Hello All,

This is piss-poor planning by the US governement. This incident never should have happened.

From: https://tinyurl.com/y6793q4q (washingtonexaminer.com)

=== Cut ===
US military rules under review after soldiers surrendered pistol to Mexican troops on American soil
by Anna Giaritelli

April 22, 2019 09:42 PM

A senior defense official says the Pentagon is reviewing how U.S. soldiers responded during an incident this month in which Mexican troops detained and disarmed Americans on Texas soil.

The standoff between two U.S. soldiers and as many as six Mexican military officials on April 13 is believed to be the first of its kind, according to the senior defense official from Northern Command, or NORTHCOM. "This is the first incident that we're aware of that the two militaries came together," the official told the Washington Examiner.

Two Army soldiers from Washington state were sitting in an unmarked Customs and Border Protection vehicle south of the U.S. barrier but north of the international boundary near Clint, Texas, when Mexican troops moved in on them.

The Mexican soldiers, each carrying FX-05 Xiuhcoatl rifles, detained, disarmed, and questioned the U.S. troops. One soldier's Beretta M9 service pistol was taken from him and temporarily confiscated.

The Pentagon is now investigating the incident, which the official said "will help us modify any instructions that we're giving the troops" about how to deal with such a situation.

Troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexico boundary go through joint readiness staging, or training on how to handle dangerous situations in the area. The official said he could not recall anything similar to last Saturday's encounter having taken place during a previous active-duty troop deployment.

No official protocol exists for how to navigate a run-in with a foreign military, but the senior official said the soldiers were trained to "de-escalate" the situation. By surrendering at least one gun, they followed existing protocol, though it left them unarmed.

The NORTHCOM official also defended the U.S. soldiers being in the location. The pair had been assigned by Customs and Border Protection to be at those coordinates on the U.S. side of the border. The two soldiers were one of 150 teams serving on mobile surveillance missions who had been assigned that specific location to stake out and monitor surveillance feeds.

Mexican soldiers spotted the pair and did not recognize their unmarked vehicle. The U.S. troops did not recognize the unmarked truck. There was mutual confusion about why either party was at that location.

"That area of the border is kind of confusing," a second NORTHCOM official told the Examiner. "It may have been difficult for them [Mexican forces] to know if they didn't know the area as well or were new or something. I don't think -- it definitely wasn't trying to overtake the U.S."

Much of the physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border does not sit on the international boundary and is located a few dozen to a few hundred feet north of it.

In areas such as southwestern Arizona and eastern Texas, rivers serve as the official border, but in other regions, it can be more difficult to determine the official line in the sand.

The language barrier further complicated the situation. "There was a U.S. Army soldier that was one of the two that spoke Spanish. That was about when they came to realize they were Mexican military," the official said.
=== Cut ===

Later,
Sean

... 2 + 2 = 5 for extremely large values of 2.
--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20180707
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Limestone, TN, USA (1:18/200)

This is piss-poor planning by the US governement. This incident never should have happened.

What do you mean poor planning? They probably survived the ordeal thanks to their training on deescalating the situation.

Some sort of border wall would probably be a good solution to problems like these, but democrats are entitled to their opinion that it's better to just risk the lives of a few troops, at least that's what Chuck & Nancy said.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A43 2019/03/03 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Alcoholiday / Est. 1995 / alco.bbs.io (1:123/525)

Hello Sean,

This is piss-poor planning by the US governement. This incident never should have happened.

Relax, both US soldiers had white handkerchiefs. Just in case
their poorly-spoken Spanish was not understood.

Mexican soldiers are much better trained, having learned how to
speak English at an early age. No need for white handkerchiefs for
them ...

From: https://tinyurl.com/y6793q4q (washingtonexaminer.com)

US military rules under review after soldiers surrendered pistol to

Mexican

troops on American soil
by Anna Giaritelli

April 22, 2019 09:42 PM

A senior defense official says the Pentagon is reviewing how U.S. soldiers responded during an incident this month in which Mexican troops detained

and

disarmed Americans on Texas soil.

Waving white handkerchiefs is much safer than waving guns ...

The standoff between two U.S. soldiers and as many as six Mexican military officials on April 13 is believed to be the first of its kind, according

to

the senior defense official from Northern Command, or NORTHCOM. "This is

the

first incident that we're aware of that the two militaries came together," the official told the Washington Examiner.

"Remember the Alamo!"

Not a single volunteer waved his white handkerchief at Santa Anna.

And we know what Santa Anna did to them ...

Two Army soldiers from Washington state were sitting in an unmarked

Customs

and Border Protection vehicle south of the U.S. barrier but north of the international boundary near Clint, Texas, when Mexican troops moved in on them.

They wuz ambushed! Just like those volunteers at the Alamo!

The Mexican soldiers, each carrying FX-05 Xiuhcoatl rifles, detained, disarmed, and questioned the U.S. troops. One soldier's Beretta M9 service pistol was taken from him and temporarily confiscated.

Jim Bowie never would have let go of his Bowie knife.
And Davy Crocket never would have let go of his muskett.
I doubt either one of them even had a white hankie.
Or any of the other volunteers for that matter.

But US soldiers today are wimps. Can't leave home without their
white hankies ...

The Pentagon is now investigating the incident, which the official said "will
help us modify any instructions that we're giving the troops" about how to deal with such a situation.

All branches of the military must now issue white hankies to soldiers.
With clear instructions on how to use them.

Troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexico boundary go through joint readiness staging, or training on how to handle dangerous situations in the area.

The

official said he could not recall anything similar to last Saturday's encounter having taken place during a previous active-duty troop

deployment.

How many white hankies are made in the USA? Probably outsourced
to Mexico. Or China. Or Vietnam. Or some other far off place.

No official protocol exists for how to navigate a run-in with a foreign military, but the senior official said the soldiers were trained to "de-escalate" the situation. By surrendering at least one gun, they

followed

existing protocol, though it left them unarmed.

The White Flag Principle applies everywhere. Kind of an international language, using the same protocol. Grab white hankie, start waving.

The NORTHCOM official also defended the U.S. soldiers being in the

location.

The pair had been assigned by Customs and Border Protection to be at those coordinates on the U.S. side of the border. The two soldiers were one of

150

teams serving on mobile surveillance missions who had been assigned that specific location to stake out and monitor surveillance feeds.

Mexican soldiers spotted the pair and did not recognize their unmarked vehicle. The U.S. troops did not recognize the unmarked truck. There was mutual confusion about why either party was at that location.

Mexican soldiers clearly noticed the US soldiers dressed in uniform.
US soldiers also clearly noticed the Mexican soldiers in uniform.

"That area of the border is kind of confusing," a second NORTHCOM official told the Examiner. "It may have been difficult for them [Mexican forces]

to

know if they didn't know the area as well or were new or something. I

don't

think -- it definitely wasn't trying to overtake the U.S."

A company of 6 Mexican soldiers disarmed a company of 2 US soldiers.
Apparently without resistance. Imagine that. US soldiers giving up
without a fight. To Mexicans. Santa Anna would be proud.

Much of the physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border does not sit on the
international boundary and is located a few dozen to a few hundred feet north
of it.

If the two US soldiers were so innocent, then why did they choose
to surrender to six Mexican soldiers?

In areas such as southwestern Arizona and eastern Texas, rivers serve as

the

official border, but in other regions, it can be more difficult to

determine

the official line in the sand.

Somebody forgot their GPS? Or forgot their map at home? Or did not
know how to use a compass? Are US soldiers that incompetent?

The language barrier further complicated the situation. "There was a U.S. Army soldier that was one of the two that spoke Spanish. That was about when they came to realize they were Mexican military," the official said.

When six Mexican soldiers are pointing weapons in your face,
it does not matter what language US soldiers know how to speak.

--Lee

--
Our Nuts, Your Mouth

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://eljaco.se (2:203/2)

Hello aaron,

23 Apr 19 22:36 at you wrote to me:

What do you mean poor planning? They probably survived the ordeal
thanks to their training on deescalating the situation.

The soldiers broke several rules, one of them is the US soldiers handing over their weapons to the Mexican soldiers. That's a no-no.

What I meant by piss-poor planning was not ensuring that soldiers that spoke Spanish were embedded with the regular patrols. That was the major problem in that incident: lack of communication between the Mexican and US soldiers.

That sits squarely on the leaders' shoulders.

I was in the Army. Some things just don't change over the years (or shouldn't, anyway). There was a lack of basic planning involved in this and I know it was the Pentagon was getting their asses raked over the coals to hurry up and do something.

Some sort of border wall would probably be a good solution to problems like these, but democrats are entitled to their opinion that it's
better to just risk the lives of a few troops, at least that's what
Chuck & Nancy said.

We have border walls for vehicles but not for people. I was watching a news story tonight about how there's more incidences of armed smugglers bringing people across now so the chance for violence has shot through the roof.

The shit is going to hit the fan and everyone in Washington will be blaming everyone else.

Having lived near the border before, I know it's bad, but you know, I don't matter to Washington.

Later,
Sean

... RAM DISK is NOT an installation procedure!
--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20180707
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Limestone, TN, USA (1:18/200)

Hello Lee,

24 Apr 19 17:07 at you wrote to me:

When six Mexican soldiers are pointing weapons in your face,
it does not matter what language US soldiers know how to speak.

It never should have come to that and if the US soldiers' superiors didn't have their heads up their asses, it wouldn't have.

Dealing with the Mexican Army is a "known quantity" and if the superiors had taken time to plan things (see my message to Aaron), this never would have happened. But instead, someone at the Pentagon was caving in and things got rushed. It's a pretty common thing in the US Army.

Having experience with dealing with the Army, I'm not surprised at what happened, honestly, but it sure is an embarrassment and one that could have been avoided.

Later,
Sean

... I am the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries. - Stephen King
--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20180707
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Limestone, TN, USA (1:18/200)