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submitted 3 weeks ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Several service members told advocacy groups they felt like pawns in a political game and assignment was unnecessary

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.

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[-] RedditIsDeddit@lemmy.world 61 points 3 weeks ago

this is a good thing to hear

[-] evenglow@lemmy.world 26 points 3 weeks ago

Similar when they were doing border patrol in Texas.

Military training is kinda big on threat identification and assessment. You don't have to like the military to appreciate some of the stuff you can learn from it.

Protesting is not a threat to America. It's a threat to the people who are in charge.

[-] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

That’s why it’s essential we keep it peaceful while we increase our numbers. If we are non-violent, we cannot be determined to be a domestic threat, and it’s the military’s duty to protect us.

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[-] selkiesidhe@lemm.ee 22 points 3 weeks ago

You got the choice to stand up and say no. No I will not use my weapons on my own fucking people because some geriatric PoS is having a terrible twos tantrum because everyone hates his ass.

Do what's right or be remembered as the ones who did wrong.

[-] jonesey71@lemmus.org 19 points 3 weeks ago

They should be feeling like shit. They are acting like shit and following unconstitutional orders. Grow a goddamn spine and frag any officers who give you unconstitutional orders.

[-] aaron@infosec.pub 3 points 3 weeks ago

If you have been trained to follow orders under extreme pressure, in an organisation that has done exactly this stuff for decades overseas to 'other people'. And if actually you consider immigrants 'other people', how big a leap is it really?

[-] Ledericas@lemm.ee 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

they also have a dilemma, if theyw ere to shoot a citizen, then once they get out of the military, people will know who shot them and then there will be constant guilt/harrasment, or doxxing eventually.

[-] jonesey71@lemmus.org 3 points 3 weeks ago

The instant they shoot a civilian they are an outlaw. Outlaws are beyond the protection of the law. They are beyond the protections of the law. They are kill on sight.

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[-] db0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

A lot of revolutions begun by the rank&file turning against the hated police, just sayin'.

Imagine how the chickenshit ICE will act if the soldiers start opposing them too. Not so easy to bully someone armed and their friends.

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[-] Machinist@lemmy.world 17 points 3 weeks ago

Please. Please. Please. Come on boys, just read the Constitution, you didn't sign up for this shit.

[-] EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 15 points 3 weeks ago

Now is the time for malicious compliance

[-] the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago

They should be troubled.

[-] Plurrbear@lemmy.world 14 points 3 weeks ago

They are upset that they are witnessing police tear gas their own community members and civilians exercising their 1st amendment rights, yet soldiers cannot use that same weapon against enemies… what does that say?!? STOP GASSING US! Stop with the rubber bullets! We have right and Americans need to stand up and realize this!

If there are no consumers, there is no capitalism! If all essential workers all don't show up ONE DAY… we shutdown America! We

THIS IS WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN, mass organized protests across the nation!!!

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[-] flandish@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago

good start, recognizing that you ARE pawns. Always were. Next step: being strong enough to quit and deal with the court martial.

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[-] Windex007@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago

Then the American populace will forget all about how they raided your country, move on to the next one while moralizing to the colonized. Or like what’s happening now, they’ll lecture everyone about genocide and invading countries, won’t realizing the hypocrisy.

[-] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 12 points 3 weeks ago

Maybe this will be what wakes up Americas military to the fact that everything they do is political. Apparently its harder to trick people into hurting their own country though so thats good to hear.

[-] Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee 12 points 3 weeks ago

Their orders are illegal, thus disobeying them is not insubordination or illegal.

[-] Necroscope0@lemm.ee 9 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Not just not subordination following them is specifically illegal and historically "I was following orders" has NEVER been justification or gotten anyone off their charges. You follow illegal orders YOU are a criminal as much as your commanding officer.

[-] kerrigan778@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 3 weeks ago

Unfortunately for the most part with only a few exceptions "I was following orders" has in fact, always worked to get people off scott free for war crimes except in cases where they were committed by a nation that lost the war.

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[-] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 11 points 3 weeks ago

deploying military force against our own communities isn’t the kind of national security we signed up for

Then refuse those illegal orders and stand down.

[-] SaltSong@startrek.website 5 points 3 weeks ago

As much as i hate what Trump is doing, I don't expect any enlisted man to refuse orders to go somewhere. The legality of that order is debatable, but following it does not cause any immediate harm. It's not a good risk to take.

Refusal to follow orders will come when the order is so clearly illegal that there can be no question, and when following that order is something that can't be undone. An order to fire into the crowd, for example.

Of course, no such order will be given. I assume we have all seen Andor, yes?

[-] valkyrieangela@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 3 weeks ago

I agree, I think there's clear limits. This isn't like Russia where they were being told they were being sent to a training exercise, this is an event where everyone being deployed knew exactly the reason and are able to be kept up to date by sources that don't include their superiors. Being deployed doesn't mean anything other than they're getting a bigger paycheck each, and the legality of a domestic deployment for the purpose of crowd control is debatable. The real test of these men will be whether they take the life of a civilian.

There's a lot of doomers who will base current events off of a TV show they watched, but there is no media in existence nor any historical event that mirrors these circumstances. There are non political guardrails, such as societal conventions, that will realistically play a much bigger role in the coming conflict than people think.

One thing is very clear however: The price of true change is blood.

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[-] NoForwardslashS@sopuli.xyz 9 points 3 weeks ago

Me too troops and marones. Me too.

[-] Wrrzag@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 weeks ago

"I signed up to kill brown people in the middle east, not this"

[-] elucubra@sopuli.xyz 4 points 3 weeks ago

I signed up to kill brown people in the middle east, not ~~this~~ here"

FTFY

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[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

They should be troubled. They are breaking their oath on the constitution.

On the other hand, they could easily turn and end tyranny before it really sets in.

[-] Dozzi92@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

You say "easily," but I doubt it appears so easy, because disobeying the order first starts with you violating the UCMJ and paying for it. Only then can you fight and say hey, the order was unlawful. But you're doing that from military jail. It's an uphill battle and there's nothing easy about it.

I imagine the mindset is go, stand around with a shield, don't murk protestors, and try to just wait this shit out.

Plus, for the Marines, they were living in 29 Palms beforehand, so it's practically a vacation.

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[-] Chickadeelight@fedia.io 5 points 3 weeks ago

Stop "feeling bad about it" and start doing something about it then?

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[-] khaleer@sopuli.xyz 4 points 3 weeks ago

Pawns of political games feel like pawns of political game? No fucking way, at this rate, they will get self-conscience faster than they predict it for ai.

[-] DaddleDew@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

In just hoping that ICE is dumb enough to try to arrest and deport one of the Marines in front of their co-workers just like they do with civilians.

[-] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 weeks ago

Please let this happen everywhere at once. This is the kind of thing we need to get the rank and file in there to stand up to the enemy within. ICE shouldn't be smart enough to wait for their contracts to end and they can do it quietly away from their comrades in arms.

This should be a wakeup call for service members everywhere to plan their exit now before they end up deployed against the homeland too.

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[-] Wahots@pawb.social 3 points 3 weeks ago

They shouldn't be there. The national guard is for fighting wildfires and vaccinating hundreds of thousands of people during the pandemic. They are not to be abused for idiotic political reasons, especially for protests with very few bad apples.

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[-] barneypiccolo@lemm.ee 3 points 3 weeks ago

Every military and law enforcement member needs to understand right now that attacking protesters for exercising their First Amendment rights is crossing a line that they can never come back from. I, for one, will always hold it against any MAGA for the rest of my life. They deserve to be mercilessly shunned, ridiculed, and discriminated against for the rest of their miserable, stupid, treasonous lives. I own a business, and I will never hire a MAGA supporter, ever.

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[-] Lemminary@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

Well, they should be scared if they're following illegal orders. You're not a pawn, you're a US soldier. Act like it.

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this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2025
221 points (99.1% liked)

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