Camouflaged
and silent, the assault team inched toward a walled stone compound for
more than five hours, belly-crawling the last 200 yards. The target was
an old state prison in eastern Ohio, and every handpicked member of Red
Team 2 knew what was at stake: The year is 2014, and a new breed of
neo-Islamic terrorism is rampant in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio
... The current White House Administration is pro-Muslim and has
ordered a stand-down against Islamic groups. The mission: Destroy
the terrorist command post — or die trying. The fighters must go in
"sterile" — without name tags or other identifying insignia — as a
deniable covert force. "Anyone who is caught or captured cannot expect
extraction," the briefing officer said.
At nightfall the raiders launched their attack. Short, sharp bursts from
their M-16s cut down the perimeter guards. Once past the rear gate, the
raiders fanned out and emptied clip after clip in a barrage of
diversionary fire. As defenders rushed to repel the small team, the main
assault force struck from the opposite flank. Red Team 1 burst through a
chain-link fence, enveloping the defense in lethal cross fire. The
shooting was over in minutes. Thick grenade smoke bloomed over the
command post. The defenders were routed, headquarters ablaze.
(Watch TIME's video "Homeland Security Tradeshow.")
This August weekend of grueling mock combat, which left some of the men
prostrate and bloody-booted, capped a yearlong training regimen of the
Ohio Defense Force, a private militia that claims 300 active members
statewide. The fighters shot blanks, the better to learn to maneuver in
squads, but they buy live ammunition in bulk. Their training — no game,
they stress — expends thousands of rounds a year from a bring-your-own
armory of deer rifles, assault weapons and, when the owner turns up, a
belt-fed M-60 machine gun. The militia trains for ambushes, sniper
missions, close-quarters battle and other infantry staples.
What distinguishes groups like this one from a shooting club or
re-enactment society is the prospect of actual bloodshed, which many
Ohio Defense Force members see as real. Their unit seal depicts a man
with a musket and tricorn hat, over the motto "Today's Minutemen." The
symbol invites a question, Who are today's redcoats? On that point, the
group takes no official position, but many of those interviewed over two
days of recent training in and around the abandoned Roseville State
Prison near Zanesville voiced grim suspicions about President Obama and
the federal government in general.
(See Obama's troubled first year.)
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