Time: Wed Sep 03 13:39:21 1997 by usr05.primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id GAA28672; Wed, 3 Sep 1997 06:54:48 -0700 (MST) Date: Wed, 03 Sep 1997 06:54:48 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: Training Fascism's Enforcers (fwd) <snip> > > ©1997, WorldNetDaily.com > > September 02, 1997 > > National police force > in training? > Inside the center that’s creating > a federal law enforcement ‘family’ > > By Joseph Farah > ©1997, WorldNetDaily.com > > The two federal police agents wearing body armor, one > male and one female, entered the store, Glock 19 9mm > semi-automatics holstered, to serve a subpoena to the > owner, a potential witness in a felony case. > > It seemed like a routine matter. The owner accepted > the summons without protest as he was locking up his > store. A friend of the owner came by to ask him to go > fishing. But just as everyone was about to leave, > gunshots rang out across the street as another store > owner attempted to ward off an armed robber. > > As the gunbattle between the shopkeeper and the robber > spilled out into the street, the federal agents > subdued the suspect, disarmed the shopkeeper and > successfully protected the innocent bystanders caught > in the crossfire. There were high-fives all around. > Mission accomplished. No one hurt. Bad guy > apprehended. > > An FBI case file? A TV action show script? No. This > was a training simulation of the kind thousands of > agents go through every year at the 1,500-acre site of > the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, > Georgia. The cops, in this case, weren’t agents of the > [Federal Law Enforcement Training Center] FBI, > Bureau of > Alcohol, > Tobacco and Firearms, Secret Service, U.S. Marshals > Office or any other federal law enforcement agency > typically associated with street shootouts. Instead, > they were two of 200 agents of the Environmental > Protection Agency, charged specifically with > investigating “environmental crimes,” but trained in a > state-of-the-art facility and equipped with an arsenal > capable of deadly force, to deal with virtually any > other crisis situation that might arise. > > The FLETC training center is the hub of an effort to > train thousands of new federal law enforcement > officers in dozens of agencies and upgrade their > firepower with modern, high-capacity, semi-automatic > weapons. It is also the central networking agency for > a growing standing army of federal police forces -- an > army now numbering around 60,000, according to the > best information publicly available from U.S. > government sources. > > “In the past 10 years, the FLETC has experienced a > phenomenal growth in the number of students it trains > and the range of instruction it offers,” explains a > brochure prepared by the center. > > To put the growth of federal police agencies in > context, FLETC graduated 848 students in 1970. By > 1976, the number of graduates rose to 5,152. Last > year, the center graduated 18,849 students. In 1997, > projections for the graduating class currently stand > at 25,077. Since 1970, 325,000 students have gone > through the program. > > “As a graphic example of the growth experienced by the > center, in just two years -- 1989 and 1990 -- more > students graduated from the center than in its first > 10 years,” boasts FLETC promotional material. > > While the center also trains some local, state and > even international police agents, it does not train > the federal government’s largest police force, the > FBI, which maintains its own training center at > Quantico, Virginia. FLETC is expecting even more > growth for the near future -- most of it training > federal police in at least 70 different agencies, from > the Border Patrol to National Aeronautics and Space > Administration to the Small Business Administration. > > “Recent administration and congressional initiatives > and enhanced security concerns in the wake of the > tragic Oklahoma City bombing incident have resulted in > an unprecedented demand for training,” an official > FLETC document reveals. “Participating agencies are > projecting they will need to train almost 79,000 > students totaling more than 350,000 student weeks of > training over the next three years. “ > > The surge in training federal law enforcement agents > has forced the center to open up two new facilities -- > one permanent site in Artesia, New Mexico, near > Roswell, and another temporary site at a former naval > base in Charleston, South Carolina. Civil libertarians > concerned about the growth of a federal police force > will derive no comfort from other promotional > literature produced by the center. > > “A dimension of quality, which is also a function of > consolidated training, is the comingling of students > from many agencies and the networking and interagency > cooperation it fosters,” the document reads. “While > difficult to quantify, the resulting sense of a > federal law enforcement ‘family’ begins to mitigate > traditional turf issues which would be heightened in a > separated training environment.” > > FLETC operates under the authority of the U.S. > Treasury Department and is one of the fastest growing > agencies within that department. In 1975, the center, > with its staff of 39 employees, moved from Washington, > D.C., to Glynco. Today the center has an authorized > staff of 487 and an adjunct staff of 96 detailed from > participating agencies. The on-site participating > agencies, numbering 20, also have staffs exceeding > 592. > > In 1970, the departments of the Treasury, Interior, > Justice, the U.S. Civil Service Commission, the > Smithsonian Institution, the Office of Management and > Budget and the U.S. Postal Service -- agencies that > comprised the bulk of the federal government’s law > enforcement activity -- signed a memorandum of > understanding to create FLETC. It was established by > Treasury Order 217 on March 2 of that year. The > original signatories represented the first clients of > the training center. That base has now expanded to at > least 70 federal agencies. > > While the increases in armed federal police agents > have been most dramatic during the Clinton > administration years, FLETC Director Charles F. > Rinkevich takes pride in pointing out the “strong > commitment” the consolidation efforts have received > from Congress. > > Since 1989, Congress has approved $53 million in > support of the $121.4 million goal FLETC officials > deem necessary for facility expansion efforts. One of > the other ways the center supports its rapid growth is > through fee services to state and local agencies and, > increasingly, through training of foreign cops. > > “With the break-up of the Eastern Block (sic) > countries, the FLETC will be required to play an > increasing role in providing law enforcement training > to the emerging democracies while at the same time > continuing to support the training needs of other > foreign countries,” reads Objective 1.4 of the > center’s strategic goals statement. > > The center has trained agents of the governments of > Brazil, Poland, Russia and Romania and provided > assistance to the International Law Enforcement > Academy in Budapest. > > Besides training law enforcement officers in tactics, > survival skills and the use of weapons, the center > established in 1989 the Financial Fraud Institute, > whose specialty is training related to financial and > high-technology crimes including special courses in > asset forfeiture procedures, insurance fraud, illegal > tax shelters and computer and telecommunications > investigative procedures. > > Critics of the growing militarization of the federal > government will also take no comfort in the fact that > the center’s program was designed with the help of a > team of experts from the U.S. military. > > “The Department of Defense Army-Air Force Center for > Low Intensity Conflict played a key role in the > development of this plan by facilitating the planning > process for Task Force 2002 and the implementation > planning group,” one FLETC document explains. “Prior > to assisting FLETC, CLIC facilitated the development > of strategic plans for the Drug Enforcement > Administration, Project North Star and others. > ------------------------------------------------------- > > Back to WorldNetDaily Home Page > Go to the archive of WorldNetDaily Exclusives . > Send E-mail to the Editor . ======================================================================== Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night email: [address in tool bar] : using Eudora Pro 3.0.3 on 586 CPU website: http://www.supremelaw.com : visit the Supreme Law Library now ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal. ======================================================================== [This text formatted on-screen in Courier 11, non-proportional spacing.]
Return to Table of Contents for
Supreme Law School: E-mail