Military Presence on the Streets in Rhode Island ?

did you give your name and rank, where they would be able to identify you? i hope you dont get in trouble also, but you may just get the run around also. you know, why is it important to you, whos your commander, how do you know whats going on 1500 miles away etc

Unfortunately yes, I did give them that info, as it would have inappropriate for me not to. I just spoke with the Colonel about five minutes ago, I told him that I was inquiring for some friends in the area who were a little concerned. Here's a summary of what he said: there was a change of command over the weekend (or yesterday morning, he wasn't quite clear on that), and they had some MPs out in specific areas, somewhere around a college or something. I think I remember the OP talking about a school or something. He also doesn't know why they would have been in those vehicles, and if they were stopping people and asking questions, that's a problem. But I'm now supposed to get back to him with the contact info of my "friends" so he can speak to them directly, because he doesn't want to go through a third party.

It all sounds a little fishy, and I might not be getting a straight answer. But I'm not sure if I want to pursue it any longer... for my own sake haha. Will keep you all updated with what I find out.

As an update, does any one want to talk to this guy directly? I haven't given any names or info, so there's no obligation, but i figured this would be a good chance for someone to talk to him about it if they have serious concerns. Let me know!

[edit on 10-3-2009 by dwiggen]

Originally posted by dwiggen
Unfortunately yes, I did give them that info, as it would have inappropriate for me not to. I just spoke with the Colonel about five minutes ago, I told him that I was inquiring for some friends in the area who were a little concerned. Here's a summary of what he said: there was a change of command over the weekend (or yesterday morning, he wasn't quite clear on that), and they had some MPs out in specific areas, somewhere around a college or something. I think I remember the OP talking about a school or something. He also doesn't know why they would have been in those vehicles, and if they were stopping people and asking questions, that's a problem. But I'm now supposed to get back to him with the contact info of my "friends" so he can speak to them directly, because he doesn't want to go through a third party.

It all sounds a little fishy, and I might not be getting a straight answer. But I'm not sure if I want to pursue it any longer... for my own sake haha. Will keep you all updated with what I find out.

As an update, does any one want to talk to this guy directly? I haven't given any names or info, so there's no obligation, but i figured this would be a good chance for someone to talk to him about it if they have serious concerns. Let me know!

[edit on 10-3-2009 by dwiggen]

First let me say, I whole heatedly thank you for contacting your contact. It shows that there is still some good in the service.

But

Our local Police were not notified. Yet, he want's to talk to us about about what we saw (or for me to give the names and numbers of everyone who saw them??)

No Thanks.

I will kindly say that I choose not to, because I respect their and my privacy. If a Colonel has no idea why they were driving around in unmarked SUVS, and standing in the middle of the road, then obviously we have a problem here, that I do not want my Family or friends involved in.

We reported it to Channel 10 NBC news and to a Police Department. And nothing occurred. Channel 10 said they would investigate and put out a story, but didn't.

Since when does a change of command okay MP presence in a suburb and a bus station? They were seen on Smith St, Manton Ave, and around Kennedy Plaza (and probably more locals).

How does a change of command deem that necessary? Any one in the know, know?

i would say pass that info on to channel 10. wjar still? wish i could remember the guys name i know. let them call and ask questions. i beleive the nearest college is p.c., right? the next closest is in smithfield where the pats practice. way up 146, so that cant be it. and duh, i know half of providence is a college but were talking smith street not thayer or angell. by the way if you said you saw them on the east side, id say there was big problems. thats where all the money is.

Originally posted by guinnessford
i would say pass that info on to channel 10. wjar still? wish i could remember the guys name i know. let them call and ask questions. i beleive the nearest college is p.c., right? the next closest is in smithfield where the pats practice. way up 146, so that cant be it. and duh, i know half of providence is a college but were talking smith street not thayer or angell. by the way if you said you saw them on the east side, id say there was big problems. thats where all the money is.

Well, my mother and aunt (eye witnesses) called Channel 10 and let them know immediately when they got home from the Dunkin Donuts (Academy and Smith). Channel 10 was alarmed, and said they would "go check it out." Never did apparently. Seeing that is a couple days later, and no one has seen any Soldiers, since Sunday.... They wouldn't care.

In terms of the locations.

They were seen on Smith Street at the corner of Smith and Academy Ave. La Salle Academy is there. Providence College is right near there. Rhode Island College is near there.

There were also seen at the intersection of River and Smith and Mt. Pleasant and Smith, near St. Augustine's Church, Mt Pleasant High School...

You continue down Smith Street though, and you go by the State House eventually.

They were also on Manton Ave ( Manton Ave, Woonasquatucket intersection) this is where my brother's best friend, saw one Soldier standing in the middle of the road, and talking to passengers (looking in the cars)...


95.5 WBRU's news director saw them at Kennedy Plaze (more down town then East Side, but that's right in front of the Fleet Building (or whatever it's called now) which is a Providence Landmark (sorta like our Empire State Building)).... But that area is prime location for nuttiness if it was to occur.

So is the Posse Comitatus Act a thing of the past?


[edit on 10-3-2009 by squidboy]

Originally posted by effex
How come I live right around the corner from there and don't see any military people. I know the D&D your talking about too and don't see them.

Probably because this whole story is make believe.

im very farmiliar with r.i. as i lived all over the state for about 15 years. i forgot about r.i.c. though. mt pleasant high was another crap-hole i went to along with hope and central. none of em were very nice, and la la boys take bubble baths. ha ha! wbru is a brown u radio station, and im surprised that the sighting didnt make it a little further because of that. but... in my days of hanging on thayer st, skipping class from hope high, i also found out that brown was a very big cia recruiting point. that may be why that didnt go anywhere. and manton street. where to begin there. manton projects are the first thing to pop in my mind. and your right about the fleet building being the empire state of providence. as i stated in a few posts back, if you had seen them around kennedy plaza or dorrance st, weybosset, or the like, that would probably be a financial situation. if i remember right, almost all the states banks are centered there. did you contact the providence police? im someone thats beleiving what youre saying, so dont take this the wrong way. im pretty sure the closest n.g. armory is on cranston street, maybe you could pop by there and see if theres some activity going on outside?

[edit on 10-3-2009 by guinnessford]

reply to post by Butter Cookie

I don't live that far from Memphis, and considering the crime ya'll have been having, you need the extra police. (Not that they are doing any good.) I used to come to Memphis at least twice a month to party and relax. Not any more.
I know it's off topic.
Haven't seen any military activity around northeast arkansas.

Originally posted by stevegmu

Originally posted by effex
How come I live right around the corner from there and don't see any military people. I know the D&D your talking about too and don't see them.

Probably because this whole story is make believe.

Yeah... That's it. Make Believe. That's why someone actually contacted the North Providence Police department:

Here's a link to the twitter page:

twitter.com...

Scroll Down to March 8th at 3:22 PM


Why would anyone contact a Police Department, if it was make believe....

Originally posted by guinnessford
im very farmiliar with r.i. as i lived all over the state for about 15 years. i forgot about r.i.c. though. mt pleasant high was another crap-hole i went to along with hope and central. none of em were very nice, and la la boys take bubble baths. ha ha! wbru is a brown u radio station, and im surprised that the sighting didnt make it a little further because of that. but... in my days of hanging on thayer st, skipping class from hope high, i also found out that brown was a very big cia recruiting point. that may be why that didnt go anywhere. and manton street. where to begin there. manton projects are the first thing to pop in my mind. and your right about the fleet building being the empire state of providence. as i stated in a few posts back, if you had seen them around kennedy plaza or dorrance st, weybosset, or the like, that would probably be a financial situation. if i remember right, almost all the states banks are centered there. did you contact the providence police? im someone thats beleiving what youre saying, so dont take this the wrong way. im pretty sure the closest n.g. armory is on cranston street, maybe you could pop by there and see if theres some activity going on outside?

[edit on 10-3-2009 by guinnessford]

I hear you, on everything... I really think it was a training of some sorts... And I am concerned, but honestly what are the police going to do.. If it's North Com, and they work in conjunction with the local and state Police, well then they would say anything about it.

To hear that NP Police had no idea about (Smith Street Runs through NP) well that was weird to me. ...

The more I research, the more I see that it's probably just North Com doing some training. If things are going to get worse, then seeing the Military will be a normal thing for everyone...

I'll write an email to the Providence Police and see what they say.

that and maybe call bru. im sure your bound to run into a buNch of walls around there so just keep looking, unless YOU are satisfied that it isnt anything major. this is YOUR baby, so either put it to bed, or wake it up and show it around. know what im saying?

One, I now travel with a Camera ready to film/ photograph anything where ever I go. It doesn't matter how many witnesses there are (first party included, credible people). The masses need a picture to believe it.

Again, for those who are downgrading the thread. I wasn't trying to scare anyone or Prove anything. I was just looking for some answers. I Just wanted to know why? Why Military would be standing around on a Sunday in a heavily traveled setting, in the middle of the street. That was all.

I didn't link it to anything situation, good or bad.

In terms of updates, didn't see anything today ( but I was Cranston all day, and the highway and Valley St).

But again, due to my crappy schedule, I didn't drive through said area, and my work schedule doesn't allow me to go Smith St at the same time as the Sunday incident (I work from 11-7).

If I see anything, I will immediately update with Pictures, Video.

If I hear anything from the Police (and I am going to email a few local reps, voicing my concern). I will copy and past everything.

I really just want to know what they were doing. If the Posse Comitatus Act was being violated (and it looks like it was). If it was the National Guard they need authority from the Governor for an Emergency situation. Why were they there?

I'm a tax payer. A resident. A Rhode Island citizen. Just wondering why?

hmmm...gots my attention this thread does...

first off, Im a soldier...19th spec forces group...and training in normal civilian locations is not all that unusual. heck, we did night jumps in south carolina and our objective was to blend into the local town, get into a hotel, storm and capture a target suspect (a member of another unit, we dont just grab random people lol) and exfiltrate the town without being noticed. Secondly, if we are doing stuff on the street, we do wear relfective vests or belts, i dunno bout you but i dont wanna get hit lol. and as far as the "system being fixed" well lets just say we can joke around sometimes, not realizing the possible consequences at the time, i once told a lady when she asked why we had the road shut down ( which was to help a local fire dept on a bad wreck on the interstate as we were passing through ) that air force one had an in flight problem and had to make an emergency landing, its not that i was picking on her, but after about 40 people asking the same question you gotta do somethin to stay sane, and i assumed she would know i was joking. but apparently not, and the next thing we knew news vans were pulling up. oops. but its really probably nothing...especially if the girls that asked were good lookin girls, soldiers have been known to lie to make themselves look better and more important to impress girls. we do have a sense of humor just like everybody else, if they show up in helicopters and full battle gear with rifles and running through the town, id probably worry cuz somethings going down lol... later guys

Did anyone think that this may be a response to a terrorist threat? If so, it wouldn't be 'broadcast'

Another conspiracy? Why has this topic been deleted from ATS home page?

reply to post by Mutant


It hasn't been deleted from anywhere.

The home page displays the most flagged and most posted in topics of the day.

This is no longer one of them.

Originally posted by louisaqb2
first off, Im a soldier...19th spec forces group...and training in normal civilian locations is not all that unusual. heck, we did night jumps in south carolina and our objective was to blend into the local town, get into a hotel, storm and capture a target suspect (a member of another unit, we dont just grab random people lol) and exfiltrate the town without being noticed. Secondly, if we are doing stuff on the street, we do wear relfective vests or belts, i dunno bout you but i dont wanna get hit lol. and as far as the "system being fixed" well lets just say we can joke around sometimes, not realizing the possible consequences at the time, i once told a lady when she asked why we had the road shut down ( which was to help a local fire dept on a bad wreck on the interstate as we were passing through ) that air force one had an in flight problem and had to make an emergency landing, its not that i was picking on her, but after about 40 people asking the same question you gotta do somethin to stay sane, and i assumed she would know i was joking. but apparently not, and the next thing we knew news vans were pulling up. oops. but its really probably nothing...especially if the girls that asked were good lookin girls, soldiers have been known to lie to make themselves look better and more important to impress girls. we do have a sense of humor just like everybody else, if they show up in helicopters and full battle gear with rifles and running through the town, id probably worry cuz somethings going down lol... later guys

My friend said when he was in some type of military training they did things in civilian locations. If it is still going on today maybe you should begin to ask more questions. If you don't see them anymore than I wouldn't worry about it though.

reply to post by squidboy


Any recent updates, squidboy?
real curious to see if youve found anything out, or if its been dismissed.
Or if anyone has contacted you?

Sorry for the lack of updates. Been busy lately (work week). I have nothing to update, as in I have not seen anything, or have gotten any replies.

Still traveling around with the Camera, but as of late it seems that this was one day less then 5 hour affair. No idea why they were here. But as of now, seems like a isolated incident.... We will see (eyes are always open).

Probably unrelated but:

During my trip to a Cranston Post Office (part of my job), when exiting I saw a man in fatigues (same as the others described), sans vest (no side arm). HE looked to be older, mid 30s- 40s.

He did not have a beret, but was wearing a black winter hat (beanie like, ski-mask when up look).

He jay walked to the Mailbox, dropped something off, then went back to his vehicle. A crappy blue 90s esque mini van .

Probably nothing. But he was wearing the North Com Fatigues.

I was going to take a photo with my camera phone, but I didn't based on my judgment that it would be invading of his privacy. He looked to be "off duty," and not violating any laws (ie standing in the road, stopping traffic).

Just weird to see the fatigues that were seen a few weeks ago.