Soldiers begin patrolling streets of Columbus, GA

[xmas_asn]

This is just a misleading new article from a uniformed journalist. I just got off the phone with a buddy stationed at Benning. The patrols are E7-E9s. There goal is to get soldiers out of bad situations before they make them worse and someone ends up hurt or in jail.



They have NOTHING TO DO WITH CIVILIANS! They are not there to tell billy bob to go home or arrest anyone. Just to tell PVT Joe "Sh*t Faced" Snuffy to go home.

 

[steveh_131]

I would bet money on the fact that the Majority of the Soldiers are not even MP's...
I would place an even larger wager that there is no way that the Local Police will take Orders from them...
I would even go as far to bust open my Pension and say good luck for the Local Leos calling the Military before a Soldier is hauled into the Local ER beating, Bleeding, and Penniless...

So...you're certain that they leave civilians alone? Or no? I'm really not sure what you were trying to say.

 

[rambone]

Were you ever in a Branch of Service?!
I am not meaning to be combative with that Question. Just Curious...

No sir.

They usually are...
How about you pressure the Cilivians to stop doing the same to the Soldiers...

Assault is an "actual" crime in my book. I would love for cops to spend less time searching people's glove boxes and more time on real crimes. Whoever is beating up soldiers should get punished to the full extent of the law.

The Soldiers with the Armbands are just Soldiers that have been detailed to ensure that Drunk Soldiers can get home without being Mugged and Assualted...
They have know weapons, they have little to no interaction from the Local LEOs. The only Civilans that are usually interacted with are Bouncers, Bar Owners, and Strippers...

Again, if this is concrete fact then it sounds okay. Soldiers babysitting other soldiers is fine with me. This whole phenomenon is not common knowledge to the general public.

 

[E5RANGER375]

Most of the SWAT groups I have interacted with could not fight their way out of a Urine Soaked paper bag...

whos urine was it?

 

[grimor]

Rambone is right that the article didn't specify that the only purpose of the MP's was to police soldiers and not civilians. Do you know for certain that they have no authority over civilians in these instances?

Mayor Tomlinson says the soldiers will not be able to make any arrests, but will be able to command order of all military personnel and if need be, alert military police.

They have no more civilian police powers than you or I do.

 

[jeremy]

So...you're certain that they leave civilians alone? Or no? I'm really not sure what you were trying to say.

Sigh...

Yes the will not be dealing with Civilians in any kinda of Legal Capacity...
This is just a Units Staff Duty wandering around making sure that their Battalions Soldiers make it Home every night. This is not a Presence interacting with the Local LEA's...

This is something the Military has been doing for Decades in Military Towns around the World trying to keep drunk kids (Soldiers) safe...

 

[jeremy]

No sir.

I thought so...
This is something that the Military does as part of a Normal days Duties. the SFC and Higher Enlisted along with a Driver and maybe a Runner will make trips around the Towns by all the known Trouble Spots. These Spots are were Soldiers seem to goto for fun. It is quite common for "Locals" Civilians to then get the Soldiers Drunk or Drugged and then do bad things to them. It is almost immpossible to get the Local LEAs to help track down the instigator because most have the attitude that "The Soldier was out looking for the Trouble that he found". What the military is doing is providing Chaperones for the 18-26 year old Soldiers...

Assault is an "actual" crime in my book. I would love for cops to spend less time searching people's glove boxes and more time on real crimes. Whoever is beating up soldiers should get punished to the full extent of the law.

Assualts most Soldiers can deal with it is the Other Crimes that are the Problems...

Again, if this is concrete fact then it sounds okay. Soldiers babysitting other soldiers is fine with me. This whole phenomenon is not common knowledge to the general public.

It is very Common for those that live around Bases...

 

[phylodog]

Referring to LEOs as Soldiers is very demeaning...

Could you please NOT do that again...

I've served with soldiers who weren't fit to wear the uniform or a badge. I've worked with officers who weren't fit to wear a military uniform or a badge. Wearing a military uniform or a badge says little about a person other than they met the minimum prerequisites.

 

[steveh_131]

Sigh...

Yes the will not be dealing with Civilians in any kinda of Legal Capacity...
This is just a Units Staff Duty wandering around making sure that their Battalions Soldiers make it Home every night. This is not a Presence interacting with the Local LEA's...

This is something the Military has been doing for Decades in Military Towns around the World trying to keep drunk kids (Soldiers) safe...

Then no objections from me.

 

[gunman41mag]

whos urine was it?

why you want to know, are you going to test it for drugs or alcohol

 

[model67a]

Columbus is adjacent to Ft. Benning. Benning is one of the larger bases. When I was there in '67 there was no problem and the town was clean, but things change and this kind of action may be needed now. Towns around military bases are routinely patrolled by MPs anyway.

 

[jsgolfman]

Maybe it's just me, but reading this excerpt from the column immediately told me it was soldiers policing soldiers, not civilians:

Mayor Tomlinson says the soldiers will not be able to make any arrests, but will be able to command order of all military personnel and if need be, alert military police.

 

[Pocketman]

I cannot believe I just read this entire thread.

 

[phylodog]

Maybe it's just me, but reading this excerpt from the column immediately told me it was soldiers policing soldiers, not civilians:

Mayor Tomlinson says the soldiers will not be able to make any arrests, but will be able to command order of all military personnel and if need be, alert military police.

You're using common sense. Stop doing that, go to the kitchen and grab some foil, make yourself a set of these and read it again.

 

[rambone]

I wonder if Courtesy Patrol would ever be tempted to confront an Open Carrier.

Cops have a hard enough time knowing the actual laws. I can only imagine.

Lets hope that these Courtesy Patrolmen get a little better explanation about their mission than the public has been given.

 

[gunman41mag]

I wonder if Courtesy Patrol would ever be tempted to confront an Open Carrier.

Cops have a hard enough time knowing the actual laws. I can only imagine.

Lets hope that these Courtesy Patrolmen get a little better explanation about their mission than the public has been given.

Are they going to be armed

 

[phylodog]

I'm sure they are just chomping at the bit to hit the streets and harass civilians. They're soldiers after all, not even human and barely Americans, right?

 

[model67a]

When I was in basic at Ft. Jackson S.C. the D.I. 's would come in to town to check on the trainees that had a week end pass. I remember opening the door at the motel we were staying at and there was my smiling D.I. standing there. Sure surprised the heck out of me cause we had about 15 people crashed in the room!!!! The surprising thing is how our individual D.I.s seemed to know where "their" particular trainees were!!!! Heck, he just told me to tell everyone to stay out of trouble and left!!! Boy those D.I.s had superhuman powers that you couldn't excape!!!! LOL

 

[fergie22]

they are just practicing for when obummer declares marshall law jmo

semper fi

 

[steveh_131]

Maybe it's just me, but reading this excerpt from the column immediately told me it was soldiers policing soldiers, not civilians:

Mayor Tomlinson says the soldiers will not be able to make any arrests, but will be able to command order of all military personnel and if need be, alert military police.

Police do more than make arrests. It's not a completely cut-and-dry question and I don't feel particularly stupid for asking it.