Thank you for your service.
re my @35.
Sorry, that sounded bad.
My point was, and is, that on and off base, outside of designated combat areas, most military members are not routinely armed.(MPs and certain security positions excepted)
They are not "police forces".
That they are unarmed in Indonesia does not surprise me.
That they are even there in the first place does.
I am more interesed in findng out what applicable "law" was used to order them there in the first place. Not that I think it was morally wrong(I don't) I just wonder at how things have changed regarding when and how USA military forces can be ordered to deploy and assist foreign nations in humanitarian efforts on this scale.
Someone with more recent experience and greater knowledge of current force deployment laws could probably answer that easily.