American Servicemembers Share Thoughts On Marines In LA

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a day ago

As the protests in Los Angeles against ICE continue, the Trump administration announced it would be sending in 2000 additional National Guard soldiers as well as 700 active duty Marines. According to Reuters, they will "protect federal personnel and property" as the administration carries out "even more operations to round up suspected immigration violators."
Governor Gavin Newsom has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming that the President did not have the legal authority to call in the National Guard, as well as requested a temporary restraining order to stop the use of the National Guard and active Marines "for law enforcement purposes."
This is the first time that active duty military members have been called up to assist with law enforcement since 1992, and unsurprisingly, many of them (as well as veterans) have thoughts on the topic. NotSlayerOfDemons asked, "Those in the American Armed Forces, how do you feel about troops being used to quell unrest in-country?" and servicemembers, both active and former, did not hold back in these 28 responses:
"Former Army. Unrest is when the citizens are trying to send a message to the government. Using troops against your citizens is the government's way of not listening."
—cobra7
"Marine here. (Once a Marine, always). Iraq vet. I definitely do not agree with using the Marines. Hopefully, they used MPs with riot training, but using infantry to do police work is not smart. It's like trying to use a trained attack dog to herd sheep. What do you think those teenagers are going to do when someone starts throwing rocks at them?"
"USAF veteran. We swear an oath to the Constitution. Not to any regime, party, or person."
"Trump is creating his Reichstag fire. Take the time to look this up if you aren't familiar with it."
—RuralMNGuy(The Reichstag fire was a fire that burned down the Reichstag building, which housed the German parliament, in 1933. The origins of the fire remain unclear, but it became propaganda for Hitler's Nazi government, and he used it to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree, restricting free speech, freedom of the press, and allowing him to begin arresting members of the opposition parties.)
"As a Marine vet, this fucking sucks. These kids are 18-22 years old and don't know shit about what the Constitution allows or what the Posse Comitatus Act is. They are taught enough not to harm an unarmed civilian, but decades of training for combating guerrilla warfare makes people jumpy. If protesters start throwing Molotov cocktails, or god forbid shooting, then shit gets real for these kids quick. I am afraid that if anything happens, it's going to put a black eye on the Corps that will never be forgotten by the American public."
"As a vet, I will say it comes across as totalitarian. There is no reason to use active duty military against your own citizens. There's a great quote from Battlestar Galactica: 'The police and the military have always been separate for a reason. One serves and protects the people, the other fights enemies of the state. When the military does both, the enemies of the state tend to become the people.'"
"Army veteran and a SoCal native of 30 years here. Glad to see the President not allowing California to burn to the ground. Everyone knows the governor wasn't going to intervene."
—ChinMuscle
"Man, that makes me think of the saying 'When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.' That's the really scary part of having the military do the policing, isn't it?"
"Telling soldiers to stand on the street with weapons drawn doesn't quell unrest. It provokes unrest."
"Honorably discharged Army Veteran here (Gulf War era) I can say that I and my fellow vet friends think that these troop deployments are fucking terrible. Horrifying, actually."
—PSadair
"This is what the National Guard is for. Putting active duty military personnel on the streets of America to play policeman is a mistake."
"I served in the Marines, and I'm glad I don't have to sit there and think, 'Question the legality of this and get an NJP [Non-Judicial Punishment], or go and potentially be put in a situation where they'll have me on trial in The Hague in a few years…'"
"I'm not active, but former military. I think it's wrong. It's an overreach on presidential power. Plus, it's hard enough getting the everyday American to support our troops these days without deploying them to attack our own civilians."
—crash218579
"Retired Marine here. There are units in the military trained for this. Active duty infantry units are not those units. They can say all they want that they are trained in de-escalation, but in reality, it's maybe 1-2 days of training a year and maybe some rapid last-minute refreshers as soon as they found out they were getting sent to LA. The bulk of their training and instincts are to destroy the enemy. This will not go well."
"Former Army here — it's complete bullshit. Let law enforcement enforce the law, let the military do military operations. To be honest, they were waiting for any reason to do this because they want to 'send a message,' but the message that's sent isn't what they think it is. I feel sorry for those soldiers sleeping on the hard floor with no plan of provisions for water/food, not abroad in a war zone, but in downtown fucking LA."
"Former Marine, from Los Angeles, from immigrant parents. Fuck this administration. I hope those troops remember their oath to the US Constitution and to the people of the nation. I'm so disappointed with this whole situation."
—Tacos_and_Yut
"I think following the orders of a 34-count felon who is responsible for attacking the Capitol of the USA is reprehensible. I sincerely regret my service to the USA and wish I could take it back. It will not happen again."
"I don't support violent protests. I also don't support Marines being used to quell said protests. Marines are a tool you use to destroy an area or group of people, not to peacefully resolve it. The guard makes more sense here, but the best answer is just keeping it at the police level."
"GWOT [Global War on Terrorism] veteran here. This shit is absolutely wack. The United States has used the National Guard MANY times throughout its history, albeit for civil unrest or not. The National Guard does an impeccable job at this, and to hear the National Guard is being utilized isn't too concerning."
"The VERY large, stomach churning moment is the President giving the green light to utilize 2/7 out of Twentynine Palms. These are not 'peacekeepers.' Their motto is fucking literally 'First to Fight.' They have a long history of intense combat operations from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and GWOT. This is a highly decorated combat unit within the US military's arsenal.Pitting young, war-fighting, men against the people the thought they were protecting is going to be a disastrous clusterfuck."—NSTalley
"I support the National Guard being used to protect federal buildings and to quell riots and obstruction to the enforcement of federal law."
"Served in the Navy from '09-'13. The bulk of these guys have never deployed, which is a badge of honor. Young, untested 18-22 year olds with guns seems like a really bad idea to me."
"As a Veteran I am pissed that I spent 4 years defending this country only to have some idiots vote for and support a Christo-Fascist government and despite all evidence still believe this is going to be a 'good' thing."
—MediocreDecking
"Retired Navy here and also a former Marine. Sending an infantry battalion (2/7) to assist the LAPD and the National Guard is the wrong move. There are whole-ass battalions of Military Police who are specifically trained for this scenario. Why weren't they sent? Every active duty/veteran I know is against this."
"It's a complicated issue. Most service members take their oath to defend the Constitution seriously, which includes the rights of Americans to protest. Using the military for domestic unrest should be an absolute last resort, not the go-to option. We're trained to engage enemies, not fellow citizens."
"Marine here, many of the brothers and sisters I served with came from immigrant families and communities in LA or ones just like them. I'm sure there's a few Marines who are on board with this crap but many are really struggling with this, I can guarantee you."
—skamatiks671
"Nobody likes the idea that this administration is attempting to politicize the military. It's awkward for us. The way the Secretary of Defense talks is vile, unprofessional, and embarrassing. Recruiting and retention will plummet."
"It's an accident waiting to happen."
—kozmo30
And finally, "Real take, most of them don't particularly care and just want to do their job and go home, regardless of the situation. Marines are people and lean slightly right — so you do have people who are giddy about 'enforcing order' — but nobody wants to be dressed up in full kit in LA summer heat."
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.