugs. I guess they have watched too much TV.
Park Rangers need a SWAT team? Why? Too much money in the budget? Maybe if they spent a lot of time down on the border and that might be the case. If they’re keeping the smugglers from camping on state park property without a permit I could see the body armor. Somehow I don’t think that’s it.
“How strange it is at this time in my life to find myself so uncomfortable around police in America.”
Especially since they view and treat the average American Joe as the enemy.
In the defense of the Game Wardens, they have to go where the average LE can’t do the job. Here in Mississippi the Game Wardens found and cornered a killer that had kidnapped two girls. The Game Wardens in Texas confront drug dealers armed far better than the average Joe more often than LE because of the locations. Just remember, average LE confront citizens that most of the time are not armed. Game Wardens confront individuals that are armed most of the time. Game Wardens are in most instances, excellent trackers too.
With half an open mind I can recall several stories of manhunts in the forests and parks, It seems to me that just a year or so ago, a house was burned down with fugitives in it. I’m not so sure this isn’t a prudent thing to do.
Never know when Bambi going to run amok......
I worked in our national parks back in the 80’s and 90’s.
NPS has SWAT teams in our large parks.
Question: How were they trained and who trained them? As Patton once said “They look good but can they fight?”
Pretty much EVERY federal agency has SWAT teams and their own version of the FBI and CIA.
And after all - hasn’t there been a resurgence in Bigfoot sightings? who gonna save us?
/s
Truthfully, it is up to the individual states to demilitarize their paramilitary police. The first step is to take away any equipment they have that does not conform to state police standards, excepting special equipment that particular departments need, approved on a case-by-case basis.
Then prohibit all police in the state from directly receiving equipment, especially communications equipment, or funding from the federal government. It must flow through the state government.
The same applies to any monies, especially money given as part of a federal confiscation scheme such as RICO.
Finally, the states need to take control over their state police academy curriculum, to insure that even the federals say they can violate the constitution, they do not do so.
“Pretty much EVERY federal agency has SWAT teams and their own version of the FBI and CIA.”
For that matter so does NYPD (post 9-11)
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