Retired Bay Area colonel concerned if Marines are deployed in Los Angeles
A retired Marine colonel in the Bay Area said he is concerned about the possibility of Marines being deployed on Los Angeles streets.
Retired Marine Corps Colonel Brendan Kearny was once an officer with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, the same unit that has been mobilized to go to Los Angeles. The Marines are not yet in the city, but underdoing training at the nearby Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.
"A mixture that's pride and regret. Regret that we even have to face this situation as a nation. I'm proud of those Marines. They're no different than the Marines that I served with over 50 years ago," Kearny told CBS News Bay Area.
He said during his time in the service, he can only remember a handful of times active-duty Marines were called upon to deploy within the U.S., and only once where they were off federal property, during the riots after the Rodney King verdict.
"In 1992, during the riots in Southern California, Marines from Camp Pendleton, they got in their vehicles and drove up into LA and had to participate in that conflagration that was going on there," said Col. Kearny.
As of Wednesday, 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 active-duty Marines are assigned to be in Los Angeles.
"Our mission is to protect federal agencies, their personnel as they conduct their federal mission, and then also to protect all federal assets and federal facilities," said Major General Scott Sherman, who is the Deputy Commander Army North.
Protecting federal employees and property is the only action the Armed Forces are allowed do under the Posse Comitatus Act. It was signed into law back in 1878 during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. It says the military cannot be used for civilian law enforcement unless authorized by Congress.
"Those Marines really cannot touch an American citizen, only the exception would be basically to prevent the injury to themselves, a fellow service member or a citizen that's being assaulted right in front of them," said Kearny.
"They're allowed to temporarily detain and wait for law enforcement to come and arrest them," said Major General Sherman.
From Kearny's point of view, this isn't a situation any member of the military wants to be in. He said no Marine wants to be deployed within our own borders. He said it was sad it was happening, but the Marines are perfectly trained to handle this type of situation.
"There are no winners in this type of thing. It's a series of losers and the country doesn't prosper because of it," said Kearny.
