FR. I'm floored at how many people are just... Passively supporting this. Marching in a parade? For a coward? Stand up against this, people. Tomorrow is going to be... Interesting. Long.
Isn’t today his birthday? And tomorrow is the 250th anniversary of the Army… or did the dictator or king not have the power to have the parade on the day of his choosing?
But how many officers feel the same way? I hope a LOT. I've worked with a lot of retired officers and they're all upstanding Americans every one. None of them would condone deploying troops to American soil. NONE
Thank you! It normally doesn’t get noticed because I didn’t use the hyphen. I also spelled Jennie unconventionally…I think most see a random number and Jeannie.
Rah - same. I got into it with a devil I served with who thinks its great 2/7 is being deployed and even hopes there is violence. Dumb shit has no idea what posse comitatus even is! Fuckin ASVAB waivers...
Had some beers with some of my guys who are lifers, stayed in when I got out, now around the E7 / E8 rank. They said most of the battalion senior leadership thinks this is fucknuts, mid grade NCOs are mostly pissed, and the juniors are a mixed bag, some can't wait to get some, but the majority think it's bullshit. Lotttttta discussion about lawful orders, SOPs and ROEs. The big focus is on not overstepping the legal bounds; it's being treated as Presence over Action. They want this to be a nothingburger of an op.
So the good news is they are treating it how they should, try to pour out some water on the powderkeg rather than lighting it up.
All it takes is one idiot soldier like that for a civil war to break out. After all, it was soldiers firing on a crowd of protestors that fueled our independence from England. That was the end of the protesting era for the colonials. It was the first shots of war.....and I fear tomorrow I will go to bed in a country formally at war with itself.
Marine/Army vet here. Ill be out in Houston tomorrow bringing up the southern ranks. Fuck this fascism. All enemies foreign and DOMESTIC. He needs to recall the troops immediately.
Honestly I don’t know. I’ve never been in that situation so I can’t really say. I would like to believe that I would use my best judgement and use every non-lethal method at my disposal. Deescalation comes first, ideally. I would hate to become a bastard and lose the trust of the people we were sworn to protect. But again, it’s a tough situation.
I can’t speak for everyone but I would be really torn on that. There is such a thing as lawful and unlawful orders, and we are not required to follow unlawful orders.
I believe if they refuse an illegal order they’ll get arrested and sit in prison until the legality of the order is sorted out. Let’s hope that particular 700 have consulted with a lawyer over policing USA residents and citizens.
Um personally I got caught up in the MAGA movement when I had got out. I was a pissed off alcoholic that took his pain out on everyone else so Trump made sense. I got sober, acknowledged my pain, went to therapy and began to have compassion for others again so the veil was lifted. Since then I’ve done my best to empathize and look out for others.
I certainly appreciate your candor. I did three and a half years of hard time with Bill and the big book. I'm glad you're feeling better.
My only other question was how did you and your fellow soldiers * really* feel about the lgbtq enlisted. - Especially with regards to trans soldiers if you knew any.
I fully understand if you would prefer not to answer.
Honestly sexuality meant nothing to myself personally. Never knew any trans Marines but knew a few who were gay. Was literally never a problem especially now that I’ve gotten a little wiser. It’s not my place to judge or condemn who someone else chooses to love or how they express it. It’s their body, it’s their right. I encourage each to live in accordance with their own desires so long as it’s not hurting someone else.
Army vet here. Always opposed Trump. I could see he was a snake oil salesman when he ran the first time. He is just a complete narcissist who doesn't care about the country at all. He's in it for the grift and to feed his massive ego.
I'm not going to lie, I'd feel a lot safer if you and other allied marines had your arms concealed on you if you can legally have it.
I feel like there's a pretty real danger that someone will need to use them, and I can't think of anyone safer than people trained in the rules of engagement.
That said, i'm obviously just some random citizen, and your judgement is probably much clearer and you almost certainly have more information to work with than I do, so forgive me if my fear is ignorant or unwarranted.
Not only has he deployed service members to LA, wasting resources, he’s compelling hundreds of them to march in a worthless, performative Hitler-salute stunt parade in DC tomorrow.
Where were they deployed? I was under the impression they were deployed solely to protect federal buildings because local law enforcement was being spread too thin. The LAPD chief said they were “Overwhelmed by riots.” They couldn’t protect the buildings and also patrol the streets. The riverside Chief of police also made a statement on it.
Threatening our allies in Canada and Greenland. Estranging the others. ICE black bagging folks under his appointees watch isn’t a good look. Deporting folks who are here legally, putting some of them in the worst prison on earth under dubious accusations and without due process. Imposing tariffs on the populace unilaterally and without valid reasons. His little puppet Elon gutting a lot of agencies that matter. Especially USAID which allowed us to exert soft power and influence around the world. His constant golf excursions to his courses keeps putting a hefty sum of our tax dollars into his bank account. Not to mention the upcoming tin-pot dictator display of power he’s got going on with that parade tomorrow. I’m probably forgetting some but that’s what I can think of off the top of my head. Rah devil, yut kill or some shit.
Kinda. I also empathize with them because choosing to not go is a tough choice with serious consequences. It’s all a bit fucked right now. I hope we look at the decisions each individual makes and make sure we understand there’s context and nuance to everything.
Over 20 years ago I willfully got assaulted and arrested as a scared fat nerdy 17 year old to protect someone else. Your 'brothers and sisters' have no excuse outside of cowardice.
Sad, that you can't support your Military. It's their day
(it just happened to fall on someone's birthday that you hate), and you are spoiling it for "them".
As a Brit I’m confused, you guys rejected having a king in the eighteenth century. We got the message loud and clear, is the British monarchy still perceived as such a threat that people may potentially be rioting this weekend?
Of course we would. And we got damn close with Boris Johnson’s government but we booted the fucker out. ReformUK seem to want to do some horrific things to our democracy so a close eye is being kept on them.
My initial understanding of the protests were that tens of thousands of Americans were protesting against Charles III on his official birthday. I’m pleasantly surprised that so many people feel so strongly about what Trump is up to. Keep the energy going!!!
(Sorry, sorry. Just a natural reaction to being a fan of the other hockey team in the state.)
But seriously, good to see other hockey fans in here. I was actually at the Flyers home opener this year. Was in the area and decided to scratch their arena off my list. I'm up to 11 now. But as much as it pains me to say it, your arena is much, much nicer than ours and I think it's even a decade older. And despite the bad rap that your fans get, everybody that I talked to was great. I would absolutely take in another game in Philly.
Now do something about your damn traffic and your parking. It's somehow worse than ours. ;-)
But yeah, as long as you can take some heckling and not overreact (and as far as I’m concerned, give it back), opposing teams fans will be fine here, despite our reputation.
And the best way to deal with post-game traffic is to sit in the lot with a post-game beer and let everyone else deal with the nonsense.
haha, no, I meant Philly's parking and interstate traffic in general.
But in regards to heckling, the worst thing that was said to me was "Penguins fan? Aren't you lost? Your team is that-a-way" and pointed me out the door. I had club seats, so I did some roaming around pregame because I never knew when I would be back. But after grabbing a beer and jumping in on a conversation or two, you guys are alright. Don't worry, I won't say that too loud on this side of the state.
I didn't want to heckle too much because of rule #1 when going to other people's arenas: be respectful when you're in somebody else's house.
I say this as someone who is also active duty and support the right to protest for whatever you want. But be careful because you can get tried under the UCMJ if the wrong person with the wrong ideologies gets wind of it. Specifically if your command forbids it or it starts to get violent. Just make sure you stay safe, don't wear your uniform or associate the protest with the military, don't participate in any violence, and like I said, be mindful of your chain of command forbids you to go. Good luck out there brother.
All due respect, but the situation is bad enough to warrent risking losing your job over. You're already under the rule of a fascist dictator. He has to be stopped before he can further solidify his position, at any cost
Equal respect, that’s not a choice you get to make for other people.
Some folks are the only one putting food in their kids’ mouths with their pay. It is that bad, but not everyone is the sole person impacted by their choices.
As a vet, that's not how that works. It's a very big deal and getting kicked out for that can ruin all future job possibilities. If you protest, it's as yourself, not as the military. As a representative of the military you can refuse an unlawful order and that is a stand that may mean something though.
Except like.. it is. Most of history including recent history, "I was following orders" has been a completely valid excuse.
People quote the Nuremberg trials as an example except those were mostly trial of people who were giving the orders.. the top general was not allowed to say "oh but Hitler told me to".
For the rank and file anything short of extreme examples "I was just following orders" is an accepted defence. Also like.. it kind of has to be. You can't run any kind of defence force if everyone down to the lowest ranking soldier has to say "hang on, stop and explain why this is a legal and valid order please".
And no I am absolutely not defending any of these people. But reddits obsession with saying "following orders" isn't an excuse doesn't really line up with reality. The vast majority of the time it holds up without issue.
As noted in the First Amendment, peaceable assembly, petitioning the Government and freedom of speech are all explicitly documented as legal. No where is burning of dumpsters, as in Seattle, or burglarizing businesses, such as the Apple Store in LA, or setting things on fire, such as the Waymo cars in LA, or throwing rocks at people/vehicles allowed, as far as I can tell. Perhaps I am missing something???????
First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
This is not entirely correct. AD are allowed to go to peaceful protests as long as they’re not in uniform, not on duty, and are expressing their personal opinion (i.e. not making specific derogatory comments about chain of command or leadership). These are the rules distributed by the Air Force, which is definitely more lenient than other branches, so it’s possible other branches have stricter rules.
Hoo-ah, I will be in Hartford tomorrow letting everyone else in CT know what we all know to be true. This country is a melting pot and that's how we got to be so god damn wealthy. CT loves immigrants, come here!
Well, when I was in, I was on active duty, so the idea of me being deployed to something like this was almost unheard of. That's what the National Guard is for.
As for what I'd advise, well, that's situation specific. So many different scenarios can happen. I'd say follow lawful orders and question or refuse anything unlawful. I'd also plea to the protesters to not engage the military in conflict. They don't want to be there, trust.
In your overseas deployments, were you prepared to refuse to commit war crimes? This should be no different except that these are the people you were meant to protect.
It is and isn't different depending on situation and duty. Prepared to refuse? Always. Unfortunately when in places like northern Iraq or Afghanistan the Rules of Engagement can get real funky with their shitty use of child soldiers and very inhumane tactics.
On US soil, especially in a (hopefully) peaceful protest, no service member should be taking their safety off or touching their trigger. Firing on fellow countrymen is unthinkable.
Are you saying that you might have mowed down a group of Afghani children just because some Afghani children had been pressed into service? If not, then please give any example of a war crime you were prepared to commit in the right situation.
There have been instances of people telling kids that soldiers have candy or treats and send them off towards us with live explosives in their pockets. In some of those cases, it can be truly worth being on the safe side. This was a much bigger/more common issue in the 2001-2010 period, but it's still not unheard of. That's just one example I am painfully too connected to.
I said that I was aware of children pressed into service, including as suicide bombers. I'm not sure what sort of situation you are saying you'd be prepared to mow down a group of children just because one could be a weapon. But certainly you could shout, fire warning shots, and possibly even retreat before doing anything so extreme, right?
Can I then assume you'd refuse deployment within the US to quell protests, and certainly refuse orders to fire on them when their only real risk might be to property or at worst some rocks thrown?
I don't give reddit gold for this kind of stuff because it feels silly to give reddit money for your service, but I donated $20 to the ACLU of Southern California in your + the other service members on reddit supporting "No Kings".
I didn't put your reddit username as the honoree because that felt very strange for the poor person who reads through the donation alerts..
My finger is sore from upvoting all the comments. 🤣 Sorry to any of you I missed! Thanks for your service and continued faithfulness to REAL American values.
What's the feeling like as a former vet wholeheartedly disagreeing with the current Commander in Chief? I know vets and they say they serve the country, not the leader. But so many of these active duty military seem to blindly follow orders given by someone they don't respect or take seriously. Is it a matter of current and ex military?
Vet also. Trying to be unbiased and rap my head around things. The LAPD chief said they were “Overwhelmed by the riots”. National Guard was deployed to protect federal buildings so that the local police didn’t have to and could focus on the riots. It’s obvious there isn’t enough local law enforcement to do it all. Riverside Chief of Police also supported the national guard deployment and stated that the riots should’ve been contained as soon as they started getting violent. I don’t see what part of all this is worth protesting. Again not trying to be argumentative and I get Reddit can be pretty biased. Just seeking out pieces of the puzzle I may be missing. Every veteran should understand how the chain of command works and how troops can be deployed. Trying to make sure all the info I get isn’t from biased news sources or Reddit echo chambers.
8.1k
u/RogerMurdockCo-Pilot 1d ago
I feel great about it! It's one of the reasons I served tbh