I can't see any visible insignia on any of their uniforms. Don't the uniforms for our branches of the military display insignia?

So, either they don't know, or it's Blackwater and they aren't allowed to tell us.

all outside forces like paid killers.

Of one of the various DC or Federal police agencies. Most likely the latter. They were the ones that stormed the crowd for the photo op.

The lower group is made up of Air National Guard. They are mostly for show as they are unarmed.

100% guarantee you the fat fuck has never been in a real fight in his life.

Put me down as willing to fight any republican on earth. Fake tough. All talk no action.

and it threatened to mess up his hair so he freaked out.

But I agree, it's ridiculous.

Why don't they join the military if they want to dress like soldiers?

Mercenaries make a lit more $$ and probably invisible to the treasury. Plus they get to express their roid rage with impunity.

It's obvious to me that many cops (and military) take steroids now.

All you have to do is compare photos of cops from the 60s, 70s, 80s to those now.

that it's obvious. Not so ling ago I was acquainted with a guy who was kind of buff to begin with and joined the local PD. A year later he looked liked he was trying to become the incredible hulk. Suddenly his biceps were bigger than my thighs. Attitudes transformed too, we stopped being friends.

The entire charade is stupid and so on brand for trump.

Dumb and an empty show.

"OK, boys, you've been out here for 15 minutes. Take a break!"

Sorry, no time to find the links now but two things:

1. There was a recent NYT article about how Trump has been working w/Prince, with Prince recruiting former spies to infiltrate Dem campaigns and basically all things Dem/liberal/progressive. That includes these protests.

2. There was a video on twitter with someone asking some of the LEOs who they represent because there was no indication if they were local or federal or private. The one responded they represent the Department of Justice. DC Police Dept responded to that tweet saying IT'S NOT THEM.

So I think Trump, Barr and Prince are working together with a lot of these military-style patrols and presence.

more info that may be of interest to some reading this thread.

I've been expecting them, especially since Bil Cohn Barr moved into the WH.

I seem to be clueless about these folks.

And Cheney is all wrapped up with them too, if I remember.

That would be an interesting idea to test out! What gets me are the groin shields while a more potentially vulnerable point is just off to the side of it. A harsh blow or weighted thrust applied to the general pelvic area would make for longer term disabling.

It's all so stupid like a testosterone drowned fashion show.

All that gear just makes them clumsy and awkward. An idiotic display of costumery.

They're just cosplay soldiers.

It was either Agincourt or Crecy, I think.

Armour was so heavy they couldn't rise and enemy went along and slit their throats or took them for ransom

they become less useful in close combat. The same applies to crowd control situations. Since most protests do not involve firearms, the body armor is useless and only serves to weigh people down.

Further, if you engage in physical exertion, any added weight you're carrying around lowers your endurance, so you tire more quickly.

If you notice in those photos, none of the soldiers or LEOs in the photos appear to be carrying firearms. So, they do not have those to protect themselves. Due to their reduced mobility and overloaded, overtired situation, they are easily overcome by a couple of unarmed protestors. If knocked off their feet, they would be unable to defend themselves at all.

Essentially, they are over-equipped for the job they are supposed to be doing. That's why their primary function is just intimidation. That only works as long as the protesters are actually intimidated by them. Once that ends, they are very vulnerable to being overcome by just a couple of people.

It's not a good equation for those people at all.

Modern synthetics are surprisingly light. And they train with this stuff on, just as football players do.

The point of shields, helmets, and padding is to protect one from blows, so even if protestors were able to swarm one of these soldiers, there's not much actual damage they could do. Unlike the French at Agincourt, it's unlikely that any throat-slitting will be taking place.

out from under them. With the terrible mud on the battlefields, the French nobleman knights never had a chance to wage the kind of "proper" warfare they were trained for.

If it had been a different battle scene, the English peasant troops would have been easily overrun by the French knights.

intimidating is correct, this is sick. tRump fucking thinks he's in a movie. Lock him up.

Putin must enjoy this, Russians must be laughing off their heads. Mission accomplished for Putin. His revenge is complete.

Just my opinion.

I can attest it is surprisingly balanced. While I would not go so far as to call it comfortable it gives good freedom of movement.

Running away is not a tactic I ever trained.

Should a person fall while wearing it they can easily get up on their own though a helping hand won't be refused.

The biggest issue is heat. The ventilation is very poor and becoming a heat casualty is a serious risk in hot weather.

The groin protectors are a pain and I always suspected they were more psychological than effective.

Also notice the lack of weapons of any sort in the bottom photo. It is pretty much a dog and pony show

I'd think such a force would be fairly easily be overrun by a determined crowd that outnumbers them tenfold or even more than that. Given the nature of most protesters, of course, such actions are not likely, but they definitely are vulnerable to a physical charge by protesters.

If they were carrying firearms, the story would be very different, of course.

And one from a different angle. In front of the airmen is a group of DC police.

The body language of both groups in that photo is of nothing that is an immediate concern. A couple airmen were even looking at their phones.

And they're young men probably in pretty good shape, so moving around and getting up if they get knocked down really won't be that hard. I honestly don't think they'd be out there if they really couldn't move very much.

Although, especially in hot weather, all that gear would get mighty uncomfortable. But again, young fit people can tolerate a whole lot more than we old folks can.

However, pepper spray canisters are soon depleted. The reality is that those people are not prepared for actual physical combat. Given the numbers of protesters they face, once their chemical weapons are depleted, they are amazingly vulnerable to attack from as few as two people.

They are not there to fight. They are there only to intimidate.

the people in the second photo, though, do not have shields.

Right out of the fascist playbook.

Notice the highly disproportionate quantity of people just to guard one monument.

KY.......

Hope it's 91 and humid like it is in my state right now. That will not be too comfortable for them after an hour or two!

"Daddy, when the police were beating the peaceful protestors in Washington D.C., did you protect them?"

as I recently heard NY's finest say..."Light them up".

In neither photo are those people armed. They can't "light 'em up" at all.

I don't get it. What's the point? They might as well be cardboard cut-outs.