It Is Time To Take A Stand - Yes, The Time Has Found Us, & It Is Too Late.

IT IS TIME TO TAKE A STAND

It’s approximately 0300hrs, you are riding in an ICV (Infantry Carrying Vehicle), on your way to a night raid. It wouldn’t be so warm if not for the fact that you are wearing full combat gear and your squad is packed like sardines in the vehicle.

These raids have been happening so often that most of the squad is comfortable taking a power nap enroute. Just as you start to contemplate closing your eyes… A voice comes over the vehicle’s intercom: “Target right. One minute!”

The squad gets ready, gloves, ear plugs, lock and load… One split second hopeful thought that nobody in your squad gets shot and you dismount the vehicle. The squad makes their way to the target quietly and stacks outside the front door. With ear plugs in you can hear your breathing and heartbeat loudly.

The lieutenant pounds on the door and demands the residents to open the door. Five seconds later, there’s no reply, the B&E (Break Entry) man swings the battering ram and the door flys open.

The squad moves in quickly to clear every room in the house. You are the second to last in the stack. While others are clearing rooms you start to round up the family inside towards the living room. There’s a mother, two kids, and the father. The frightened kids ask the parents questions and the mother touches their lips, with trembling hands, as if their talking would make the scary situation worse.

A small crying child comes out of a room behind you, as you reach for him, the father jumps between you and his kid. Your buddy, has your back, he quickly butt strokes the father on the head. The man goes down. You move the small child towards the, now frantic, mother. The mother shouts “Don’t hurt him he’s a good man!” Now, all the kids are crying. Behind you, two squad members are restraining and blindfolding the man on the ground. You think to yourself ‘What an idiot. Doesn’t he realize we’re on a mission here?’ From the hallway the sergeant shouts “GET IT UNDER CONTROL IN THERE!!” You raise your weapon, in a show of force, and gesture the family to sit on a couch.

-Earlier that day- Towards the end of a cordon and knock operation, your squad was allowed entry into a home. However, the man of the house protested the idea of his house being searched, he stated “You have no right. We don’t want you foreign troops here.” To his statement your lieutenant replied “We wouldn’t be here if your country could just police itself.” As you were gestured out of the home, you noticed some medals on the wall. It was the home of a veteran. Upon exiting the home you heard the lieutenant call in GPS coordinates to command. Your buddy smirked and said “You hear that? Coming back tonight!”

Two minutes after the raid began the house was clear. The crying mother is asked if there are any weapons in the home. She can not get a single word out. The squad tosses the house in search of weapons and intel. Moments later, the newest squad member comes to the living room with a grin on his face “Check it out. I found one!” A mossberg 500 (Tactical Shotgun) and four boxes of ammo.

The home owner is dragged out to the back yard, where after further questioning, it is determined he will go back to the detention center at your camp. The squad exits the home and the detainee is dropped face down in the center isle of the ICV. A squad member asks the man “Comfortable down there, though guy?”
You say to yourself- This is the stuff civilians pay money to watch in theaters. It’s also one of the minor things you’ll attempt to forget in a bottle of vodka years later.

The account above is a fictional composite of what a U.N. soldier may experience while deployed in the USA for Peace Keeping operations. It is based on my own operational experience conducting raids in Iraq. Although, I added a slight dramatic flare by considering the lack of regulations placed on some multinational forces, as I, witnessed first hand working with NATO troops in Kosovo. It is up to the reader to relate to the American family mentioned in the account. A family which may have seen the signs leading to this fictional event; Yet, did not take the time to get peacefully involved when they had a chance.

Whether we are on the brink of an economic collapse, or martial law being declared due to a false flag event-Americans will, at some point have to abandon their normalcy bias mentality, if we are to preserve liberty.The warning signs are before us. If you are looking for the right time to speak out and get involved… I quote Thomas Paine “The time hath found us.”