Machination.org ponders a rumor:
Unconfirmed first and second-hand reports suggest that 8 divisions of United States Marines are to be assigned to security details in the Washington D.C. area during the annual World Bank and IMF meetings. In addition to these rumored troops, ROTC students at George Washington University and Georgetown University (collectively a part of the Georgetown ROTC battalion) are to be activated and allegedly armed with M16s and rubber bullets. According to some this is roughly 10,000 troops.
Eight divisions of Marines would be impossible to send. There are only 4 divisions of Marines in the entire Marine Corps. 1st Division is at Camp Pendleton, CA, 2nd Division is at Camp Lejeune, NC, Third Division is in Okinawa and Fourth Division consists of Reserve units spread across the country.
Eight battalions? There aren’t eight battalions of Marines in VA, DC and MD combined even if you include every type of active and reserve battalion together. Secondly, any Marines called would have to be infantry or military police companies and battalions. There would be no point in sending administrative, supply and motor transport battalions to the street. They aren’t trained for such actions. Most would have to be shipped in from Camp Lejeune. Eight battalions would be 5000 Marines at a minimum, considering most battalions average between 800 and 1200 Marines. I certainly hope that this isn’t going to be the case. If this occurred, it would be the largest ever domestic mobilization of US Marines in the history of this nation and obviously a clear violation of federal law. The possibility disturbs me immensely.
UPDATE: An additional thought. ROTC units are never used in police actions. Regular reserve units are used though, such as those used during the LA riots. ROTC units are often used, however, to help in filling sandbags for floods or search parties for lost children, etc. and then only after the local reserve units have been fully deployed. Deploying ROTC units in this type of situation would be incredibly strange and a departure from long held USMC policies.
This entry also posted at DC IndyMedia.