Month: May 2022

The Columbine High School massacre occurred April 20, 1999.  Seems like yesterday.  How many similar school shooting since then?  Too many.

Let’s begin with an abbreviated after-action review of the shooting in Texas this week; the Good, Better, How process.

First question, what did they do good?  Law enforcement was on the scene ASAP. The shooter was taken down ASAP.

Second, what could they have done better?  In this case about everything.

Third, how do we go about institutionalizing what needs to be done to, the maximum extent possible, prevent this ever happening again?  That is the intent of what follows.

Old saying, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”  Absolutely true.  That is why every planning action must begin with a statement of the problem. 

PROBLEMS:

Current solutions revolve around the rapid arrival of law enforcement personnel.  They arrive in minutes.  We need to counter the attack in seconds.

Multiple law enforcement agencies will arrive on the scene simultaneously.  No one is in charge.

It is unlikely there will be any pre-planned immediate first responder counter actions.

Law enforcement arrivals, generally speaking, will not be intimately familiar with the terrain; “parking lot #3” or “in the west wing” or “room 18” will likely be meaningless information. 

Where will the first responders go for an initial briefing by someone on the scene?

If there are in-school individuals countering the shooter, who are they, where are they?

In the last two decades of school shootings has there ever been any in-place 24/7 deterrent actions? Not that I have heard of.

A current culture of hate and blame in America is reinforcement for a potential shooter.

WHO ARE THE SHOOTERS?  Here is a scenario that I believe is not too far-fetched. In most of the school massacres the shooter, after the fact, has been tagged as a “loner.”  Perhaps the young man is not a loner by choice.  Let’s say he is perceived by his fellow students as socially awkward, or not handsome, or has a handicap, bad hair, bad clothes, bad hygiene, whatever.  He can easily become a victim of social bullying that is so prevalent today.  He develops a hatred for schools in general, for his former school, for his current school and the people that are there every day. His absence from external socializing drives him to video games to occupy his time.  His parents feel relieved that he has some interest to turn to.  At the end of the day, he “wins” his video game because he has killed the most people.  In his demented mind killing is a game.  Etc. etc.

Given the above problems, here is a CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS TO DETER AND, IF DETERRENCE FAILS, COUNTER AN IN-SCHOOL SHOOTER.

DETERRENT ACTIONS:

Because of the timeline associated with a school shooting (the arrival of first responders will always be outside the window of vulnerability), there must be a school Security Force in-place every second of every school day.  More on this in a few minutes. If the shooter has given any thought to where his target is, he may well be aware he could be walking into a Security Force death trap. Institutionalized deterrence.

Because of the need for multiple fire exits from a school, all exit-only doors become potential breach points.  Have a camera on the door at all times and live feed to the “security rooms”.  When that door is breached from the outside, flashing lights and a unique audio alarm will immediately alert the Security Force. Physical and technical deterrence.

Every school has multiple fire alarm mechanisms on the wall in the hallways that can be activated by anyone sensing a fire.  Add a second alarm for anyone seeing a gun or sensing there is a shooter in the school. Every person in the building is authorized to pull the alarm if necessary. Every student becomes a player in security. Have a camera observing the alarm to preclude pranksters from activating it.  The shooter alarm must have a very distinctive sound and be frequently tested. When that alarm goes off it will initiate a number of actions.  Every classroom will get locked down from the inside. The Security Force will react immediately and initiate pre-planned actions. A deterrent action providing peace of mind to everyone on campus.

THE SECURITY FORCE:

In today’s school systems, typically about half the total number of employees are not in the classrooms; janitors, school bus maintenance personnel, counselors, nurses, the principal, etc. Also, typically there will be a position for an Assistant (or Vice) Principal to perform admin duties, scheduling, oversee testing, supervise lunch, hallways, special events, etc. 

In this concept of operations, the Assistant Principal becomes, as his/her first priority, the leader of the Security Force. That leader will designate someone to be second in command in order that 100% of the time school is in session, one of them will be in the school and ready to react.

The Security Force can be put together from, in my concept, the non-teaching employees.  Depending on the size of the school, perhaps anywhere from four to ten individuals will be needed. Four to ten is a good span of control for one tactical leader.  If a school system has hired a full-time security person, they will also be a full-time member of the force but not necessarily the leader. Members or the force will respond better to directions from the second most senior person in the school than from a fellow-employee (It’s a human nature thing).

No school employee should be forced to be in a position to use a gun.  Therefore, filling the Security Force with volunteers will be a priority.

The Security Force will of course undergo extensive and recurring training in marksmanship.  But just as important will be situational tactical training.  Throughout the U.S. local law enforcement will avail themselves of live-fire facilities that teach how to take down a room and how to react to a hostile situation in that room. That type training is aways filmed so that it can be critiqued and prepare someone to react instantly to varying situations.

Training to neutralize a shooter is all about tasks, conditions and standards. The training regimen must define all the tasks required under every varying condition and to a specified standard. Security Force members who cannot meet the standards must be replaced.  Over time skills deteriorate.  Training is not a once-and-done drill.  Repeat it whenever it is necessary.

Somewhere in the school there will be “security rooms.”  In those rooms there will be a monitor for all the cameras that look at the exit-only doors.  The doors will be wired so that when a door is breached from the outside the monitor will immediately provide a flashing red light and an audio alarm.  A monitor will necessarily be in the Security Force leader’s office, in that of his second in command and probably in the full-time security person’s office. 

DAY-TO-DAY SECURITY FORCE:  Every member will carry a small radio that is active every minute of the school day.  There will be no chatter or admin communications; it will be used only when there is a shooter alarm of any kind.  Additionally, every member will have at their immediate disposal a red body armor vest; red to distinguish them as an armed Security Force member when the first responders arrive. Don’t shoot the good guys.

In each member’s place of duty, mounted on the wall next to their red vest, will be a metal box with a key pad.  Inside the box will be three things, 1) a loaded/round chambered hand gun, 2) a lanyard with one master key to open every classroom and 3) a lanyard configured to carry additional magazines for the hand gun (because most often, lady’s apparel does not have pockets).

What are we describing here?  Doing all of the above will solve the most serious part of the present-day problem.  First responders will arrive ASAP but that is some number of minutes.  We must have a response in seconds. First responders will arrive ASAP at the shooter’s location in some number of minutes.  “ASAP” must be defined as some minimum number of seconds or kids will die.

For example, the monitor alarm in one of the security rooms goes off indicating a breach of exit-only door three.  Through prior planning and many training rehearsals here is what happens:

Within a specified standard number of seconds every Security Force member must be out of their office door with a vest, two lanyards, a weapon and their radio.  Through prior detailed planning and training, Security Force members Tom and Sara are closest to the breach; they will go directly there in a specified, rehearsed number of seconds reporting all their actions over the radio for every member to hear. Continuous situational awareness.  All other member will report in “X” seconds with their gear to a designated assembly area in that building. 

An astute student believes they can see the butt of a pistol sticking out of the jacket pocket of someone moving down the hallway.  They know they are empowered to pull the shooter alarm hanging on the wall.  The monitor in the security rooms will indicate the location of the alarm mechanism.  The first order over the security force radio will be “west wing, third floor”. Through countless trial runs during training, the Security Force leader knows he should have at least one member arriving at that location within “X” seconds with everyone who is present for duty within “Y” seconds.

Shots fired.  One immediate radio call to the entire Security Force from whomever hears the shot; “shots fired in building one.”  There is nothing else required at that time. Everyone goes to a pre-designated assemble point in that building.  The Security Force leader or his/her assistant would call 911 because they can provide the greatest clarity at that point without the emotion most people would have.

TRAINING:

If I was a county superintendent of schools, I would set this program in motion, explain it in detail to the County Sheriff and local Chiefs of Police, ask for their assistance in providing training areas (ranges and shooting houses) and provide training assistance throughout the year.  Include them in unannounced response training sessions for the Security Force.

There is one critical element in the training regimen that must be considered.  A member of the Security Force may be the best marksman, may get exceptional scores in the shooting house but the leader also has to be comfortable with that person’s mental status.  Are they comfortable with executing the concept of “taking a life to save a life”?  Can they be relied on to pull the trigger if and when it becomes necessary?   

CONCLUSIONS:

Accountability: This program does not need permission from the president or the U.S. Congress; although they should applaud it. It does not require state law or the Governors’ approval; but they could fund the security person for each school. County Boards of Education, superintendents and principals are accountable for the existence and professionalism of such a program.  This is all about decentralized planning and execution.

The deterrent Security Force will be available every school day. There are no conflicts with personnel being on vacation. Everyone involved is expected to be at work every day.  No requirement nights, weekends and only for half the year; 180 school days, 185 non-school days per year.

Reaction timing, seconds vs minutes, solves the problems articulated above.

Deterrence: Someone, however deranged may think twice about knowing he is walking into a potential death trap against the on-campus Security Force. Future attempts to shoot up a school are likely to be unsuccessful and get national attention; deterrence in action.

BOTTOM LINE:

Security Force mission statement:  Sustain the actions necessary to deter future shooters from acting out against schools and if deterrence fails be capable every minute of every school day to take out the shooter(s) in seconds.

If security is not internal to the school, help will be too little and too late.  More kids will die. 

This program is not hard, not expensive and clearly within the art of the possible. It is far better than what we have now which is nothing but hope.  Hope is not a process. 

Marvin L. Covault, Lt Gen US Army, retired, is the author of VISION TO EXECUTION, a book for leaders, and a new book May 2022, FIX THE SYSTEMS, TRANSFORM AMERICA.

DO WE NEED A STRONG MILITARY IN PEACETIME?

The short answer to the question, do we need a strong military in peacetime is, yes, we do.  The problem is, the Democrat Party DNA says, no we don’t. For example:

During the Carter administration,1977-1981, America’s military went “hollow.” That is, the services lacked the manpower, training, readiness and equipment to protect U.S. interests worldwide.  It was a very dangerous move because we were in the midst of the Cold War when the Soviet Union and nuclear annihilation was a daily concern.

Although President Reagan did the best he could to rebuild the military in the 1980s, President Clinton accentuated the post-Cold War so called “peace dividend” and defense spending cuts took readiness to a low not seen for decades.

Between 1993 and 2001, the Clinton Administration cut national defense by more than half a million personnel and $50 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars. The Army lost four active divisions and two reserve divisions. The number of total active personnel in the Air Force decreased by nearly 30 percent. The total number of Navy ships decreased by 20%, from 393 to 316. The Marine Corps end-strength dropped 22,000 personnel. Beyond the force cuts, acquisition of new equipment and modernization dropped to near zero.  The tactical force; tanks, helicopters, Bradley fighting vehicles, surface ships, submarines, bombers, and tactical aircraft, was worn out when President Bush took office.

After President Bush rebuilt the military to the extent he could in order to take on the global war on terrorism, the Obama/Biden administration took the military to new lows in readiness. When Obama left office, the Army had one, only ONE, combat brigade that was fully combat ready and half our Airforce and Naval airplanes could not get off the ground. Studies in 2017 suggested, “it will take an estimated eight to ten years for readiness in the services to recover.”

The mission of the U.S. military is two-fold.  One, the obvious, fight and win the nation’s wars.   The second, less obvious, in times of peace, deter war. Without being ready to win we risk everything.  Without deterrence we live our daily lives hoping our enemies will not attack.  But hope is not a process.   Without a ready, powerful, known quantity force, without the will and judgement of civilian leaders to use that strength properly, we are increasingly vulnerable every day. 

DETERRENT FORCE DEFINED:

A strong deterrent force is peace of mind.  Our enemies, Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and the world-wide terrorist networks have to know and believe that if they strike the U.S. there will be hell to pay; immediately.  Fear of being defeated must be a leading factor in our enemys’ decision processes. 

The U.S. military has two main purposes; to deter our enemies from engaging us in warfare, and if that fails, to defeat them in combat. Deterrence is only possible if the opposing force believes it will be defeated. Respect is not good enough; fear and certainty are required.

A point of clarification; often, we refer to a positive deterrent posture as a “strong defense.”  That is a misnomer, actually it is better defined as a strong, overwhelming offensive capability. Deterrence is our enemies knowing we are prepared to take our forces anywhere, anytime and defeat them. 

THE THREAT IS REAL AND EMIMENT:

In the early days of our Revolutionary War 4,000 British troops were sent to occupy Boston and put down the rebellion.  Total defeat of the American independence movement was a possibility.  During our Civil War, there were times of great doubt that the United States could ever again be a “united” states.  But not since those two historic events has our nation been as vulnerable as it is today.

We are vulnerable to “attack” in various ways by one or more of the following enemies; China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and terrorist organizations.

IRAN: The Supreme Leader has repeatedly declared that it is Iran’s duty to destroy America and Israel. Recent reports indicate Iran is “close” to having a nuclear weapon. Biden’s reduced sanctions is leading to a more aggressive Iran, increased support for global terrorism, a more destabilized Middle East and a greater threat to the U.S.

TERRORISTS: Iran will use the fall of Afghanistan to provide direction and support of a safe haven for terrorist training in Afghanistan thereby ratcheting up the global war on terror with a particular focus on taking down the United States. 

NORTH KOREA: On 4 May 2021, after Trump was no longer on overwatch, NK resumed missile testing.  Biden, “We will respond if North Korea escalates.”  Mr. President, renewed missile testing is escalation!  January 2022, NK conducted seven test missile launches.

RUSSIA:  Since the end of the cold war, the strength of NATO has served as the deterrent to Putin’s expansionist plans. Obviously, those days are over.

The pipeline cyberattack on the U.S. oil pipeline, May, 2021 was a Russian proof of concept trial balloon with zero ramification. Should anyone believe Putin is above using that list to take down our country?

CHINA:  They are already several years into executing a long-range strategic plan to rule the world and reduce U.S. global influence. Part of that plan is to take over Taiwan and control everything in the South China Sea. U.S. policy continues to be, “assist Taiwan in maintaining it defensive capability.” Most China experts believe the threat of invasion of Taiwan is, “unabated, if not heightened.” 

WHAT CAN DESTROY US?

Cyberattack: Unlike the Cold war when we and NATO allies protected against a nuclear and/or ground attack in Europe by the Soviets, cyberattack is the most likely threat to the U.S. today. For example:  There are thirty substations in our nation’s electric grid operations. A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report says, “Destroy nine interconnection substations and the entire US grid could be down for at least 18 months, probably longer.”  Within weeks tens of millions would perish; the U.S., as we know it today, would not survive. Nations capable of cyberattack; China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.

EMP:  An electromagnetic pulse, a huge burst of electromagnetic energy from a nuclear explosion high in the atmosphere, would instantly shutdown all transportation, computers, networks, electronic equipment, medical and communication systems.  We could not survive an EMP strike.  Nations capable of doing this; China, Russia, North Korea and (soon?), Iran.

HOW TO BUILD AND SUSTAIN AN EFFECTIVE DETERRENT FORCE:

Deterrence is both a state of mind and actual capability. Deterrence is developed and sustained by simultaneously working four initiatives:  1) Deterrent actions directly from our leaders, 2) By demonstrating capability, 3) Long-range strategic top-down planning and 4) From the bottom-up.

DETERRENCE DIRECTLY FROM OUR LEADERS, two examples:

During his tenure as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, 1989-1993, General Colin Powell played a key deterrence card by inviting his Soviet counterpart, General Akhromeyev, Chief of the General staff of the Soviet Union’s armed forces, to visit the U.S.  First stop was an aircraft carrier. On the deck of the carrier were Navy enlisted sailors orchestrating a virtual ballet as aircraft were positioned, launched, recovered, clearing the deck for a continuous flow of aircraft; (I can testify that it is a remarkable thing to observe). When General Akhromeyev asked the carrier commander, a Naval captain, the average age of the those working the deck and making split-second decisions, the reply was, “probably about 21”, Akhromeyev turned to Gen Powell and said, “We cannot win.”

The final stop on the tour was the U.S. Army National Training Center in the California desert where they observed an ongoing battle between a Soviet tank regiment with actual Soviet equipment manned with U.S. soldiers and commanders using Soviet tactics, techniques and procedures against a U.S. armored brigade.  General Powell explained that all of our heavy forces regularly rotate to the National Training Center to train.  He further explained the when this type of training was initiated some years earlier the Soviet force always won; but no more, now we never lose. Deterrence in action.

Second example: Speaking before the UN General Assembly, September 2017, the North Korean foreign minister warned that a nuclear strike against the U.S. mainland is “inevitable.” North Korea, with an estimated 20-40 nuclear weapons, was actively engaged in testing nuclear weapons, long-range missiles and submarine-launched missiles.  Are they capable of attacking the US?  Yes. Did President Trump send representatives to a meeting of officials from both sides to some off-site location to discuss NK aggressive talk?  No, President Trump personally traveled to Asia three times to meet one-on-one with Kim Jong-Un.  There are no official releases of their private conversations but here is one possible scenario.  We have seen pictures of Kim at his sea-side retreat riding his big white stallion.  President Trump might have passed an eight-by-ten, close-up photo with a recent date/time stamp of Kim out riding.  Trump may have added verbally, Kim, we know where you are 24/7 and can reach out to you in many ways with a moment’s notice. The nuclear and long-range missile testing stopped. Deterrence, up close and personal.

DETERRENCE BY DEMONSTRATING CAPABILITY:

The U.S. has the greatest capability for world-wide force-projection.  For example, the world watched in awe in 1990 as the U.S. deployed an overwhelming heavy force to the Gulf War and, in two days of fighting, defeated Iraqi forces which had invaded Kuwait.  That remarkable action did not go unnoticed by our friends and potential enemys.

DETERRENCE RESULTING FROM LONG-RANGE STRATEGIC TOP-DOWN PLANNING:

The Executive and Legislative branches of government need to constantly encourage and task the private sector to lead the world in development of the most lethal and effective offensive and defensive warfighting systems.  Hypersonic missiles and the defense thereof represent the latest high-tech military systems. 

Hypersonic weapons fly at speeds of at least Mach 5 and are highly maneuverable and able to change course during flight; capabilities that gives any country a considerable advantage, because such weapons can evade just about any defense system currently in use.

The U.S. posture on Hypersonic weapons, as explained by General John Hyden, former vice chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff in 2020, “It doesn’t matter what the threat is; if you can’t see it, you can’t defend against it. We don’t have any defense that could deny the deployment of such a weapon against us. Our defense is deterrent capability.”  U.S. defense officials call hypersonic weapons, “A game changer.”

The U.S. does not currently have a defense against Chinese and Russian hypersonic weapons. 

CREATE AND SUSTAIN A CREDIBLE DETERRENT FORCE FROM THE BOTTOM-UP:

The Army always has been and always will be a product of America.  Those entering come from every background, every community and even some with questionable alliances with radical groups such as white supremacists; but they all have one thing in common, they volunteered and, like it or not, they are going to be brain-washed and indoctrinated.

Day one: At the end of that first day in the Army they all have the same hair style, that is, no hair, and they all are dressed alike; there is a reason what soldiers wear is called a “uniform.”

Many will arrive with a chip on their shoulder based on their upbringing, education, talent, physical prowess etc.  But that chip gets knocked off very quickly by a drill instructor who has been especially selected and trained based on his or her abilities to read people and indoctrinate/train them.  It’s not a complex formula, just “tear them down and build them all over again.”

Day two: they begin to understand that their life in the Army will revolve around two concepts.  One is the mission and secondly, above all else, you are responsible for the person on your right and left.  Soon it begins to sink in that if I am responsible for those on my right and left, that means they are also responsible for me.  One day it’s a white guy, perhaps the next day it’s a black gal.  Hmmm, “interesting concept”, they say to themselves, “someone always has my back, I’m not alone, this is my team.”

From day-three on until their enlistment is completed or they are retiring from service as a professional soldier, they will understand that they are expected to stand out.  They are expected to be all they can be.  They will not be judged, positively or negatively by the color of their skin.  They will understand that the best and the brightest will move up the ranks and become their leaders. They understand that personal and professional accountability, trust and respect are the underpinnings of everything, everyone, every day; understand it, live it, expect it, respect it. Meritocracy is the norm, it’s their new life. 

Yes, the U.S. military has always believed in President Biden’s consistent assertion that Americans should be guided by, “equity, diversity and inclusion.”  But, and this is a big but, to soldiers, “equity” is everyone believing they can be all they can be. “Diversity” is the freedom to improvise and innovate at the point of execution.  “Inclusion” is being part of a team so steeped in trust and respect that they believe they cannot and will not fail.  

National deterrence begins with these individual service members believing in themselves, believing in their teammates, believing in their leaders and believing they can kick-ass anywhere in the world. 

 There is only one overriding standard for military capability: lethality.

CONCLUSIONS:

We are more vulnerable than ever in our history and much more today than just two years ago.  What causes a nation to become vulnerable?  In a word, weakness; either real or perceived and sometimes perception is more dangerous than reality.

August 14-16, 2021 has already become one of the “defining moments” in the history of this great country.  While Afghanistan provincial capitals were falling to the Taliban, on average two per day, President Biden flew away to begin his vacation.  As the situation deteriorated, we were repeatedly told by White House staff that the president was in “constant contact with his principals.” Not true. In this context, “contact” would be in the situation room with the president and senior subordinates interchanging ideas, making decisions and issuing orders.

With thousands of American civilians in the grip of Taliban soldiers, Biden returned to the White House to deliver a prepared script telling us that his decisions have been correct.  Following his speech, having generated more questions than answers, he literally and figuratively turned his back on America and the media and exited stage left returning to his helicopter to resume his vacation.  An “F” in leadership 101 observed around the world.

By August, 2021, our deterrence, built up over decades, was fading.  Trust and respect by our allies were in question.  Fear and respect by our enemies was in short supply.  The Afghanistan debacle viewed live around the world and described by Biden as an “extraordinary success” was the final nail in our deterrence coffin. 

The American people and our allies want to know who is pulling the strings on our marionette Commander in Chief; Obama, Valerie Jerrett, Susan Rice, Chief of Staff Ron Klain, national Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, VP Harris or all of the above?  When everyone is in charge, no one is in charge. Our enemies see America in free-fall and they will likely test us while we are most vulnerable.

BOTTOM LINE:

What goes on in the U.S. is carefully watched around the world. Our allies and enemies, look at our Commander in Chief and assess his leadership, judgment, cooperation.  What have they observed in the last 16 months?

The U.S. became the envy of the world when we became energy independent.  They saw the new president destroy that with the stroke of a pen four hours after being inaugurated with zero explanation or consultation.  

They saw him, again with the stroke of a pen, shut down ongoing efforts to secure our southern border from massive illegal immigration, drugs, criminals, sex traffickers, gang members and terrorists and thereby creating an open border situation and threatening national security.

They listened to him take a simple opposing campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again” MAGA, and label 70 million adult Americans who voted against him, “The MAGA crowd is the most extreme political organization that’s existed in recent American history.” Are our friends wondering about his judgement and rationale?  Yes, they are.

Our enemies watched North Korea challenge the new president immediately after taking office by resuming missile and nuclear testing. Biden’s reaction? Zero. Game on, its now open season against the U.S. by those who openly express a desire to see our complete collapse.

Our closest allies carefully observed how Biden would interact with our strongest long-time ally in the Middle East, Israel. Biden’s ignoring Israel is not setting well. 

Our allies and enemies have watched in awe as Biden has lifted sanctions from Iran thus creating their emboldened support for world terrorism and disruption in the fragile Middle East.  Our former allies are asking, “When will I get thrown under the preverbal bus?”

For the first time in my memory, important leaders in the world, such as Saudi Arabia, U.A.E and Russia, have refused to take Biden’s phone calls. Is that lost on the remainder of the world?  Not for a second. Respect or lack thereof.

Our friends watched in horror as Biden, again without consultation, lifted the “international terrorist organization” label from the Houthis in Yemen as they continue, with Iran’s backing and support, to attack our long-time friend and ally, Saudi Arabia.  

Just three months in office, Biden was tested by Putin when Russia conducted a limited (proof of concept) cyber attack on the U.S. by shutting down a fuel pipeline servicing much of the mid-east coast. The U.S. responded a month later when Biden and Putin met briefly at a G7 conference in Switzerland. Biden’s response was to provide Putin a list of 16 critical infrastructure targets that, “should be off-limits to attack, period, by cyber or any other means.”  Can you just imagine Putin telling that story to his senior staff back in the Kremlin?

To be “the leader of the free world” Biden must earn the respect and trust of the American people and our allies while also being respected, if not feared, by our enemies. Respect and trust must be earned by actions and deeds. That is phase 1 of deterrence, not some cheap sound-bite like, “America is back.”

FINAL THOUGHT:

We are vulnerable because our deterrent posture has been shattered.  Our friends no longer respect or trust us and our enemies no longer fear us; aka, “The perfect storm.”

 Marvin L. Covault, Lt Gen US Army, retired, is the author of VISION TO EXECUTION, a book for leaders, and a new book, May 2022, FIX THE SYSTEMS, TRANSFORM AMERICA and a columnist for THE PILOT, a national award-winning local newspaper in Southern Pines, NC as well as the author of a blog, WeThePeopleSpeaking.com.

Author’s note:  30 years ago right now Los Angeles was on fire and 10,000 rioters and looters were systematically destroying the city.  What follows is a first-hand account of that event, never before published until today.  It is a sad story in our history that many of you may not be aware of. 

Background:  March, 1991 the nation saw, on film, five white LA police officers brutally beat a black gentleman, Rodney King.

While all of us had viewed the taped beating over and over in great close-up detail, a year later those five police officers were found not guilty by an all-white jury.  That verdict was announced at 3:15 pm 29 April, 1992. At that time I was commanding the 7^th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, California.  The 7^th ID was an especially designed light division capable of rapid deployment to anywhere in the world.

Three hours later, by 6 pm, riots were breaking out all over Los Angles, but primarily in South-Central LA. It escalated like a wild fire and the final tally was as follows: 55 killed, over 2000 injured, about $1 Billion dollars in damages, over 10,000 rioters were directly involved in looting and destruction, over 1000 buildings seriously damaged or destroyed, the fire department responded to more than 4000 fires. This was not taking place at 5^th and Main, it covered an area of about 100 square miles of built-up urban terrain; by far the most difficult terrain in which to perform a military operation.  Largest riot in US history.

President George H.W. Bush dispatched 1000 Federal riot-trained law enforcement officials, FBI SWAT teams, special riot control units of the US Marshals Service, Border Patrol, Bureau of Prisons personnel and other Federal law enforcement agencies.  Governor Pete Wilson was on the scene full-time with a small staff.  The California National Guard began rolling towards LA.  On scene was the LA Chief of Police Daryl Gates and the LA County Sherriff, Sherman Block.  Gathered in outlying areas was most of the California Highway Patrol.  A brigade of Marines from Camp Pendleton had been alerted.  But there was no plan.

At about the 36-hour point, May 1^st at about 2 a.m. we, 7^th Infantry Division, Fort Ord California, received a call from our military higher headquarters in Atlanta, and were told, “a military force may be needed in LA but don’t do anything yet.”  Dumb order; we immediately began to plan for a rapid deployment.  Six hours later at about 0800 we received a second call, “there will be a military deployment but it will not be the 7^th ID.”  CNN was following everything related to the riots live and continuously.  Thirty minutes later we watched President Bush, live on TV, walk into the White House Briefing Room and announce, “I have decided to deploy elements of the 7^th ID to LA.”  Game on. 

Rapid deployment, in general, is very difficult with lots of moving parts.  We trained to it continuously.  We just happened to have two C-141 Air Force transport aircraft on the ground for training at nearby Monterey airport.  The “ready brigade” began immediately to move and the airlift to LAX began. 

By noon I was on the ground in LA with a skeleton planning staff.  What became immediately apparent was that no ONE was in charge of the multitude of federal, state or local agencies involved. All I could see and sense was chaos. And most concerning was that the California National Guard continued to stream into the city with no deployment plan in play.

No one in my chain of command up to and including General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, knew President Bush was going to make that deployment announcement.  I had no guidance and never did get any. Old saying, when in charge, take charge.

I had a dozen of the Division’s best majors (I called them my iron majors) flown in the first afternoon and I assigned them as my personal liaison to the Governor, Mayor, Chief Gates, Sherriff Block, Highway Patrol, all the Federal Agencies, the CA National Guard and the Marines. Before dispatching them, I looked them in the eye and told them exactly what they were to do. “You stay about 3 feet from your principal at all times and tell me everything they do, everything they say and who they communicate with. There can be only one boss of this mess and it’s me.  You understand?”  Their first mission was to get their principal on a conference call with me that evening at which time I gave the participants my first deployment briefing and told them to thereafter be on a conference call with me at 8 a.m. every day wherein I would give them an overall assessment of the night’s activities and what was to be accomplished in the next 24 hours.  Principals only on the conference call. The Governor was not amused about the “principals only” part and it got a little ugly but it worked. 

The day we arrived on the scene the city was shut down, 24-hour curfew.  There was no public transportation.  All stores were closed.  People were running out of food.  No one told me what our mission was.  I knew the public needed to know.  Was this Marshall Law?  Were we going to be patrolling with tanks in the streets? So, in a press conference the first afternoon, I tried to make it as clear as possible that we were there to create a safe and secure environment so the city could systematically resume all operations.  It worked.  Community support was outstanding. 

As if President Bush’s surprise deployment announcement at 0830 that morning wasn’t enough; he saved another one for later in the day.  At 6 pm CA time, 9 pm at the White House, President Bush presented an update briefing to the nation.  First topic of the speech was, “I have decided to Federalize the California National Guard.”  At that moment, with those words, I became the Commander of the CA National Guard and they all became federal US Army soldiers.  That was actually a blessing because we immediately took charge of their rally points, established training stations (particularly to train rules of engagement) and integrated them into the overall deployment plan. 

The overall plan was simple; a soldier on every street corner to establish a “presence”.  Sustainment was not simple.  How do you feed 12,000 soldiers and Marines scattered over 100 square miles of urban terrain?  How do you communicate with them?  Where do they sleep and shower?  How many Quick Reaction Forces do we need? 

Since we only deployed communications trucks, how did we transport 12,000 soldiers and Marines around the city?  Simple, we had the mayor recall all the city bus drivers and got them rolling. 

We trained hard every day and night at Ft Ord to be able to rapidly close with and destroy the enemy.  No enemy in LA.  My first task was to solve that problem. How do you tell each individual soldier what he can and cannot do?  I wrote the rules of engagement while in plane on the way down, called them back to my chief of staff who had printing people standing by.  Thousands of 3×5 cards printed with the ROE were soon available.  One for every soldier and marine to have in his or her breast pocket.  

Soldiers flew into LAX, were loaded onto city buses and transported to an abandoned air strip in the middle of Central/South LA.  Every squad leader and his or her soldiers began at the head of the strip and moved from station to station observing scenarios that were being briefed and played out to illustrate the rules of engagement.  First rule: everyone has the inherent right of self-defense.  At the end of the air strip, they were issued ammunition, got back on a bus and were deployed.  By the middle of the first night, we had all 12,000 trained and deployed. 

Communications in flat urban terrain is very difficult with line-of-site FM ratios.  Cell phones were in their infancy.  We cut a deal to provide security to the folks who owned the cell towers in exchange for 100 cell phones.  We quickly published a phone directory and got the cell phones into the hands of battalion and company commanders. 

We politely raided every tourist shop and book store we could find and “procured” all their city maps.  One to every squad leader. 

I published and signed a letter making every battalion commander an authorized “government purchasing agent”.  I should still be in jail for that one but we knew the answer if we had asked permission to do that.  Why?  Food distribution was difficult and not always timely.  A company commander would find a vehicle, drive outside the curfew area, stop at a McDonalds and order 250 big macs, 125 fries and 125 drinks to go.  He would say, “my battalion commander will be by shortly to pay for them”.  It worked.  My Division Finance Officer showed up on day two with $500,000 in cash and paid the bills.  I never asked how she got the money. 

LA Police Department:  Daryl Gates was more of an LA celebrity than an adequate Chief of Police.  If he and his ego were occupying a room there was hardly any space for another person.  LA police had long ago lost contact with the general populous and merchants.  They occupied cars and their standard operating procedure when called to the scene of an accident or crime scene was to first drive by and determine if it was safe to stop.  I vividly recall one night about 0200 seeing a parking lot full of police cars.  This was when the 100% curfew was still in effect.  I told my driver to pull in and see what was going on.  I found my soldiers on the roof and at the front door guarding the police precinct building with the police officers hunkered down inside. 

My first encounter with Gates was about 10 p.m. the first night when I went to visit him and LA County Sherriff Sherman Block at their joint emergency center.  Gates and Block were seated at a conference table and my Command Sergeant Major (affectionately known throughout most of the Army as “Mad Dog”) and I were asked to take a seat across the table from them.  Gates’ opening comment was, “General, we don’t need you and we don’t want you.”  What came out of my mouth is not fit for mixed company but it was short and to the point.  The greater LA community knew that Gates was a bigger part of the problem than the solution.  

The gangs, Bloods and Crips, were a potential serious problem. They completely ignored the curfew and the LA police never lifted a finger to enforce it.  The problem was that most gang cars had someone riding shotgun.  Literally.  Guns in plain sight.  The message they were sending was, “we own these streets at night, just watch me.”  I told the senior National Guard officer I needed an immediate seminar with a room full of gang guys, the more senior the better.  He made it happen.  My message to them was, in a few days or weeks we will be gone and you will again own the streets.  In the meantime it is not in your best interest to pick a fight with the US Army. You will lose.  Discretion is the better part of valor.  It was a calculated guess but it worked. They took the message to whomever and like magic, the streets cleared.

As pointed out, the media was everywhere all the time. I could use them to my advantage when necessary but I did not want my upward chain of command to get their information from CNN or the LA Times.  So, every night, while cruising the city, I would stop at midnight and write a couple-page SitRep, situation report.  I would try to capture the last 24 hours in words, the status as of that moment and the plan for the next 24 hours.  By the time the sun came up on the East Coast, every commander had access to the SitRep.  When I later briefed President Bush, he told me the SitRep was the first thing he read every morning during the crisis. 

I am proud to have been a senior commander in your Army but never so much so as I was when the events of the LA riots unfolded.  If I had been screwing things up, the story might have been different but here is what did NOT happen.  This was an international story.  The nation was riveted on LA at the time.  The media was committed 24/7 to what unfolded.  My immediate boss was a 3-star Corps Commander.  I never heard from him; perfect.  My second boss was a 4-star US Forces Commander (commander of all Army forces inside the US).  He never called or sent anyone to see me; perfect.  The Chief of Staff of the Army is by law the Executive Agent for the US Government on civil unrest. Therefore, he was almost compelled to weigh in somehow.  He called once and I will never forget every word of that phone call, “Marv, it’s Gordon, if you need anything, call me.”  Click.  General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was at one time our next-door neighbor.  I knew him very well.  He never called.  Why not? 

The big difference between deliberate planning and execution and crisis planning and execution is, in a word, time.  Time is the enemy during a crisis because there is never enough of it.  The farthest we could see ahead was 24 hours.  We were planning and executing in 6-hour cycles.  Often times it was only minutes between decision and execution.  Our objective was to maintain near total situational awareness in the 100 square mile area of operations.  My senior chain of command understood all that.  They knew there was no time for a “mother-may-I?” communication.  They also knew the absolute last thing we needed was a team of outsiders to come to LA to “help” us.  They were a team of the strongest leaders I have ever known and they did exactly the right thing; “if you need anything, call me.” Perfect.

The people of Los Angeles literally and figuratively embraced your soldiers.  What they saw in each and every one of them was focus, compassion, steadfastness, commitment to their mission.  I was taking a briefing from a battalion commander in one of the city parks when a woman drove up.  She said she had heard the soldiers weren’t getting enough to eat.  She had a car full of groceries.  We were there over Mothers’ Day.  A few days before a truck from a large drug store chain pulled up to our headquarters with 10,000 Mothers’ Day cards for distribution to the troops.  An elderly couple coming out of a grocery store stopped me and expressed their gratitude for the safety we had brought to the city.  They said they normally had to take a taxi both ways from their house to buy groceries because it is unsafe to be on the streets.  I inquired how far away they lived.  “Three blocks.”  The hundreds of strip malls were easy targets for looters and arsonists.  We provided security for them all.  The store owners who sold any type of consumable (candy, ice cream, soft drinks, etc.) would routinely leave the front door unlocked and tell the soldiers to go in and help themselves throughout the night.  There were thousands of those stories.  You should be understandably proud of your soldiers.

The only visitor in my chain of command showed up about two weeks later to thank the troops; President Bush. By arrangement “Mad Dog” and I were waiting on a side street within a block of where the troops, police etc. were assembled to hear the President. He pulled up in his limo and got out, my Command Sergeant Major and I saluted, he returned the salute and I moved forward to introduce myself.  Just as I began, the President interrupted saying, “General, I already know all there is to know about you” and smiled.  He was thrilled that Mad Dog was with me and they chatted for a while. I had a 3-ring binder with a few briefing charts in it and delivered the brief on the hood of his vehicle.  I told him that’s the way we do in-the-field briefings in the Army.  I think he liked it. He asked if we were finished in LA and I told him we had accomplished all we came to do but we would leave behind a very troubled city with deep-seated problems that have existed for a very long time.  He completely understood.  The next day we began redeployment and mustered the California National Guard out of the regular Army.  I was back to commanding only one Division and glad of it.

From the arrival of the first 7^th Infantry Division soldiers until our redeployment, no one died from riot-relations actions.

Marvin L. Covault, Lt Gen US Army, retired, is the author of VISION TO EXECUTION, a book for leaders, a columnist for THE PILOT, a national award-winning local newspaper in Southern Pines, NC and the author of a blog, WeThePeopleSpeaking.com