Originally posted by jtma508
Rainmaker... although the government 'talks-the-talk' about working to protect the citizenry, recent events (9/11, Katrina, Oklahoma City, Anthrax, etc.) strongly suggest that either the government is wholly incapable of that mission or something else far more sinister. The only chance 'we the people' have is relying on the citizen soldiers that are the cogs that drive this massively complex machine. Without you folks we are all truly screwed. We are all powerless but to hope that you and your like will follow your orders and complete your missions. But that you will always remember that your ultimate mission is to protect us and to protect the Constitution of the United States of America. We are all hard-wired to recognize right and wrong to one degree or another --- irrespective of what orders have been issued. I, for one, am counting on the fact that most of you recognize what your true responsibility is and will execute that to the fullest.

I'm not attacking your post, this just kind of keeps sticking out to me. The Oklahoma City bombing happened 11 years ago. It was an attack on the US by one of its own citizens, it doesn't belong with the other things mentioned, unless of course you're talking about a different incident in Oklahoma City.

[edit on 29-8-2006 by Phrankie B]

I'm out of the military completely now, and have been for a while now, so i don't mind sharing this. I was in the Georgia National Guard in '01. The weekend before Sep 11th was a drill weekend for us. It was one of those long drill weekends that last from Thursday to Sunday. Most Guard units do a few of these a year, particularly when they have to travel to a distant training area in my case Ft. Stewart. My guard unit was in the Atlanta area, and Ft. Stewart is near the coast. I remember a couple of things about that drill weekend. In the summer of '01 most US Army installations went from being open posts to closed posts, I was stationed at Ft. Stewart from 95-98 and remember marvelling at the changes to access on base that weekend. Let me better explain the difference between open posts and closed posts, on open post you drive on at your liesure through any access point, no ID vehicle permit required, and on an closed post you must go through a checkpoint and show a military ID or vehicle permit to get on base. We completed training and returned to our Armory that Sunday. I remember that I was either able to drive my own car to Ft. Stewart that weekend or rode with someone who drove theirs. Either way the people who were able to drive personal vehicles must return to the armory and await the people riding the bus, since most people who drive themselves make much better time in a private vehicle. When we returned to the armory there were three or four middle easterners in a rental car taking pictures of the armory and the equipment there (this is much easier than you think at a guard armory). Someone from the unit spoke to them and they said they were students from Morrocco about to start school at Georgia Tech. Two days later when i got the alert call, i told the duty NCO who called me about the arabs taking pictures at the armory from the previous Sunday, I was told that the proper authorities had been notified and if they needed anymore statements someone would contact me. Almost three years later someone(a peer who went active for force protection immediately following Sep 11,not in my chain of command) tells me that our armory was a target and several people were arrested after September 11th in conection to a threat. I always attributed this to Rumor Control, when you don't tell soldiers what's going on Rumor fills in the blanks. I wasn't the only one who wondered what happened to those guys taking pictures. That being said these two things have never set well with me about that summer before Sep 11th. Why did in summer of '01 previously open bases become controlled access, and who were those guys taking pictures that Sunday.

jefwane thanks a lot for that post, it only deepens my suspicion now that I see someone from a different area sharing information about that fateful week. I may spend some time poking around with search engines to see if I can find anyone else's observations or suspicions.

therainmaker, if you find anything out please post. If you'd like to coraborate my story send me a U2U and I'll give you a more specific armory location and unit name. I'd really like to know what happened with those guys. Like I said someone told me right before i got out in '04 that there had been some arrests in a plot to blow up our armory after sep 11. This was a peer and not someone in authority, but he did alot of guard duty at the armory after Sep 11th and he's never been a big BSer.