U.S. Marines Create a Law Enforcement Battalion!

[Ringel05]

Yeah, I remember those times also, police continuously violating peoples rights, which lead to needed changes, politicians as corrupt as they are today, segregation, few labor safety regulations, ineffective food safety enforcement, criminals who didn't outgun the police, McCarthyism (a little before my time), etc, etc, etc. Shall I go on?

Back in 1952 I happened to be sitting in a place where I watched three men wearing fedoras enter a building across the street while two uniformed NYPD patrolmen sat in a marked police car outside. About five minutes later the men in fedoras, who were NYPD detectives came out of the building leading a handcuffed man in shirtsleeves. They placed the man in a black 1950 Ford sedan and drove off, followed by the uniformed cops.

While we had absolutely no idea at the time, the fellow in shirtsleeves was Willie Sutton, a notorious bank robber and Public Enemy Number One at the time (Google Willie Sutton for more info on him). Willie had been living in that rooming house for two years when someone thought they recognized him and called the police. The 78 Precinct dispatched three detectives and two uniforms to follow up on the tip.

The point I am making is that just five cops were dispatched to possibly encounter a notorious bank robber who was known to have a Thompson submachine gun as well as an automatic handgun. Can you imagine what kind of a response that tip would have gotten today? I'm sure at least two dozen masked, helmeted SWAT cops with machine guns, tasers and flash-bang grenades, and wearing special boots and gloves, would have arrived in armored cars, along with ambulances, fire trucks, two dozen police cars with flashing lights -- and at least one helicopter.

Unlike you I didn't live in some all white time vacuum, being raised a military brat I was all over the country.

There are a few Blacks living in my time vacuum -- if that has anything to do with the discussion.

Has the government gone a little overboard in some areas? Of course they have but unlike you I don't see far right or far left conspiracies in everything they do.

A "little" overboard? Come on now. As I said, you have a relatively limited frame of reference, so you really shouldn't be talking about others living in a vacuum.

Today there are eight-man SWAT teams kicking down doors at 3AM on the mere suspicion that someone inside might be selling dime bags of marijuana. It's happening all over America tens of thousands of times each year.

Don't believe it? Go here: Botched Paramilitary Police Raids | Cato Institute

Hey, you have your narrowly focused (agenda driven) paradigm, I have my broad (historically all inclusive) view paradigm. Speaks volumes......
Oh and show me the "tens of thousands" yearly incidents when SWAT is called for minor offenses. Not, from questionable, agenda driven websites but from legitimate sources. Put your money where you mouth is.

Unlike you I didn't live in some all white time vacuum, being raised a military brat I was all over the country.

There are a few Blacks living in my time vacuum -- if that has anything to do with the discussion.

If you can't figure out what it has to do with the discussion then you're more dense than I thought.

 

[SteadyMercury]

The Military is BARRED by law from acting as Law Enforcement

Not true, you are confusing Posse Comitatus Act with a legit military role.

An MP is law enforcement. Air Force has both security specialist and LE specialist. Law enforcement has its place in the military, even that place isn't to enforce state laws domestically.

 

[SteadyMercury]

To me, this situation is analogous to the Air Force announcing it is forming an anti-submarine unit. It makes no sense.

The Air Force used bombers (mainly B-24 Liberators) in antisubmarine role during WW2.

This role is currently provided by the USN with P3s, soon to be P8s.

 

[SteadyMercury]

But the point you are missing is this revelation refers to a "law enforcement" function, which is a civilian activity. MPs are not law enforcement officers.

You're wrong, and far too caught up in nuances of wording.

UCMJ is the foundation of military law in the United States, part of role of MPs is law enforcement.

 

[whitehall]

I got two things out of that release, first the Marines saw a specific need the Navy SPs (plus all the Marine specialties) weren't completely fulfilling and second the primary function of every Marine is basically as a grunt. This provides civilian transferable skills to grunts who otherwise might not have those opportunities after leaving military service.
Nothing nefarious about it except in the minds of the paranoid.........

You think the Marines are now in the business of creating skills for civilian life? That might be true in the Army or Air Force the hyped "global force for good" Navy but the Marines don't work that way. The organization is too small to be used as a civilian employment training unit. The dirty little secret is that the Marine Corps has more to fear from democrat administrations than the enemy. Every democrat administration from Wilson to FDR to Truman has tried to downsize the Marine Corps. My guess is that Gen Amos made some sort of a deal with the devil.

 

[Ringel05]

I got two things out of that release, first the Marines saw a specific need the Navy SPs (plus all the Marine specialties) weren't completely fulfilling and second the primary function of every Marine is basically as a grunt. This provides civilian transferable skills to grunts who otherwise might not have those opportunities after leaving military service.
Nothing nefarious about it except in the minds of the paranoid.........

You think the Marines are now in the business of creating skills for civilian life? That might be true in the Army or Air Force the hyped "global force for good" Navy but the Marines don't work that way. The organization is too small to be used as a civilian employment training unit. The dirty little secret is that the Marine Corps has more to fear from democrat administrations than the enemy. Every democrat administration from Wilson to FDR to Truman has tried to downsize the Marine Corps. My guess is that Gen Amos made some sort of a deal with the devil.

I'm quite familiar with the Marines and I disagree completely with your "assessment".
FDR and Wilson tried to downsize the Marines? Guess FDR felt they weren't needed to fight the Japanese...... And of course Wilson had no use for them during that little conflict with Germany and it's allies that lasted (for the USA) from 1917 to 1918 when the corps was brought up to full strength......
Your quip about the Navy slogan is excruciatingly illuminating...... Not in a positive way......
Did Truman start to downsize the Marines, Army, Navy, Army Air Corp (later to be know as the Air Force) when the war was over, duh yup, but then that other little conflict call Korea popped up I'm sure the downsizing continued as troops were not needed there either......