Several service members told advocacy groups they felt like pawns in a political game and assignment was unnecessary

California national guards troops and marines deployed to Los Angeles to help restore order after days of protest against the Trump administration have told friends and family members they are deeply unhappy about the assignment and worry their only meaningful role will be as pawns in a political battle they do not want to join.

Three different advocacy organisations representing military families said they had heard from dozens of affected service members who expressed discomfort about being drawn into a domestic policing operation outside their normal field of operations. The groups said they have heard no countervailing opinions.

“The sentiment across the board right now is that deploying military force against our own communities isn’t the kind of national security we signed up for,” said Sarah Streyder of the Secure Families Initiative, which represents the interests of military spouses, children and veterans.

    • But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world
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      16 days ago

      Then the American populace will forget all about how they raided your country, move on to the next one while moralizing to the colonized. Or like what’s happening now, they’ll lecture everyone about genocide and invading countries, won’t realizing the hypocrisy.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    16 days ago

    They should be troubled. They are breaking their oath on the constitution.

    On the other hand, they could easily turn and end tyranny before it really sets in.

    • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
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      16 days ago

      You say “easily,” but I doubt it appears so easy, because disobeying the order first starts with you violating the UCMJ and paying for it. Only then can you fight and say hey, the order was unlawful. But you’re doing that from military jail. It’s an uphill battle and there’s nothing easy about it.

      I imagine the mindset is go, stand around with a shield, don’t murk protestors, and try to just wait this shit out.

      Plus, for the Marines, they were living in 29 Palms beforehand, so it’s practically a vacation.

          • Almacca@aussie.zone
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            15 days ago

            Talk to each other? They’re all posted to the same place. By ‘everyone’, I meant all the deployed troops.

            • sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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              15 days ago

              Well that’s kind of a given, I was looking for something more practical. Getting that many people on the same page about something that could easily have catastrophic consequences for all of them is not a trivial task.

              • Almacca@aussie.zone
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                9 hours ago

                That’s beyond my knowledge of the intricacies of the US military. I’m just asking if it’s possible based on the principle that there’s strength in unity.

  • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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    16 days ago

    deploying military force against our own communities isn’t the kind of national security we signed up for

    Then refuse those illegal orders and stand down.

    • DarkFuture@lemmy.world
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      16 days ago

      Right?

      This isn’t complicated. You either choose to obey an illegal order and threaten/attack other American citizens, or you don’t.

      Clearly they have generally chosen, so far, to break the law and betray their fellow Americans.

      • SaltSong@startrek.website
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        16 days ago

        This isn’t complicated. You either choose to obey an illegal order and threaten/attack other American citizens, or you don’t.

        Would you be willing to risk ten years in prison that a military judge will agree that an order to go stand somewhere is illegal?

        • Krono@lemmy.today
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          16 days ago

          Or to put it another way, do you expect our enlisted men and women to uphold the high moral virtues of honor, self sacrifice, and protection of innocents?

          After seeing what horrors American soldiers are capable of, I’m not holding my breath.

    • evenglow@lemmy.world
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      16 days ago

      Similar when they were doing border patrol in Texas.

      Military training is kinda big on threat identification and assessment. You don’t have to like the military to appreciate some of the stuff you can learn from it.

      Protesting is not a threat to America. It’s a threat to the people who are in charge.