-Caveat Lector- WEDNESDAY JANUARY 06 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- The plan for massive military mobilization National Guard exercises unprecedented since World War II set for May Y2K test ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Editor's note: This is the first of a series of investigative reports on this subject. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- By David M. Bresnahan © 1999 WorldNetDaily.com The National Guard is planning its first national mobilization of troops since 1940 in preparation for civil unrest resulting from the Y2K millennium bug, WorldNetDaily has learned. The National Guard Bureau in Washington is currently formulating plans for a mobilization test, in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If Y2K causes a complete shutdown of all communications, the National Guard will need a way to mobilize troops, according to several officers who believe their careers would be at risk if their names were made public. These officers spoke separately with WorldNetDaily. Each is in a position to know about the plans at a national level within the National Guard Bureau. "What's driving this thing are the folks underneath the senior leadership," said one officer. "Some of the IT guys and command and control guys are the ones who are driving this because they see what the problem is," one of the sources told WorldNetDaily in an exclusive interview. The plan as it is now being designed, will be a mock mobilization of all 480,000 members of the National Guard in all 54 states and territories. Exercise COMEX/MOBEX will be conducted without telephone, radio, or television to get the word to all guard members. "This will be a simulated COMM-Out," explained another member of the group. "In other words, the standard method of recall, the telephone, will not be an option. The driver for this exercise is Y2K," she added. Concern about potential panic and unrest over Y2K failures of communications, power, and transportation has prompted the National Guard Bureau to plan for the worst. If such a scenario occurs, the guard will need to be mobilized through some means other than standard electronic communications. Exercise COMEX/MOBEX will be a test, not an actual mobilization. Guard members will be contacted, but they will not actually have to report. WorldNetDaily spoke with several full-time guard members who work at the national level. Each is an officer, and each is concerned that the public is not being properly informed of the extent and seriousness of problems -- including civil liberties issues -- associated with the Y2K computer bug. "I've taken an oath, and I don't see some of the senior folks following through on their oath," explained one officer of his reasons for making this known. "Not only is my oath to the Constitution, but it's to the people. As far as I'm concerned, the faster and sooner people are educated on this stuff the less panic will ensue." Another officer is equally concerned and agreed. He pointed out that people panic when they are caught unprepared and unaware. He says the Clinton administration should be doing more to prevent panic. "No one with any leadership has stepped forward and said we need to take prudent steps," he explained. "The Canadians are way ahead on this. They've already told their folks. They're doing a good job of letting their people know what's going on." WorldNetDaily has also learned that all military and civilian federal employees are scheduled to be paid a little differently in December 1999. Payroll for January 2000 will be paid a month early. One of the officers says that is to place guard members in a situation where they cannot refuse duty in the Y2K crisis because they will have already been paid in advance. "Our guess is, we've been paid so if we don't show up we're defrauding the government. I think that's what the rationale is, although they'll tell us it's to keep the troops happy. Bull. People won't be able to get their money out of the banks anyway," predicted one of the officers. The Defense Department is reported to be far behind in preparations for Y2K compliancy. It is working only on mission-critical systems, according to Sen. Bob Bennett, R-UT, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem. The National Guard is no exception. "The field units are way behind," explained one source. "There's no way in hell we're going to be compliant by March 31, 1999 (the target date announced by the National Guard)." A letter from the National Guard Bureau will soon be in the hands of every adjutant general. The letter will inform the guard leaders of each state about COMEX/MOBEX and how it will be conducted. Although the exercise, tentatively scheduled for May 1 and 2, will be no secret, the various aspects of the exercise will be kept under wraps until the mobilization begins. "Everyone knows it's coming, but there's going to be scenarios written into it," explained one officer. "There will be as many different things they can throw into it at once to see how the command-and-control structure handles it." The test will do little to simulate the actual panic that may be involved in an actual Y2K mobilization. "I think in a real situation, where you've got a guy standing there with his wife looking at him with tears in her eyes and two kids hanging on his leg, and he's being drug out the door by a couple MPs -- not that he doesn't want to serve -- but it's got to be absolute pandemonium at that point. I see that as a very difficult situation," said one of the sources. Although the National Guard Bureau expects to be able to contact 95 percent of their troops for COMEX/MOBEX, far fewer will actually turn out in an actual Y2K emergency. General panic by the public will create a desire for many guard members to stay home and protect their families, said some. The logistics of such a mobilization are significant. The Clinton administration will argue that the National Guard can be used as a national police force, in spite of the Posse Comitatus Act. FEMA and other federal agencies will also be involved in COMEX/MOBEX. Orders will be given without the use of standard communications. The country will be divided into seven different regions. Plans include imposing restrictions on civilian travel and limits on bank withdrawals, according to sources. "I have no doubts about the bunker mentality of the Clinton administration," said one of the officers. "Let's put it this way, our civil rights are going to take a nosedive." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- David M. Bresnahan, a contributing editor for WorldNetDaily.com, is the author of "Cover Up: The Art and Science of Political Deception," and offers a monthly newsletter "Talk USA Investigative Reports." 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