The Air Force is the only one of the military branches involved in President Donald Trump's mandated border mission to not disclose publicly the number of service members or what units they're coming from.
No names, no unit numbers, no way to definitively recognize any given individual at a glance?
So... hypothetically... someone who's not part of one of the active units, but who has the uniform, the ability to act the part, and the information required to make it happen, might be able to blend in with the oppressors during a military operation? Hmm.
o but pfft don't listen to me. I'm just a wild-talking stoner with ADHD
If someone's got all that, then they're active military members. Also, the squadron would instantly recognize you as a new face and you'd suddenly become the center of attention within minutes. Even if you have a convincing story, everyone wants to know where you sit in the chain of command. Hell, the way civilians stand would make you stick out.
Sometimes, even active military members disagree with what they're being made to do. If multiple units interact for the first time, would a new face still stand out? What if a person isn't dressed the part long enough to even be spoken to? Or if someone in this scenario has military experience?
These questions are rhetorical, of course. I left the details open-ended in the first comment for a reason - I don't know what exactly is going to happen every minute in the coming future. But, I can imagine scenarios occurring where lacking immediate and accurate ID of an individual in uniform can be taken advantage of. That's all.
I literally have every piece of issued flight gear I was given, including my helmet and O2 hook up... I've been retired for 12 years. They don't take it back and give it to someone else when you leave.
As a person from a military family, they'd clock you instantly. Once you live among military people, you begin to be able to spot who is or isn't military instantly. Even not being in the military myself, I can almost always at least guess their branch and get within a rank or 2. I've never seen my dad not get branch and exact rank within a couple seconds of talking to someone
On the other hand, I am a disabled adult who has never served or even been eligible for military service and yet I am still asked a handful of times a year 20 years after the last traumatic event I experienced if I have served, and with what branch. It's not always a sure thing. Traumatized neurodivergent people get close enough to fool some.
Same thing they did when beating up and shooting BLM.
Edit: It’a really hard to find any report on the events during the BLM protests. I distinctly remember many mentions of the LEOs involved in shooting “rubber bullets” at protesters and beating them not having any identifying information on them. No names, no agency tags, nothing.
It's much easier than the Pentagon wants you to think. Whether you're in the military or know someone who is, this is the definitive guide to walking away. And as Biden's support for genocide spins out into new US wars across the Middle East, from the Red Sea to Iraq, now would be a good time to walk away.
Featuring special guest Maria Santelli, longtime counselor with the GI Rights Hotline, which provides secure, free and expert support to any service member who wants to leave the military.
I am not sure leaving now and letting people who may not have scruples about illegal orders remain is a good idea. If anything, it may be the opposite.
They are uniformed. No global convention or agreement mandates those elements be on a uniform. The nametag, unit patch, and other items on the uniform are just ways that force happens to enhance identification within the unit.
They are identified as uniformed members of a military force. This satisfies the convention.
None of this matters or applies at all given that there is no combat occurring that would fall under the Geneva convention. So they could be plain clothes officers and it wouldn’t apply.
Trump is a sack of dog turds, and what he is doing is largely stupid speed run overreach, but this hyperbolic shit just harms credibility of the already massive list of shit he is violating.
Hey gang, I'm very closely related to this field and wanted to share some insight into this!
This is VERY COMMON practice for these situations. The idea is not to cover up inhumane tactics, but protect our personnel. While I'm sure a majority of these individuals are simple illegal immigrants who have no ill intentions, there are criminal gangs being caught up in this. Not the entire gang is being picked up, just the illegal immigrants. So the policy of removing identification from the uniforms is to protect the military member and their family.
These commands come from the highest level, meaning each individual service member is not making the decision for themselves, but they are being commanded as a whole. Much as some might not like the connotations associated with this, it is a common practice and relevant due to the stated purpose of these missions.
This is VERY COMMON practice for these situations.
No, no it's not. Maybe when operating in dangerous missions while deployed overseas.... While working on American soil? No.
None of the other branches being ordered to do similarly sketchy quasi unconstitutional work have removed their identifiers, none of the other branches have opted to classify the work they are doing.
The Air Force has a pretty well known history of racism, rape, and Christian nationalist in their command structure. Out of all the branches it doesn't surprise me at all that the Air Force is the branch falling over itself to follow trump's orders.
Yes it is, those are Fly Away Security Teams (FAST) or Ravens. Go look it up, 95% of the official Air Force photos of FAST/Raven show people without nametapes, example taken from here.
Furthermore:
I can just take my top off if it's not too hot. My t-shirt does not have a nametape
I can just buy a nametape that says "Smith" or something common and you wouldn't know the difference.
Out of all the branches it doesn't surprise me at all that the Air Force is the branch falling over itself to follow trump's orders.
I'm not sure how you can imply that you're familiar with how the military operates and then say something as ignorant as this.
All branches of the military "fall over themselves" to follow the orders of the President. That's literally how the chain of command works.
Be upset at Trump for assigning shit missions, but it's incredibly ignorant to attack any specific branch of the military for following lawful orders.
What do you picture the alternative to be? That some Airman should get himself court marshalled for refusing the order to remove his name and unit patch?
Could you explain how transporting people to their country of origin is an illegal order?
Or, maybe explain how you would handle the order as an enlisted soldier?
Thank you for sharing your perspective and informing us that cowardly evasion of accountability in the execution of inhumane operations is a common practice in the service. Some folks out there might not have suspected this already.
We're just trying to hide our identity while committing crimes acting on orders from the Criminal in Chief because all of our white robes and hoods turned pink due to a MAGA cap that somehow ended up in the wash.
Being in America without paperwork isn't a criminal charge, it is civil, so they aren't even here illegally, by the definition of the law. They are undocumented immigrants, not illegal.
The Nazis are trying to change the narrative to make it sound like there's an evil scary cabal of people trying to destroy out country, to move the arrow away from pointing at the Nazis in power.
Every individual has the power to make a decision even if that decision would exit them from the situation. Maybe more people should stand up to authoritarians
This is what they say about riot police in oppressive regimes, about prison personnel, about people from special agencies doing surveillance and even arrests.
I think you can see where I'm going. Removing identification is more harmful than the threat to "the military member and their family".
Hell or High Water. Fantastic utilization of visuals combined with smooth and enjoyable music. Love the whole trilogy, but this is my favorite of them.