Army Rattles Sabers — Frays Nerves

I hate to bother Senator Jack Reed right now — he’s got a lot on his plate — but the extreme nature of Friday’s army exercises may not be entirely unconnected to the dangerous idiot in the White House, so I’m going to give him a call. As far as I know the federal government is still prohibited from using federal military personnel for enforcing domestic policies within the United States. Right?

According to Steve Ahlquist at RI Future;

Military helicopters buzzed the treetops in Providence and Newport Friday night as mock bombs and gunfire exploded, to the dismay of residents, in both cities from about 10pm to 3am. The US Army was doing a training exercise in Rhode Island.

Ahlquist includes a photo from former ProJo staff writer Karen Lee Ziner, taken in the Armory District, which shows that tree branches had been sheared off by low-flying helicopters! That is way too low for such a densely populated area. The danger these maneuvers presented to city residents can not be overstated.

Notice was insufficient and/or nonexistent. I had heard a rather casual announcement Friday on the local evening news — you may hear some helicopters tonight, it’s the army. In retrospect it was way too mild, but the station may not have had enough information either. The Providence Journal ran a notice on Monday saying ,

“Citizens in close proximity to the areas where the training will take place will be notified in person by police and/or military representatives prior to the training,” the Army said.

If that was the case, I can attest that they happened to have missed every single one of my friends living in the Armory District. They all jumped on social media immediately with “What’s going on?!!!” messages. (Some in all-caps by people who never use all-caps.)

The army press release cited by the ProJo adds,

“The local terrain and training facilities in Rhode Island provide the U.S. Army with unique locations and a variety of environments to train. Each location selected enables Soldiers to test their equipment to maintain maximum readiness and proficiency, and to exercise standard safety procedures,” the Army says. “This training is essential to ensure they are fully trained and prepared to support our nation and its mission.”

So, boys and their toys. This would normally have been my first conclusion, but these are not normal times. An army representative should come forward and make a statement regarding Friday night’s events.

And Senator Reed happens to be a ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. He sits on several subcommittees including Readiness and Management Support whose responsibilities include “Military readiness including training, logistics, and maintenance.” Sounds like he should have an update. To contact Senator Reed go here. You can call him in Washington at (202) 224-4642.

My immediate complaint is that these exercises were too low and close to residential neighborhoods; they were spectacularly dangerous. And remember that Jade Helm dust-up in Texas a few years ago? Residents there got weeks of advanced warning. And look at the army’s approach under then President Obama.

The military exercise will train Special Operations troops in what Army planners call “unconventional warfare.” The exercise is being conducted in rural Texas because the military needed “large areas of undeveloped land with low population densities with access to towns,” and wanted soldiers to adapt to unfamiliar terrain as well as social and economic conditions, according to Army documents.

Never mind the notice issue, what we need to hear is that Rhode Island will not be subjected to this again . . . and that those empty Walmarts are not being converted into detention centers.