Posted on 11/19/2015 7:16:54 PM PST by markomalley
Under orders from President Obama ,military surplus vehicles were seized from Calhoun County, Alabama Sheriff Larry Amerson Wednesday. For over 20 years, under the federal government’s 10-33 program, the Defense Department distributed military surplus equipment and vehicles to local law enforcement.
However, following the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, over local law enforcement controversies, President Obama halted the program through an executive order. All vehicles from the program that were deemed too “militaristic looking” were to be confiscated from local law enforcement all over the country.
“We’ve seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people the feeling like there’s an occupying force — as opposed to a force that’s part of the community that’s protecting them and serving them,” Obama said in May. He added that the equipment “can alienate and intimidate residents and make them feel scared.”
Sheriff Amerson returned 10-33 vehicles, which were first obtained after a mentally ill person shot three Anniston police officers in 2001 and other officers had no protection to remove the injured from the area, a statement from the sheriff’s office said.
The tracked armored vehicles were also used in a 2011 shooting of Anniston police officer Justin Sollohub when law enforcement found the shooter in a wooded area. The vehicle was also used during a search last September, as well as for transportation needs during ice storms, the sheriff’s office said.
Other Sheriff’s office are speaking up as well about the government confiscating their equipment. The Volusia County, Florida Sheriff’s office said on it’s Facebook page:
Without this equipment, people will die in the future. It’s that simple. Lives will be lost unnecessarily. Let’s not take away needed tools from our law enforcement officers who risk their lives every day to protect the public. Let’s not make their jobs any harder or any more dangerous. And let’s not hamstring law enforcement officers in their ability to effectively respond to emergencies, neutralize threats and protect the public and themselves!
Sheriff Michael Bouchard of Oakland County, Michigan, a member of the Major County Sheriffs Association, told The Daily Caller last month that the Obama administration’s new regulations leave many rural sheriffs without vehicles necessary to handle harsh terrain.
“Our belief is that [the administration] thinks they look to militaristic because it has treads, not wheels,” Bouchard said.
“A lot of rural sheriffs that have deserts or cold, deep snow areas. One of the vehicles they use for rescue or for emergency operations are tracked vehicles,” Bouchard said. “It is the only vehicle that can traverse the terrain whether it happens to be in an incredibly deep sand or incredibly deep snow. Well, the president decided that tracked vehicles look to militaristic. So they are not allowed.”
“Today is a sad and frustrating day at the Sheriff’s office. The federal government, the U.S. military, is withdrawing a piece of equipment we found extremely valuable for our purposes and that is a tracked armored vehicle,” Amerson said. “Tracked armored vehicles are defensive in nature. They have no offensive capabilities. This decision by our commander in chief, I don’t agree with it. This is the nation we live in. We are a nation of laws and we follow those laws.”
Amerson says he contacted Alabama Republican Rep. Mike Rogers and received assurance from Rogers that language will be introduced in the next funding bill that would allow local law enforcement to have the vehicles the government is seizing.
I don’t see the problem with buying milsurp and saving money.
On your part. You claim a Sherriff isn’t a cop and he needs military hardware to fight fires.
Milsurp that was GIVEN AT A FRACTION OF THE COST and that is military, not law enforcement in nature.
Who paid for it? The actual cost?
I can see the value of an armored tracked vehicle in a forest fire or flood even if you can’t. I don’t even know if my sheriff has any. You naturally missed the point I started with, it’s his call.
I’ll kindly thank you and 0bama to keep your noses the hell out of our county’s business.
Milsurp that is sold, recouping some cost for the Fed taxpayer, instead of being scrapped and bought for less than new. Unless you think sheriffs spend their budgets buying used for more than new. You might think that.
Then we can make ourselves and the vehicles available to local sheriffs for disaster use.
I have two German army Mercedes Benz Unimog radio vans.
As a ham radio operator I have trained with the Red Cross and the Wildland firefighters to assist them with communications in emergencies.
I also help with communications for the New England Forest Rally, the Climb to the Clouds auto race, the Wildman Biathalon among other things.
I belong to the Green Mountain Military Collectors' Club and participate in events and parades with them.
A few of the members of that have some tracked armor.
Military surplus stuff is just plain fun, and handy for many non military things.
No kidding? Should have know from your handle. I'd love to have a Unimog. I've spent a few hours lurking on mog forums reading about their adventures and checking out the pics.
Maybe you were among the contributors. IIRC most were based in the northeast.
That is an M-577 variant of the old M-113 APC. The 577 was used for command posts and HQs for the self propelled arty units.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Why would more funding be needed? Just return the vehicles and don’t take away any more.
Guess where the terrorists are going in Alabama.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. If I want pizza delivered, maybe I’ll call SEALS. If I want highly professional, competent military help, I’ll call Delta.
I’ve worked with both and seals weren’t worth the cost to feed them. Delta I trust with my life.
“Disarming local police forces???”
To make them less formidable to whom?
Not the US military. They won’t turn on us, and certainly not for Obama.
BLM asshats? Not likely. They’re mostly kids and would have their asses handed to them by the rest of us when things got real.
There is a vacuum here. What force benefits from weakly equipped local police forces??
Hmmmm... 250k muslim immigrants per year. A muslim POTUS. Is there a call to arms coming soon? How much damage can they do?
One of my friends in Vermont has two 404 models for sale right now.
One, a Swiss army troop carrier and the other a German army radio van.
$4500 each. I would say they are really worth around $7 to 9 thousand each.
for a more modern one (and a LOT more money), say around $30,000, George Bull in New Hampshire is who I've bought ours from. Very good guy to deal with.
I buy most of my parts from Scott Ingham (Expedition Imports) in California.
Another great guy to deal with, and he imports Unimogs too.
Sorry to hear you had to go thru something like that.
Turning our police forces into armies at war with us is a small price to pay to combat the Demon Weed. /s
272 Maple Street
Anytown, USA
227 Maple Street
Anytown, USA
That's amazing really. I presume you mean in running condition so that's just an incredible price. Many years ago, decades, a friend of mine bought a British Bull Dog that had been outfitted as a radio unit. It was in need of more repairs than he could afford at the time but it ran and was a great off road machine. Far and away a better machine than a U.S. Army Jeep.
If you're familiar with 60s straight 6 gassers, it's simple.
The 30K ones seldom require much work.
I changed a light bulb and replaced a fan belt idler bearing in mine.
Also converted both of mine entirely to Amsoil Synthetic lubricants.
That's to be expected. If the motor runs and the drive train drives that's a great price. I have a '49 Chevy truck with a '59 straight six in it and a '59 Chevy 3/4 ton that had a straight six in it so, yes, I can work on one of those.
I may be getting a little long in the tooth to take on any more projects at this point. Right now I'm too tied up by obligations to do the restos on my two trucks but if circumstances changed I could imagine building an ultimate bug out vehicle out of a Unimog.
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