In an encrypted group chat, National Guard members question Trump deployments
www.npr.org/2025/11/10/nx-s1-5601819/national-g…
As Trump calls for National Guard deployments across the U.S., a small contingent of Ohio guard members has been quietly expressing concern in an encrypted group chat.
The administration started sending troops into several Democratic-led cities this summer, citing the need to crack down on violent crime and protect federal immigration facilities. The Ohio guard members now say they’re alarmed at the turn the country is taking. They’re even questioning their potential role in it.
“I really went to a dark place when they sent the troops to [Los Angeles], and then eventually [Washington, D.C.], and now, Chicago. This is just not what any of us signed up for, and it’s so out of the scope of normal operations,” says J, a member of the Ohio National Guard who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity.
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I guarantee he’s going to try a military coup before 2028, probably even next year if the midterms don’t go his way, and my only hope is that the Army and National Guard remember their oath is to the Constitution and not to Trump.
1000%. That’s why he keeps ramping up the pressure on us plebs - he’s trying to get a violent reaction that’ll justify massive military deployments and martial law.
Don’t be shy, throw it on the pile of world changing predictions for 2027:
- China invades Taiwan
- Alien disclosure happens
- Trump ends democracy
- The singularity occurs
- Solid state batteries enter the market
- The year of Linux on the desktop
These are all real predictions. Except for maybe the Linux one. I’m not shit posting. And the list could go on, I’m just not remembering more of them right now.
Edit: y’all are no fun. And to be clear, I was NOT refuting the person I replied to. I am merely pointing out that we have a bumpy road ahead.
“I have been on two humanitarian-esque missions with the guard, which were awesome, doing the things you see on the commercial, helping these communities,” says J. “And then you want me to go pick up trash and dissuade homeless people in D.C. at gunpoint. Like, no dude. It’s so disheartening every time I see another city — and I just wonder, ‘who’s going to stand up to this?’”
Hmm. Maybe the people who “serve” the country and are loaded with body armor and guns?
Therapy and talking through your anxieties and emotions is deeply important. But it is a lower priority than not fucking aiming guns at people in the first place.
They don’t just mean ‘who’ individually. They’re in that group chat together because they don’t know who or how many of them feel similarly enough that they can reasonably challenge their command.
Right now, the orders are deliberately vague enough, technically legal, and not blatantly unethical so that they can’t refuse it. They can’t disobey orders to guard federal property and go pick up trash from the streets because that’s not something you’ll likely win against in a UCMJ case, even if you know the real purpose of the orders is for Trump to make a show of force.
Also, a lot is up to their officers, who are obligated to disobey illegal and unethical orders. They have to set the climate for the soldiers. It’s really hard for soldiers to speak up if they don’t feel like their leaders have their back.
They can’t disobey orders to guard federal property and go pick up trash from the streets because that’s not something you’ll likely win against in a UCMJ case
Boo fucking hoo. How many people get out to protest or make a human shield to prevent ICE from abducting children? Or is it different? Because they just have to face secret police and normal judges and not motha fugging NCIS!!!!
Also, a lot is up to their officers, who are obligated to disobey illegal and unethical orders. They have to set the climate for the soldiers. It’s really hard for soldiers to speak up if they don’t feel like their leaders have their back.
Lemme fix that for you
I was just following orders and it was really the responsibility of the person above me to make sure my orders were legal and just
I don’t know if you’re still checking this, but you WANT the people who question these things to stay in. The other guy already tried his best to explain it to you so I won’t dog pile.
It doesn’t matter if they are “questioning” things if they are still holding guns and oppressing the populace.
I am sure plenty of the guards running the gas chambers questioned what they are doing. None of that mattered a bit to the people being murdered.
Because there is a time for questioning and a time for action. And if you really need to question “should I be the gun pointed at the people I claim to serve?”… you kind of already have your answer. Especially since the constant defense is “they would get in twouble if they don’t follow orders!”
They aren’t. Not sure what news you’re getting. National guard is putzing around. ICEstappo and the other LEO feds are. You have shown you’d rather be a keyboard revolutionary than actually understand. I hope you’re not from the USA, because your lack of interest in understanding the actual problem is no better than a MAGAt.
Look man, you don’t know the military well, so it’s easy to criticize the actions of people whose position you never have to imagine yourself in, but it’s like open-and-shut, you go to jail and fail to change anything if you’re not careful.
If they resist, they have to be smart and do it as a collective.
And jesus christ, these guys aren’t being told to attack civilians and kidnap children like ICE is doing, so forgive them a little if they’re having a hard time between deciding if they want to risk being marked a felon by the federal government for life or instead pick up trash while carrying a gun so Trump can scare people a bit because he knows he can’t legally use them for any more than that.
Look man, you don’t know the military well, so it’s easy to criticize the actions of people whose position you never have to imagine yourself in,
Got it. Let he who has flipped the switch cast the first stone at the brave men and women manning the gas chambers!
but it’s like open-and-shut, you go to jail and fail to change anything if you’re not careful.
Again. What do you think is going to happen to the people protesting and actually fighting against tyranny when ICE et al have had enough? Hell, the government is trying to send fucking Kat Abughazaleh to jail and she is a pretty white presenting politician with a large social media following.
But I get it. It is much easier for people who haven’t served to have a backbone and actually fight against tyranny. Because… they don’t know how good boot leather tastes?
Are you saying the National Guard should fight ICE right now?
Or are you saying the National Guard soldiers should frag their officers?
Or just the soldiers here and there resist how they can and go to jail for refusing to pick up trash? This one leaves you with a National Guard completely not on your side instead of at least half on your side when you might need it most.
Are you saying the National Guard should fight ICE right now?
Hmm. A heavily armed paramilitary group acting in an illegal and unconstitutional manner to attack, torment, and abduct a civilian populace? Why would I expect the US military to intervene against that?
Or just the soldiers here and there resist how they can and go to jail for refusing to pick up trash? This one leaves you with a National Guard completely not on your side instead of at least half on your side when you might need it most.
No. What we have is half gleefully oppressing people and the other half pretending they are sad while… oppressing people.
MAYBE they’ll grow a backbone down the line. All signs are that they’ll continue to refuse and people like you will continue to defend them because there might be consequences for them not forcing civilian populations to live in fear.
So you want a military coup in the US?
If that’s what it takes because no other system is doing it’s fucking job, I kinda do. Something needs to happen. This treading water shit isn’t working.
To be fair, an unelected general seizing power from this regime does seem to be the current lesser of two evils.
I want the military to refuse to follow illegal orders. That counts as standing up, and they will need those weapons to defy the ones who go along with the illegal orders.
Refusing low threat legally dubious orders (that are being played out in the courts) is exactly how people get replaced with sycophants.
This is the trial and pruning phase; you want the opposition to show their cards now?
Area beatification isn’t worth shredding your weapons card.
Which illegal orders?
By which I take it you want to be gunned down in the street by the potus’s lackies who are “just following orders”?
No. A military coup would not be a good thing. But when we already have guns being turned on our own people by our own government? We are pretty fucking far past things that are “good” and even just not having the national guard (soon to be mainline military) acting as the right arm of a rapist nazi.
Gives hope that protests work and influence soldiers to eventually do the right thing and protect the people and not Trump.
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Bot account.
Posting formulaic 2 paragraph replies to every post it comments on.
I removed some comments by one earlier, seems Lemmy is getting targeted by someone looking to manipulate us.
I also noticed several of these accounts were made November 10th on sh.itjust.works
Others I’ve seen with the ‘username12345’ formula
I do not believe that this represents the majority and I doubt the military as a whole will risk their benefits to help a neighbor.
Idk why this was downvoted I’ve yet to meet a active service member who voted for Biden (I know my sample size isn’t huge but like, lots of vets love Trump and love that he’s deporting people)
I like to disable the visibility of voting. If anyone wants to say something they can say it to my digital face
paraphrand
I may be wrong here but at this point and without Trump evoking the insourction act, can’t the guard by law object to any deployment under the “posse comitatus” doctrine?
Yes, but they generally don’t want to outright refuse an order. The reason their involvement is so limited is because the generals have talked Trump down from full martial law to just accompanying ICE.
But courts have ruled the that some are a violation of posse comitatus: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ylyd9lkkqo
What tipped you off? The fact you were mostly walking around picking up trash or that most of the violence was being perpetrated by ICE?
They’re using Signal
Totally fake.