Marines not allowed live ammo at Egyption Embassy

[One Eye]

U.S. Marines defending the American embassy in Egypt were not permitted by the State Department to carry live ammunition, limiting their ability to respond to attacks like those this week on the U.S. consulate in Cairo.

Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson “did not permit U.S. Marine guards to carry live ammunition,” according to multiple reports on U.S. Marine Corps blogs spotted by Nightwatch. “She neutralized any U.S. military capability that was dedicated to preserve her life and protect the US Embassy.”






http://freebeacon.com/reports-marine...tted-live-ammo

 

[kyletxria1911a1]

so is that their version of 30-06 bring our boys home let them fend for themselves

 

[Jakashh]

Anne Patterson sounds like a buffoon.

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

[Charlie]

Anne Patterson sounds like a buffoon.

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using Tapatalk 2

What else would we expect, she's a politician, isn't she?

 

[scap99]

What else would we expect, she's a politician, isn't she?

Ambassadors aren't supposed to be, are they?
Not saying she isn't, but I understood them to be apolitical.

 

[Texastransplant]

My anger goes beyond words. I told my wife last night that they would not allow them ammo and I was right. What kind of leadership do we have in the Oval Office? Oh I forgot it sits empty, the daily briefing once more not done as he heads out to campaign and tells the campaign workers that they sacrafice as hard as those 4 workers in the Consolate. I have words, not repeatable, I have anger and I have not respect for the person call the president.

A president doens't do what this man does, a terrorist well he is closer to that then a president.

 

[Driller]

They are looking for the ones responsible for the deaths of those US citizens in the wrong place.

 

[deemus]

Check the link again. There should be an update with an interview with the Narines who said there were no ammo restrictions.

 

[Charlie]

Ambassadors aren't supposed to be, are they?
Not saying she isn't, but I understood them to be apolitical.

In theory, yes. Maybe many, many years ago. How else would you think they get appointed?

 

[grasshopperglock]

They will happily exchange the lives of marines to prevent an incident. The incident being having marines shoot some idiots in a country that hates our guts.

Plus it looks bad for the idiots to fire upon/kill US troops that had no ammo. The UN will see it as more of a un provoked terrorist act. Then are more likely to stay out of the way of any police action we may take.

Politics my friends...

 

[Stumpy]

 

[majormadmax]

Wingnuts Falsely Claim Obama Administration Forbade Marines From Carrying Live Ammo | Mother Jones

The Marine Corps has confirmed to Mother Jones that a military blogger's popular conspiracy theory about the embassy attack in Egypt is wrong.

Ladies and Gentlemen-

The following information is provided regarding Marine involvement in the recent actions in Egypt and Libya:

Egypt:
-The Ambassador did not impose restrictions on weapons or weapons status on the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group (MCESG) detachment. The MCESG Marines in Cairo were allowed to have live ammunition in their weapons. The Ambassador and Regional Security Officer have been completely and appropriately engaged with the security situation. Reports of Marines not being able to have their weapons loaded per direction from the Ambassador are not accurate.

- The Marine Corps does not establish Rules of Engagement (ROE). Nonetheless, ROE is classified and release of that information would jeopardize the Marines and U.S. interests. Any further inquiry should be directed to the State Department, since Marine security guards report to the ambassador not to a military commander.

-As reported in open sources, approximately 2000 personnel were protesting outside the U.S. Embassy and six individuals entered Embassy grounds. The Marines quickly took control of these six individuals and subsequently turned them over to local security officials.

-There were no Marines injured in this, or other actions in Cairo.

-There are no Marine dependents in Cairo.

Libya:
-Contrary to open source reporting, there are no Marines currently stationed at the Embassy in Tripoli, or the Consulate in Benghazi.
-There were no Marines killed in the attack on the Consulate in Benghazi.

Yemen:
-The American Embassy in Sana'a, Yemen has a MCESG reinforced with a Marine security force. Due to operational security, we are not at liberty to provide additional details at this time.

Marine Corps Embassy Security Guards (MCESG):
Embassy security in Tripoli and the consulate in Benghazi fall under the Regional Security Officer with the State Department. The U.S. maintains over 285 diplomatic facilities worldwide. MCESG provides 152 security detachments provide internal security at designated U.S. diplomatic and consular facilities in order to prevent the compromise of classified material vital to the national security of the United States. Perimeter security is the responsibility of the host nation police/security forces. AMEMB Tripoli does not have a MCESG detachment. Typically, when a new embassy is established, it takes time to grow a new MCESG detachment. In coordination with the State Department, there was discussion about establishing a detachment in Tripoli sometime in the next five years. Overall, the plan is to grow the number of MCESG detachments worldwide to 173. The size of a MCESG detachment depends on the size of the Embassy and the security situation on the ground. They normally range anywhere from 5-20+ Marines in size. MCESG can, and have, provided security at Consulates as well as Embassies. For example, Marines guard the US Consulate in Hong Kong and, in the past, have guarded the US Consulate in addition to the Embassy in Haiti. The decision as to which consulates receive this augmented security lies with the State Department. State identifies its requirements and DOD/Marines work to provide it. A U.S. Ambassador serving in an unstable region can/will normally have a security detail provided by the State Departments Diplomatic Security Corps. State has agents specially trained to provide personal security details (similar to the Secret Service). Stephanie Hoostal at the State Liaison Office (B-330) can be reached at 6-4542 if you have questions specific to the State Dept.

Fleet Anti-Terrorism Support Team (FAST):
A FAST platoon deployed to Libya yesterday (12 Sep 12) to provide security for the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli. Established in 1987, FAST platoons provide a limited-duration, expeditionary security force to protect vital naval and national assets. FAST companies maintain forward-deployed platoons at various naval commands around the globe and possess U.S.-based alert forces capable of rapidly responding to unforeseen contingencies worldwide. FAST is not designed to provide a permanent security force for installations. FAST platoons are primarily designed to conduct defensive combat operations, military security operations, and rear area security operations in response to approved requests in support of geographic combatant and fleet commanders. When deployed to reinforce embassies with existing MCESG detachments, FAST platoons will customarily provide an outer cordon of security inside the embassy compound, while MCESG Marines maintain security of the chancery proper, and host nation police/security forces provide an outer cordon of security beyond embassy grounds.

NOTE: Although a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) has traditionally been forward deployed to the Mediterranean (2.5 MEU forward deployment-1 x east coast MEU to the Med, 1 x west coast MEU to the Pacific, and the 31st MEU forward based out of Okinawa, Japan), there is currently no MEU presence in the Mediterranean. The Marine Corps currently maintains a 1.5 MEU presence forward deployed. We currently have the 24th MEU from the east coast deployed to the Persian Gulf, a west coast MEU is conducting work-ups for deployment, and the 31st MEU is operating from Okinawa.

Please see the attachments for more information on FAST or MCESG. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your Marine Corps Liaison Office in RHOB-B324.

Respectfully,
Alex Cross, Maj USMC
Deputy Director, Marine Liaison Office
U.S. House of Representatives
B-324 Rayburn

Please people, before spreading misinformation on this forum; do a little research!

Thanks! M2

 

[One Eye]

That information was not available when the origianl post was made.
Although from experiance I don't believe the governments responce at all.

 

[majormadmax]

That information was not available when the origianl post was made.
Although from experiance I don't believe the governments responce at all.

The first test should have been whether it makes sense or not. Unarmed Marines being sent to a hostile situation? Does that really pass the common sense check?!?

Maybe you have no military experience or ever worked out of an embassy, but it is highly unlikely that the Ambassador, who is the senior US representative in a country, would restrict Marines from being able to defend themselves under such conditions.

I've had to abide by some very restrictive ROE during my career, but never has the right to self-defense been denied. Sometimes it was the only reason we could use our weapons, but it was always allowed.

People will fall for such BS all the time. Honestly, folks should not be in a rush to post something on here unless they've done a little research to establish the legitimacy of the information. A simple Google search would have shown that this story did not originate from a reliable source. There's tons of websites out there that love to post such misinformation simply to spin up the uneducated, and such lies get propagated faster than a viral video.

This forum should be smarter than that...

 

[majormadmax]

Could a Mod update the title of this thread to reflect the reality of the situation?

That is, this is just yet a another Internet rumor that has proven to be false...

 

[1rightguy]

Was a no live ammo policy not the case in Beiurt in 83?

 

[One Eye]

Could a Mod update the title of this thread to reflect the reality of the situation?

That is, this is just yet a another Internet rumor that has proven to be false...

If you choose to drink the kool-aid then it may be false.

 

[One Eye]

The first test should have been whether it makes sense or not. Unarmed Marines being sent to a hostile situation? Does that really pass the common sense check?!?

Maybe you have no military experience or ever worked out of an embassy, but it is highly unlikely that the Ambassador, who is the senior US representative in a country, would restrict Marines from being able to defend themselves under such conditions.

I've had to abide by some very restrictive ROE during my career, but never has the right to self-defense been denied. Sometimes it was the only reason we could use our weapons, but it was always allowed.

People will fall for such BS all the time. Honestly, folks should not be in a rush to post something on here unless they've done a little research to establish the legitimacy of the information. A simple Google search would have shown that this story did not originate from a reliable source. There's tons of websites out there that love to post such misinformation simply to spin up the uneducated, and such lies get propagated faster than a viral video.

This forum should be smarter than that...

I have 4yrs combat exper. and yes they do hold back ammo in certain senerios, been there done that.

I choose not to drink all the kool-aid the government spoons out others choose to believe anything the government says.

I'm done have it deleted are what ever makes you happy

 

[TXARGUY]

Could a Mod update the title of this thread to reflect the reality of the situation?

That is, this is just yet a another Internet rumor that has proven to be false...

You cited an opinion site (and obviously biased judging from the 'wingnuts' title) with an unverified letter from a low ranking Marine officer in a bureaucrat position. Nothing at all has been proven false.

 

[GaryH]

I don't believe anything this administration has to say, Marine spokesman or not.