U.S. Army’s elite Special Forces train with local cops in a secretive joint exercise

BenSwann.com ^ | January 21, 2014 | Ben Swann

[Altariel]

Unwarranted NSA surveillance, the passage of NDAA, stop and frisk programs, and the rise of warrior cops, have essentially turned America into a centralized police state.

Blurring the lines between the U.S. military and local sheriff departments sets a dangerous precedent that erodes freedom and civil liberties.

Those lines are being blurred right now in South Carolina.

According to The State, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department will participate in secretive joint exercise Monday and Tuesday with unnamed units from Ft. Bragg.

The drills are scheduled to run up to midnight on both days and occur primarily in Lower Richland, around Hopkins and Eastover. Exercises will also take place around the Screaming Eagle Road near Elgin and North Richland County near outbound Monticello Road.

According to The State, a sheriff’s department spokesman refused to provide which units from Ft. Bragg are involved. Ft. Bragg is home to the U.S. Army’s elite groups, including the Special Forces and Delta Force.

The spokesman also said the drills would be noisy at times.

“Citizens may see military and departmental vehicles traveling in and around rural and metropolitan areas and may hear ordnance being set off or fired which will be simulated/ blanks and controlled by trained personnel,” a sheriff’s department press release said.

The secretive exercises are off limits to the media, reports The Activist Post.

The implications are serious.

Locally elected Sheriffs take an oath to uphold, preserve, and defend the Constitution. They are not an extension of the centralized federal government. They have the ultimate say in their county as the top law enforcement officer.

If sheriff deputies engage an enemy in conjunction with the U.S. military who do they take orders from? The ARMY commander? Or their Sheriff?

This violates the separation of local authorities and the federal government. If the separation of powers are eliminated, who will protect the Constitutional rights of citizens?

[R_Kangel]

"Who will protect you from the protectors?..."

.... Hopefully someone well prepared to do so.

[Altariel]

Let us both hope that person is you. If you aren’t already, arm yourself and train yourself in the proper use, handling and care of your weapon of choice.

The life you save may be your own, and those with you.

If you aren’t aware, the police have no constitutional authority to provide you with protection (says SCOTUS). Warren v District of Columbia.

[SZonian]

It’s interesting to see how “conditioned” many FReepers have become to this.

None challenge it because it has become “normal” to see this...instead of seeing it for the potential threat to liberty that it is.

If you view this “exercise” as abnormal, you’re abnormal and not skeptical or cynical of government motives and intentions...

Sorry, but at this point in time, with the information that has become available about past administrations, both D&R, and what we know of this administration...I’m extremely skeptical and cynical.

[null and void]

If only the police were held to the same ROE as the military!

Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!

To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...

[R_Kangel]

"Let us both hope that person is you. If you aren’t already, arm yourself and train yourself in the proper use, handling and care of your weapon of choice...."

.... LOL.... I have full tactical training and .... yup ... not so worried about myself. However in a hostage situation where I wasn't involved I would prefer that the situation was in control of a unit has has the latest and best training and not still in 1967 mode.

[Altariel]

That “latest and best” training can (and likely will) also be used against you once you are deemed “expendable”.

Be careful what you wish for.

[R_Kangel]

adapt and overcome

[SZonian]

I saw nothing in the article to indicate they were training for hostage situations...do you have some other information about this “exercise” or are you just building strawmen?

[Altariel]

...and when they are shown to have lied, as they lied about only using SWAT for situations such as hostage situations, how many dead Freepers, their family members, their friends and neighbors and their pets will it take before you regret putting a “positive spin” on their actions?

[DuncanWaring]

When’s the last time the FBI Hostage Rescue Team actually rescued a hostage?

[R_Kangel]

..... LOL ..... I think your questions should be directed towards the abuse of power rather than the effective training of response units.

[Altariel]

Those who abuse power are typically “effectively trained to do so”.

I’m not surprised that you are avoiding answering the question.

How many Freepers? How many of their spouses, their children? Their friends? Their neighbors? Their pets?

All of that (and more) is what is at stake.

[Altariel]

...and some of them would very much like to ignore and downplay the number of innocents who will die if this is ignored and swept under the rug.

[R_Kangel]

.... So you are saying that if you were taken hostage by a well armed well organized group while making a withdrawal at a bank .... you would rather put your fate in the hands of untrained people with squirrel guns that were at a bar across the street than a well trained unit prepared and trained for hostage rescue?

..... Again .... please direct your concerns towards the abuse of power and those that seek to destroy our freedoms .... not toward the first responders .... they are trained to do their jobs and do them well.

[R_Kangel]

"When’s the last time the FBI Hostage Rescue Team actually rescued a hostage?...."

..... LOL A good internet search engine can be your friend.

[SZonian]

".... So you are saying that if you were taken hostage by a well armed well organized group while making a withdrawal at a bank .... you would rather put your fate in the hands of untrained people with squirrel guns that were at a bar across the street than a well trained unit prepared and trained for hostage rescue?"

Again, where is this mentioned in the article? What information or proof do you have that this is the type of training that is taking place?

You keep harping on this, but the article makes absolutely no mention of it.

Strawman...

[thefactor]

There’s a rather large difference between joint training exercises and having the military enforce street-level laws. Believe me, I’ll be the first to speak out against the latter.

[DuncanWaring]

I certainly wouldn’t want to put my fate in the hands of the same “highly-trained” SWAT team that destroyed Jose Guerena Ortiz, using tactics more appropriate for Falujah.

[mosaicwolf]

This is likely “Robin Sage” UWEX Phase III of the SF Qualification Course. They have been doing this for many years.

[TurboZamboni]

18th ABN Corp(’corpse’) has been doing this at Bragg and Campbell since back in the 1980s.

Usually cops would close down roads with the MPs.

I doubt SF is teaching the sherrif HALO jumps or 9 line medevac radio procedures.