Troops and marines deeply troubled by LA deployment: ‘Morale is not great’
www.theguardian.com
Several service members told advocacy groups they felt like pawns in a political game and assignment was not necessary

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/31598847

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/5235105

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.

Full Article

    • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      1 day ago

      While true, this requires them understanding that it is an illegal order in the first place, and suffering the consequences of that action in the meantime. Just because they’re following the law and doing the right thing, they most likely will still be punished in the short term for not following orders, even if those orders end up being determined to be illegal.

      Similar to being illegally detained and arrested by police. There is not much you can do about it at the time, fighting with the officer will only make it worse. You argue the legality of it after the fact.