The Army Times ran a report on NORTHCOM:
Brigade homeland tours start Oct. 1
The 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys.
Now they're training for the same mission — with a twist — at home.
I answered friends' questions about my take on this article, which took a little digging around. I didn't know that NORTHCOM was the successor to FORSCOM, which came after CONARC. NORTHCOM looked a little fishy in light of posse comitatus, but I knew the other two commands had been non-spectacular during my 30 adult-years in and near the Army.
NORTHCOM's in-country mission was apparently the same one that FORSCOM and CONARC had, although I'd prefer the term "continental United States" rather than the über-nationalistic "homeland" characterization that so reminds me of either Soviet or WWII German exhortations.
U.S. Army Forces Command, 1973-2003: Three decades of readiness in peace and war
At home, FORSCOM conducts homeland defense operations as the Joint Forces Land Component Command for Northern Command.
FORSCOM has been serving the nation since its succession from Continental Army Command [CONARC] on July 1, 1973, as part of Operation Steadfast, a reorganization of Army commands that also witnessed the birth of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. FORSCOM's inception signaled the renewal of the Army's commitment to providing highly trained volunteer forces to meet a variety of worldwide requirements. The frequent mobilization of FORSCOM soldiers and units commenced almost immediately.
Today, though, I read an email message that a blog has taken the Army Times article and expanded on the theme.
Martial Law Will Be Declared If Banker Bill Not Passed In House, 3 October 2008, InfoWars [scroll down if you want to read the whole thing, because the site has shoved the text, etc., down the page and all I see at first is WHITE]
As the Army Times reported last month, a battle-hardened “homeland” brigade is now “going domestic” after spending time in Iraq. It appears this illegal deployment (under Posse Comitatus) is designed to respond to “public disorder” as the economy is deliberately and cynically dismantled at the behest of our rulers who are now investing in the Treasury and the executive, with the complicity of Congress, dictatorial powers heretofore unheard of in America.
Uh-huh.
I suppose anything is possible. Worlds have crumbled before. But I just don't see "our rulers" taking apart the economy. I mean, Halliburton's taking a hit, too. (or does Mr. C. even own any stock there anymore? He's not my cup of tea [!], but what would Our Rulers do with a crumbling country whose economy is in tatters? What's that motive? I just can't keep up. Maybe I should read more blogs. )
I don't have a handle on the Economy (and I don't think I'm alone), but I think I have some feel for how the military services are handled, and ... someone ... (who?) locking down the House of Representatives seems a little over the top. Maybe it isn't, but as an coup/plot, it just doesn't have that authentic feel.
As it is, concerning the military, what I told my friends was ...
My husband and I keep chatting about this off and on -- sort of teasing out recollections of prior command structures, and our impressions. I know that on the face of it, the establishment of a Northern Command looks ominous (it caught me off guard), but there is precedent. I hadn't looked into the missions of CONARC (Continental Army Command) or FORSCOM (Forces Command), but they've been part of the lexicon for ages, but they've been way under 'the radar' because despite the grand-sounding names; they didn't do much in considering the overall 'military mission' -- at least not anything spectacularly noticeable. Silent Warriors, maybe? EUCOM (European Command) in Europe is similar -- we got mostly public service announcements on television from EUCOM.
I also noticed that the Northern Command is a joint-service unit, which, if you're unfamiliar with the miltary, sounds even more ominous because all the services are represented. Sounds like a cabal, doesn't it? ;> In reality, it can be a turf war among the services to make sure no one else gets a bigger piece of the pie than they deserve, in the guise of open communication (which, in truth, is probably the main function of any joint services unit).
Each service does need a rep that has direct access to that service's communications network and hierarchy because they all speak different languages.
Joke from a military email list:
=================================================
MILITARY TERMINOLOGYOne reason the Services have trouble operating jointly is that they don't speak the same language. For example, if you told Navy personnel to "secure a building," they would turn off the lights and lock the doors.
Army personnel would occupy the building so no one could enter.
Marines would assault the building, capture it, and defend it with suppressive fire and close combat.
The Air Force, on the other hand, would take out a three-year lease with an option to buy.
=================================================The joint units are a combination of cooperative planning, liaison, communication, and information distribution back down the chain of command.
Northern Command apparently replaced FORSCOM as top dog in this dogpile, just as (ages ago) FORSCOM replaced CONARC. It's kind of an organizational shell game, and you need scorecards to keep track of the players. "Reflagging" is another shell game, but its intent is tradition. It goes on all the time with no nefarious motives that I've ever heard of -- but obviously I haven't heard of everything. (my god, my head would explode ;> )
Apparently (according to the article about FORSCOM linked above), the continuing civil support function of CONARC/FORSCOM/Northern Command is decades-old. Overall, it was so under ... publicized? ... that I'd never heard of that mission. I attributed all that type of civil work to the National Guard and thought this was a new development rather than shell-moving. The article may have been filler, something 'positive' for the Army, a public affairs puff piece ...?? If this is preparation for a coup (against whom?), I don't know why anyone would publicize it.
The Northern Command predates the current financial crisis. I really don't see anything ominous -- about the FORSCOM-to-Northern Command changeover -- unless you're willing to credit a 2002 plot by ... the Joint Chiefs??? ... to destabilize the republic financially with Wall Street's cooperation, and for the executive branch (in cahoots with the Russian mob???) to suppress everyone through martial law. Heck, even the Chinese would lose because their investments would go down a turbo-toilet.
But as for the military taking over the country in a political coup (on whose behalf?!? Bush's?!?! He's really gonna be King George?!?), it's not something that I think about.
If I'm wrong, feel free to fling rotten cyber-vegetables at me although there will be no need. I'll feel very foolish, gullible and an utter chump as I'm being frog-marched down the street, but there probably won't be anyone online to read my silliness. In the event of martial law, I'd think that one of the first things that would be controlled would be internet servers ... and we're still talking.
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