Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

COIN done right?: Tales of the Maryland National Guard deployment to Baltimore

I am hearing some interesting stuff about the Maryland National Guard’s recent deployment to downtown Baltimore.

Maryland_National_Guard_(17285160576)
Maryland_National_Guard_(17285160576)

I am hearing some interesting stuff about the Maryland National Guard’s recent deployment to downtown Baltimore.

I am hearing some interesting stuff about the Maryland National Guard’s recent deployment to downtown Baltimore.

“They threw bottles of urine at our trucks, rocks too,” a Guardsmen told me. He said he knew it was serious when they were issued live ammunition and body armor.

It struck me that it was much easier to conduct counterinsurgency in Baltimore than in Iraq, where this Guardsman did two tours. When a guy stopped his car at a green light and started searching under the seat, they flex-tied him and then told him he was being stupid and that if he had come up with something in his hand, he might have gotten shot. “Don’t be a knucklehead,” they advised. And they told the kids coming out at night that burning the Mom & Pop stores meant that the only store they’d have in the neighborhood now would be CVS, because the little stores didn’t have enough insurance to rebuild.

U.S. National Guard/Wikimedia Commons

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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