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Boston area not under attack

By adamg on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:01pm

We've merely become an urban warfare training ground. Remain calm! All is well!

Neighborhoods: 
Boston


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Comments

By John-W on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:25pm.

why don't these type of operations ever make me feel all that safer..?

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By NotWhitey on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 2:27am.

If there was an attack, you'd be the first asking why the hell they didn't practice for these things when they knew they might happen. Never fails.

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By John-W on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 8:00pm.

If I'm not bitchin, I'm not HAPPY!

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By Lecil on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:27pm.

A good use for the bombed out hole old Filene's location!

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By anon on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:42pm.

Really? Training for overseas or training for the military to take over a US city (Boston)?

Go ahead, call me paranoid, say that it would never happen.

This has occurred in other places in the world, the gradual wearing away of liberties and slow incursion of the military into regular day life. Soon before anyone knows what happened it is too late to stop it.

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By John-W on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 1:21pm.

Go down to any of the border states and see what the environment is like 50 miles from the border. Stops along the road, national guard troops roaming around with automatic weapons and full gear strolling into 7-11s, helicopter, UAVs and military vehicles cruising around.

Being a white guy I don't have to worry about it much. And yes, I'll toss that card down.

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By East Cambridge on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 1:39pm.

Where Adam will discover a mob at the tin foil aisle, looking to re-inforce their head gear for the impending Gottdamerung...

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By Suldog on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 1:46pm.

When that stuff is happening along the Canadian border.

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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By Neal on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 2:48pm.

Because it is. Take a drive down I-91 between St. Johnsbury and White River Junction, VT to see an example.

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By John-W on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 4:50pm.

That's an icky link. I just drove that corridor this weekend in fact. Didn't notice a damn thing though. Just that the closer you get to the Mass border the more you get assholes in the left lane who just will not get out of the way. God bless Canadian drivers.

But I do have a friend currently down on the Mexican border and the nasty stuff described is what she is blogging about.

What is happening to white guys north of the border? Well you get confronted by Nordiques fans...yech.

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By johnmcloughlin on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 4:15am.

The last two times I was in Jackman, Maine. I was questioned by the BP, This was on a gravel logging road running east-west about 7 miles south of border, both times the questions were delivered in a friendly manner but were kind of interrogative. After the second time I was a bit annoyed because the officer had pulled up behind me while I was in the middle of a k-turn and he kind of pinned me between the ditch and his vehicle so I felt somewhat detained. During each discussion the reason proposed for why I was being questioned was that "there was an incident up near the border" I later learned from the locals that this explanation was widely used as justification for many stops far from the border. Pretty innocuous 3 minute interactions for me, I admit, but I can somewhat see the point of the other Poster who linked to that ACLU site. Next time I probably leave the window up and wave or nod and keep rolling (and do a J-turn)

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By Lunchbox on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 1:04pm.

Anyone know if they'll be posting any kind of schedule about where and when these exercises will be taking place?

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By Night Owl City on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 1:05pm.

Is this why the three Chinook helicopters were flying along the Pike last Thursday?

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By anon on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 1:28pm.

I'd also love to know how they're able to promise they're protecting the public from the danger of crashed helicopters and such.

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By John on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 8:09pm.

you do know that jets are flying overhead all the time? There are also helicopters flying to the longwood medical area all day long.

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By AlertNewEngland on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 9:06pm.

I'm pretty sure the military will be doing everything they can to not crash their helicopters. They kind of have a vested interest in that.

As for the rest of it, have no fear, they will make sure you don't accidentally wander into a training area.

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By cw in boston on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 1:33pm.

Just had helicopters flying over the Arboretum for about 15 minutes. Thought Whitey might have escaped.

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By Charity on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 3:14pm.

My toddler is psyched to see all of the helicopters. Will someone from the military please come help me get him down for his nap?

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By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 3:35pm.

HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT! HUT!

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By Harvard Sq. on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 4:05pm.

WOLVERINES!

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By MassMouse on Tue, 07/26/2011 - 10:17pm.

So, this is supposed to make me safe like the dude holding semi automatic weapons greeting me for my morning commute through South Station, right?

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By anon on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 8:35am.

Dude, those are _automatic_ weapons. Typically M-4 assault rifles.

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By William Dawes on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 8:08am.

I have an ex-CIA friend who wrote me regarding this:

From the press release you sent me, “Military personnel will conduct training exercises to ensure the military’s ability to operate in urban environments, prepare forces for upcoming overseas deployments, and meet mandatory training certification requirements.

“Military personnel will conduct training exercises to ensure the military’s ability to operate in urban environments.” Total bullshit. Our soldiers have more LIVE COMBAT experience operating in urban areas than any others in the world. Ever heard of Baghdad, Kabul, and dozens of other cities in Iraq and Afghanistan? The last thing they need is to “train” in an urban area. They’re already fucking trained under live fire conditions.

“prepare forces for upcoming overseas deployments” Did another fucking war break out, and I missed it? Some active duty units are on their 4th, 5th, and 6th overseas deployment in the past decade. Even several Massachusetts National Guard have been called to active duty and sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. I think they have the overseas deployment angle down pat.

“meet mandatory training certification requirements” WTF kind of gobbledygook is that? What kind of mandatory training requirements are needed for soldiers wearing 3 Purple Hearts or missing an arm or leg. Jesus, we’ve got the most combat experienced soldiers on the face of the Earth, and there’s some sort of mandatory training certification they’re missing. I’d starting laughing if this weren’t such a pathetic, outlandish statement.

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By AlertNewEngland on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 11:58am.

You "ex-CIA" friend is either pretty dumb, or disturbingly un-informed about how the military works.

Before going overseas, all units train for the missions they will be conducting. Just because a majority of the people in the unit may have been overseas before, doesn't mean this training isn't needed. New people have rotated in, everyone has different levels of experience, troops haven't worked together, tactics have changed, the mission this time might be different than the mission last time, etc, etc.
Every single Mass National Guard unit has not been called to active duty and sent to Iraq & Afghanistan. Even if they had, the two places are not the same, and are even vastly different within each country, and units deploy to different areas each time. Even during WWII, Vietnam, etc, units still trained and certified stateside before deploying overseas (of course, I'm sure they were just secretly preparing to take Tulsa, according to you and "your friend").
Just because you've been in combat before, doesn't mean that the military doesn't want to examine how you operate as a unit, and make sure you are capable of conducting operations. These certifications also reveal equipment problems and other deficiencies, which further prove that they are important.

Your arguments don't hold up anyways. I'm pretty sure it would be easier to impose martial law on, say, Newton, than it would be the other cities you mentioned, like Baghdad and Kabul. So if our troops are so wonderfully trained for doing so, then they must not need this training...ARGH IM STUCK IN A STUPID CONSPIRACY LOOP!!1! According to your friend, our troops don't need any urban combat training, they just need to brush up a little before they can overrun Allston.

I didn't consult with any ex-CIA friends for this info, I just know that no matter how awesome I was at doing my job, they still made me certify before deploying overseas.

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By John-W on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 8:05pm.

I agree with you. Training is a regular and needed process for the military. And training in Boston does not prepare you for Kabul (I think their subway system breaks down less often). So the obvious question is just what is this training for? I guess responding to some sort of terrorist strike, a la what just happened in Norway or the horrifying urban attack in India a little while back.

So I would assume that local authorities would be involved in this training session as they have been in other large scale emergency preparedness drills, right?

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By AlertNewEngland on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 8:55pm.

Our military constantly trains to engage the enemy in various environments. When the army trains in the desert, no one assumes they are preparing for when they have to assault a US desert. Same with when they train in the swamps, or the mountains, etc. As soon as they start training in a city, though, everyone reaches the conclusion that it has to do with them fighting on US soil, and this just isn't the case. The exercises, which don't seem to involve even a simulated live fire element, are probably geared towards the safe movement of troops on city roads in populated environments, testing how well intra-humvee radios work around tall buildings, that sort of thing. While the urban environment of Kabul might be different than Boston, the cities of Moscow, or Beijing, or wherever might be similar.
It's entirely likely that the exercises have nothing to do with fighting in a US city or responding to terrorist attacks. If Boston were to have attacks similar to Mumbai or Oslo, they would be handled by local and state resources. Unarmed Mass National Guard troops might be activated to assist with communications or search and rescue, but it is unlikely the military would provide any sort of combat, law enforcement, or security role (which would require authorization from the governor for the guard, and the president for the active duty and reserves). If the current exercises aren't emergency preparedness, then local authorities have no place being involved.

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By John-W on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 10:01pm.

Again, I agree with what you're saying. Only addition is that after Katrina 70,000 military personnel went into the region to help (with the Governors' blessings) and the military is training dual-status commanders to better facilitate coordination between National Guard resources (under a Governor's command) and active duty forces (answering to the President) just for these situations. This isn't to say that we're being prepped for martial law. (My tinfoil hat is not that tight.) It's just to say that given the potential civilian commanders of our military (pick any from the previous administration) I just don't feel all that safer when the military is prepping for activities in the neighborhood. And I hope the concept of U.S. troops operating in Beijing or Moscow is as far from reality as them operating in Boston, by the way.

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By AlertNewEngland on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 10:42pm.

Fair enough. I doubt "making you feel safe" is on their list of goals.

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By anon on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 9:01am.

I saw an MP Jeep all decked out for combat zooming up Beacon Street in Hyde Park yesterday afternoon. Cool! Milton insurgents stand down!

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By anon on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 2:00pm.

Hey, could the troops round up the drug dealers in the back of the Fenway Gardens while they are in town?

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