D.C. Guard misused helicopters in low-flying confrontation with George Floyd protesters, Army...

[Nevilledog]

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John FitzGerald
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The next day, as D.C. officials and members of Congress demanded answers, Army officials informed Ryan there were concerns about the helicopter flights. Ryan told them the mission had been “fully vetted” by Trump.

D.C. Guard misused helicopters in low-flying confrontation with George Floyd protesters, Army...
The Army said one helicopter “hovered under 100 feet" over the heads of people. In actuality, the more precise number is 55 feet, an official later acknowledged.
washingtonpost.com
10:44 AM · Apr 15, 2021

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/04/15/dc-guard-helicopter-george-floyd-protest/

The D.C. National Guard’s deployment of helicopters to quell racial justice demonstrations in Washington last summer, a chilling scene in which two aircraft hovered extremely low over clusters of protesters, was a misuse of military medical aircraft and resulted in the disciplining of multiple soldiers, the Army said Wednesday.

In an announcement, the Army said one helicopter “hovered under 100 feet” over the heads of people in the nation’s capital on June 1 as D.C. police and federal agencies worked to disperse crowds protesting police brutality after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis days earlier.

An Army official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to be candid, acknowledged that a UH-72 Lakota helicopter at one point hovered a mere 55 feet off the ground. A Washington Post investigation last year estimated the height was 45 feet.

As military commanders rushed to support law enforcement that night, the D.C. Guard ordered five helicopters into the sky.

Senior officials, including then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, have maintained that the mission was to observe crowds and help police track people’s movements, and they have dismissed assertions that the maneuvers were intended to frighten and scatter protesters on the streets after a curfew had been imposed.

*snip*

[C_U_L8R]

1. Who gave the orders?

[crickets]

3. That is the question.

Four of the five helicopters that flew that night were medical aircraft. It was a violation of Army regulations to use them on nonmedical missions without specific approval, the report found. Brig. Gen. Robert K. Ryan, who oversaw the mission, did not seek approval and did not know of the requirement, the report said. [snip]

And as video and photos of the maneuvers spilled onto social media, one of Ryan’s subordinates, who is unidentified in the report, exclaimed to his boss in a text message, “your helicopters are looking good!!!”

“OMG! I am out here too,” the general replied. “Incredible. I got special permission to launch. Full authorities.”

The next day, as D.C. officials and members of Congress demanded answers, Army officials informed Ryan there were concerns about the helicopter flights. Ryan told them the mission had been “fully vetted” by Trump.

Investigators found “no evidence,” the report says, that the use of air assets was ever discussed among senior leaders coordinating the military’s response that night.

I know the president is CIC and all, but in the end it's the brass giving the definitive orders. So, did Ryan give those orders? How precise were they? Who gave 'special permission' and what does that mean? What senior leaders were out of the loop re the use of air assets? What excuse could Ryan possibly have that he didn't know the medical aircraft were illegal to use, much less in flying that dangerously low?

The whole thing is a mess, and "oops" just doesn't cover it. It was so incredibly dangerous for the citizens below, as well as the pilots themselves. One wrong move involving a crash would have been devastating, and for what? As far as I can recall, the D.C. protests were peaceful to that point. There was no need for any of this crap.

eta - and let's not forget the Posse Comitatus issues, which aren't even mentioned in the article. Yowsa.

[bullwinkle428]

2. I guess those pilots had better things to do on January 6...