Swine flu outbreak reveals military plans, gaps

In an interview with the AP, Kircher and several senior military officers from U.S. Northern Command said that since the swine flu has been far less lethal than anticipated, it has allowed the military to stop far short of the worst-case scenarios that the Pentagon prepared for in its long-range planning.

But in the event of a widespread pandemic, the Pentagon maintains standing plans to use the active-duty military as a last-resort force to help law enforcement manage quarantines, limit state-to-state travel and restrict access to government buildings.

Those plans represent "the kinds of things that the lead federal agencies might ask us to do or that we might have to do on behalf of the Department of Defense for force protection," said Air Force Brig. Gen. Tony Rock, who until recently was deputy director for operations at Northern Command.

Officials would turn to the military for those domestic duties, Rock said, only when other authorities become overburdened and request assistance.

Source: news.yahoo.com...

Additional Source: www.huffingtonpost.com...

There you have it. If the swine flu gets really bad expect to see military on the streets. Words such as quarantines, "travel restrictions" = another word for martial law.

Here's another interesting quote from the article.

The military, however, would be prepared to aid in establishing "mass casualty" treatment sites, provide shelter for displaced persons, dispose of dead bodies and help provide postal, power, water and sewer services and food deliveries. Troops also could provide logistics, communications and other support for law enforcement and the National Guard.

[edit on 20-5-2009 by ZombieSlayer]

Some info about Amy Kircher

AMY KIRCHER

Indications and Warning Branch Chief
Epidemiologist
Office of the Command Surgeon NORAD - U.S. Northern Command
Residence: Colorado

Amy Kircher is an epidemiologist with the NORAD – US Northern Command (N-NC) Office of the Command Surgeon. Her primary responsibilities include bioterrorism preparedness, disease surveillance and modeling, border health, and serving as an epidemiology consultant. During her time at N-NC, Ms. Kircher has built a coalition of interagency partners to model infectious diseases, supported the DHS national biosurveillance initiative, and served as the medical watch officer for the N-NC Command Center in support of disasters, National Security Special Events, and exercises. Ms. Kircher spent 3 months coordinating the NORTHCOM medical military response to Hurricane Katrina.

Prior to coming to NORAD – US Northern Command, Ms. Kircher worked at the Air Force Population Health Support Office, Minnesota Department of Health and has served as adjunct faculty at the University of St. Thomas and University of Texas at San Antonio. She holds a Masters in Public Health from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a Bachelor of Arts from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.

www.sph.unc.edu...


[edit on 20-5-2009 by ZombieSlayer]

I feel like I'm talking to myself in here Nobody else finds this news interesting? I think it's pretty significant.

This is the first time the military has discussed some of their plans for what they would do during a pandemic. The question is why release this info now? Foreshadowing of things to come?

The H1N1 could very well mutate and come back and kick us in the teeth 1918 pandemic style. Not saying it will but if it does these military plans will be activated. Quarantines, travel restrictions, etc.


Does anybody remember these articles?

Canada, U.S. agree to use each other’s troops in civil emergencies
www.canada.com...

USA - Brigade Homeland Tours Start Oct. 1
www.armytimes.com...

Army combat unit to deploy within U.S.
www.cnn.com...

ACLU demands info on domestic military deployments
rawstory.com...

Pentagon plans 20,000 uniformed troops inside U.S. by 2011
www.washingtonpost.com...

reply to post by ZombieSlayer


Zombie-

I've wondered about the possibility of a martial law scenario- and it seems a real possibility in theory- yet how would we achieve it? Our troops are spread so thinly I don't know if there are enough bodies to implement such an action, were it required.

Do you know how many reserves, Nat'l Guard, etc., personnel are stateside who could effectively enforce martial law? Do you think we'd pull people from Iraq and Afghanistan to do the job or utilize our civilian law enforcement in a military manner?

I don't know and I'm curious if you have any information about this. How does a nation of nearly 400M people "submit" to military enforcement when our military is elsewhere? I'm not being sarcastic- I'm actually curious if you know more than I do.

Thank you

As well, if we were to implement a martial law scenario, what does that do to our national security here and abroad?

If troops are pulled home for this, the Government HAS to fess up and admit there's a very serious public health crisis, which they've been unwilling to do thus far (other than school closures and 19th Century hand-washing instructions). The pharmas are gearing up to make nearly 5 B vaccines- it's obvious the WHO and the world at large is expecting a major pandemic come fall (at least a more lethal one- we're already at pandemic).

CDC and WHO would then be forced to instruct clinicians to test for EVERY case of suspected H1N1 (as opposed to now, where most cases are not confirmed). Do we have the public health infrastructure for that?

This is a big C-F and I'm at a complete loss as to who's at the wheel!!!

NO longterm soldier from Iraq could come back here and even pretend to be irrate against his own people. They are so beaten and battered, drugged and traumatized, they would truly go insane.

Foreign troops yes, since the most experienced of our combined troops are just plain exhausted.

I do believe the human body by some miracle fought this virus with some combined shocking and outstanding miracle of the human body and God.

There just might be a part DEUX to the virus to activate it though. The second trigger..be it from chemtrails or any simple thing like a foodstuff--it will be back.

It may be designed only to effect men, or only women or only children who have had recent manditory baby vaccines. It may only effect every elderly person who has the second, third bath of polio vaccination in their system. I may only effect those that eat potatos.....

Who knows?...

(that was a pun........WHO knows!!)



[edit on 25-5-2009 by suzque66]

Excllent info!

Read this thread ... it has a little bit more on the same vein that you are talking about.