United States | Exercise Sacred Honor

[Odinson]

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EXERCISE SACRED HONOR​

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SECRET​

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD EXERCISE​

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CONTEXT​

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After a national security review by the National Security Council, the Department of Defense recommended to President Gore that key elements of the United States Armed Forces undergo further training to protect key points of the United States from threats both foreign and domestic. One of the units mentioned in the review was the National Guard of the District of Columbia which uniquely reports directly to the President of the United States and not a subordinate civilian executive (such as a Governor). The President approved riot/crowd control training for the D.C. Army National Guard, as well as creating a rapid-reaction unit in the D.C. National Guard that was always on standby to be deployed. From this point forward, the 21st and 22nd Military Police Battalion of the D.C. Army National Guard will always have a total of at least 600 soldiers on standby for emergency deployment. Whatever unit that is on standby will be designated the "Rapid Reaction Battalion" and will be stationed at-base. This will allow an emergency deployment within the District of Columbia in under thirty minutes while other units are mobilizing.

The training itself will include two skills: "Riot Control" and "Retaking Critical Infrastructure" and will take place at Fort Bragg in South Carolina. At the cost of the D.C. National Guard, all 1200 of the soldiers were flown to Fort Bragg to begin their training.
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District of Columbia
Brigadier General Robert Litton​

UNIT	PERSONNEL	GARRISON
21st Military Police Battalion	600	D.C. Armory, Washington D.C.
22nd Military Police Battalion	600	D.C. Armory, Washington D.C.

DETAILS - Each battalion has the below mentioned equipment and weapons, per soldier.
Support Company
Military Police Battalion
- Equipment: x2 U.S. Combat uniform (flag patch and unit/rank/name patches included), x1 pair of Army Combat Gloves, x1 Interceptor Body Armor, x1 Advanced Combat Helmet, x1 ACU Boots and socks, x1 Army-issued Oakley sunglasses, x1 Additional Cold-Weather Army Combat Uniform; x1 Fulton MX991 flashlight; x1 AN/PRC-148 Radio (per officer not enlisted).
- Weapons: x1 M4 Carbine (MWS) and bayonet, x5 30-round clips), x1 M68CCO Red-Dot, x1 M203 grenade launcher with Indirect Fire Sight (x2 40 mm white star flare rounds, x3 40mm high explosive dual purpose rounds); x1 Beretta M9 (x2 15-round clips).

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DEPLOYMENT ORDERS​

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RIOT CONTROL​

The day after all 1200 D.C. National Guard soldiers travelled to Fort Bragg and were set up in temporary living quarters, fed, and received a full night of sleep, they would begin their Riot Control training. The five parts of this training would include: Tactics, Basic Urban Riot Control, Advanced Urban Riot Control, Civil Detainment Training, and a full-blown riot simulation involving all of the troops in full riot gear.

TACTICS​

The soldiers would first be taken to large classrooms where they would be instructed by top leadership. General riot control tactics were covered, as well as footage and lessons from past riots and cases of civil disorder from around the United States, and the world. Situations that were handled correctly were reviewed, while situations that were total failures were also reviewed. About half of this entire class covered riot situations and cases of civil disorder in the District of Columbia. There were reviews of the locations of important infrastructure such as embassies, post offices, the White House, the Capitol, and other federal buildings. Several situations were laid out in how riots in different parts of the cities could be handled and where riots were most likely to form in the city - based on where they have in the past. There was a specific focus on the National Mall, the White House, the Capitol Building, and the Supreme Court Building. Other national monuments in Washington were also covered in lesser detail. All of the soldiers were given a one-hundred page review and study guide that they could keep and use for reference. They were then tested over material that had been covered so that the Army and the National Guard could better instruct these kinds of classes in the future.

The next step of the "Riot Control" training would be over: Basic Urban Riot Control.​

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[Odinson]

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DEPLOYMENT ORDERS​

SECRET​

BASIC URBAN RIOT CONTROL​

After a day of training in tactics, the 1200 District of Columbia Army National Guard soldiers were woken up at five in the morning to prepare for their training in "Basic Urban Riot Control". Several situations were set up where a number of the soldiers would act as rioters, and some would be dressed in riot gear and given simulated non-lethal weapons. Several riots would be simulated where different officers were put in charge of the companies and a battalion of the soldiers to ensure that a certain building was protected, or a crowd was pushed back to a specific location. "Breakthroughs" were simulated as well as "Entrenched" situations where a riot does not move from a location and they are constantly pushing against a line of riot police. The soldiers would be tested again and again and again in scenarios where they were heavily outmanned and in dire situations. The point that was made, again and again, was that uniformed, armed soldiers with riot gear stood a surprisingly good chance against riots even when they were outnumbered ten-to-one. These scenarios would be repeated all day (with a break for lunch, and of course the soldiers would be given water the entire time). Finally, at the end, basic scenarios would be covered where a select few rioters were using firearms. The benefit, in this kind of scenario, was that most of the crowd would disperse even if firearms were used from their side. However, it also underlined the fact that there must always be soldiers armed with lethal weapons behind the line or somewhere nearby so in the event that a gunfight would begin.

The soldiers were all given a review of what they had covered that day as well as an in-depth review of mistakes they made, and positive things that they had done. The next day the soldiers would cover "Advanced Urban Riot Control". ​

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[Odinson]

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DEPLOYMENT ORDERS​

SECRET​

ADVANCED URBAN RIOT CONTROL​

After a day of training in Basic Urban Riot Control, the 1200 District of Columbia Army National Guard soldiers were woken up at five in the morning to prepare for their training in "Advanced Urban Riot Control". Several situations were set up where a number of the soldiers would act as rioters, and some would be dressed in riot gear and given simulated non-lethal weapons. Riots in exceptionally challenging and unique scenarios were simulated. Actors were used to simulate innocent civilians. There were also scenarios involving riots where there were a handful of violent actors using (simulated) deadly weapons. The officers leading the soldiers would be challenged to come up with ways to handle these situations. All of the soldiers would be instructed on how to effectively use tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, batons, riot shields, and bayonets in a riot situation. Scenarios would also be simulated where the soldiers would have no choice but to retreat, regroup, and take up stronger points to defend and keep back rioters. Finally, toward the end of the day, there would be significant review over what it would take to require the use of deadly force against rioters; it was emphasized how important it was to never do this unless it was a worst-case scenario because of how bad it would look publicly. It was also emphasized that an initial use of force like this would quickly disperse most crowds, so a massive show of force would not be necessary.

The soldiers were all given a review of what they had covered that day as well as an in-depth review of mistakes they made, and positive things that they had done. The next day the soldiers would cover "Civil Detainment Training". ​

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[Odinson]

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DEPLOYMENT ORDERS​

SECRET​

CIVIL DETAINMENT TRAINING​

After a day of training in Advanced Urban Riot Control, the 1200 District of Columbia Army National Guard soldiers were woken up at five in the morning to prepare for their training in "Civil Detainment Training". The soldiers were given instruction in the basic civil detainment laws in Maryland, Virginia, and especially the District of Columbia. They were educated on police forces in the District, such as the Capitol Police, and how the National Guard could be tasked with a law enforcement role in the event of an emergency in the District during a national disaster. The soldiers were broken up into groups and given a number of scenarios where they had to decide whether or not to arrest and detain civilians, and how these civilians would be treated after they arrested and how civil authorities could still be used in these kinds of situations. Finally, at the end of the day, there was once again a simulated riot control situation where there were civilians doing different things and the officers and enlisted leadership would need to decide if a person should be detained, arrested, or released.

The soldiers were all given a review of what they had covered that day as well as an in-depth review of mistakes they made, and positive things that they had done. The next day the soldiers would experience a full-blown riot simulation over everything they had covered.​

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[Odinson]

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DEPLOYMENT ORDERS​

SECRET​

MAJOR RIOT SIMULATIONS​

After a day of training in Civil Detainment Training, the 1200 District of Columbia Army National Guard soldiers were woken up at five in the morning to prepare for their training in a full-blown "Riot Scenario". The soldiers were equipped with their full riot gear and non-lethal weaponry (with lethal weaponry not being loaded). A major scenario involving the entire 1200 detachment, as well as military volunteers from the Fort Bragg, was created that would test everything that they had learned. The scenario took place in a part of the base that simulated a couple of city blocks. The riot control would encounter angry protestors, and then rioters, throwing things at them and trying to provoke them. At some point, the leadership would receive (simulated) orders that the President had declared a state of emergency in the District of Columbia and that the National Guard was empowered to enforce law in the District, and that he had ordered them to restore law and order in cooperation with local civilian authorities. Over the course of the day, the soldiers would have to deal with simulated civilians in various scenarios that would test everything they had learned. They would be working for hours upon hours and, at the end of the day, all of the soldiers would be given a steak dinner as they were given a final review of everything that they had experienced.

Due to the current state of global affairs, it was decided to not go ahead with the "Retaking Critical Infrastructure" training at this time. This training would be concluded and the two Military Police battalions in the D.C. National Guard now had "Riot Control" training. All of the troops and their equipment would return to the appropriate places in the District of Columbia.​

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