USMC Response to Special Reaction Team concerns

The Dorkfish Express
VERBATIM POST

Here is the response I got today based on AP's template.

So those that they trained are .gov employees being trained....

But we know better. My how the PAO's are crappy liars.

September 5, 2012

To whom it may concern:

Thank you for voicing your concerns regarding the Special Reaction Team
training. In 2007 the Department of Defense identified a requirement to
provide better security and policing for our military installations in the
US amidst the regular deployment cycle for missions abroad. The decision to
hire civilian police officers into the armed forces was made in order to
free up our trained military policemen to deploy without having to sacrifice
security at home. In return, their civilian counterparts would be
integrated alongside Marine military policemen to provide security and
policing within the continental US as a blended force.

As you may already know, Special Reaction Team (SRT) training is similar to
Special Weapons and Tactics training in the civilian sector. Both courses
are designed to teach law enforcement tactics that can be incorporated into
their unit's mission. While these techniques are useful in the Global War
on Terror, they are also employed close to home in response to a variety of
threats to our Marine Corps Installations. These tactics are not designed
for use against the average US citizen, but for persons who pose a threat to
the United States and/or the Marine Corps.

The civilian and military policemen chosen to participate in SRT training
are among the best, most highly qualified members of Marine Corps
Installation law enforcement units. The individuals selected for SRT are
recommended by their respective unit to participate in a three-week course
offered at either Fort Leonard Wood, an army base, or the Marine Corps
Police Academy East located at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Those
civilian police officers that undergo the training are actually employed by
the United States Marine Corps to be a part of a SRT. That SRT training
certifies personnel to be a member of a Marine Corps SRT team.

The phrase, "Every Marine is a rifleman," rings as true as the phrase,
"Every civilian military police officer is a Marine." The civilians hired
into our armed forces are trained alongside our service members in an effort
to accomplish the same mission, which is to protect the citizens of the
United States no matter the circumstance or the location.

Thank you for your time and service to our country.

Sincerely,
N. G. Fahy
Director, Public Affairs


Public Affairs Office
Marine Corps Installations East -
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
OFFICE: 910.451.7440
FAX: 910.451.5882
cljn_globe_web@usmc.mil

Classification: Unclassified