By Madison Ruppert

Editor of End the Lie

Miami residents were startled to hear the sound of low-flying military helicopters and explosions emanating from the abandoned Grand Bay Hotel in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

It turns out that the United States military was conducting a “realistic urban training” exercise involving some 100 soldiers organized by the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

This is just one of many military exercises being held on American soil in recent years, including an inter-agency exercise conducted in my local area of Los Angeles. My attempts to obtain any information on that drill were thwarted and/or ignored by the Los Angeles Police Department.

With the many military drills being conducted in urban locales, the legislative frameworks in place, as well as KBR’s “National Quick Response Teams,” the similar solicitation put out by FEMA not long ago, and the recently exposed internment and resettlement operations manual (see below video), I believe that many Americans are likely concerned about what this all means.

Jane Muir, a Miami resident who was awoken at around 1:45 AM by the din of military helicopter blades slicing through the air.

“It was quite a shocking experience,” Muir said referring to the helicopters which later dropped soldiers onto the roof of the Grand Bay Hotel, according to the Miami Herald.

“It was kind of that bizarre feeling that you were surrounded by wind,” she added.

Muir said she watched soldiers shoot flares and smoke bombs from her third floor balcony, after which they searched the hotel floor-by-floor.

“The show of force was so overwhelming,” she said, referring to the heavy gunfire and aggressive tactics she witnessed.

Major Michael Burns, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army said that the exercise involved around 100 military personnel, three military helicopters, and the use of so-called simulated explosions and gunfire.

“They have to train in a realistic environment,” Burns said.

“We didn’t use any real bullets,” he said in an attempt to reassure the public, although in my opinion this is far from reassuring.

Unannounced drills involving explosions and what would appear to be live fire in an urban area is hardly something which would keep the American people calm and collected.

The Miami police were told to keep quiet about the exercises until late Monday, reportedly for security reasons.

“It was the federal government’s call on what was being done. We were courteously advised,” Miami commissioner Marc Sarnoff said.

This position is nothing short of insane. How can this commissioner, whose district includes Coconut Grove, honestly think that it is a courtesy for the federal government to inform the citizens of Miami that they would be conducting a potentially shocking, aggressive military drill?

This kowtowing approach is, in my opinion, disgusting. It is a fine example of just how subservient our local governments have become to federal tyranny.

If Sarnoff had anything even remotely resembling a backbone, he would say that it is the federal government’s duty to inform the people. It is courteous of Miami to allow them to conduct the exercise, not courteous of the federal government to simply inform them of the fact that they will conduct said drill.

They also reportedly oversaw the drills and blocked off the roads around the hotel during the exercise according to Muir.

Major Delrish Moss of the Miami Police Department said that they put out a news release about the training exercise somewhere around 5 PM Monday but it was largely unnoticed.

As a result, many residents were completely unaware of the drill and called the police and city hall when they heard the explosions and witnessed the armed military helicopters flying low over their houses.

Muir was one of the likely many people who was not pleased by the surprising and frightening exercise.

“I thought it was kind of rude, to tell you the truth,” Muir said.

“One neighbor was swearing, he was so annoyed,” she added.

Burns said that the drill was carried out safely and quickly, despite all of the concerns and anxiety shared by the local residents who witnessed the event.

“It seems very high drama, but to us it’s kind of simple,” Burns said.

However, it is not very clear why they had to wait until the last moment to tell residents or why they had to give it so little attention. What kind of situation could have unfolded from citizens knowing about the drill that would put these armed soldiers‘ safety in jeopardy?

While I don’t think that the military is going to take to the streets and start slaughtering Americans left and right any time soon, I do think that people have a right to be concerned about these developments.

Furthermore, people should expect to be informed of these types of exercises well ahead of time. Springing this on people makes very little sense and could very well be psychologically damaging.

Did I forget anything or miss any errors? Would you like to make me aware of a story or subject to cover? Or perhaps you want to bring your writing to a wider audience? Feel free to contact me at [email protected] with your concerns, tips, questions, original writings, insults or just about anything that may strike your fancy.

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