Secret U.S. Army Memo on Preparing for Martial Law?

An image of an alleged secret U.S. Army memoradum on preparation for martial law has surfaced online, reportedly uploaded to Facebook by Diane Holthaus last Friday, August 18, 2016.

I don’t know if it’s authentic, but given the gravity of the subject matter, I decided to err on the side of prudence by publishing it on FOTM.

Here’s the image of the alleged memorandum, followed by my transcription of it into text:

Here’s the text of the memorandum:

Department of the Army
Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division
Bldg 1435, Wetzel Ave.
Fort Carson, CO 80913-4145

AFYB-STA-MNT
8 August 2016
Memorandum For Record
Subject: Preparation for Martial Law

1. As of 5 August 2016 2322 the Bill for the Executive Order Enacting Martial Law has been put into effect. Fort Carson will start training and prepartion on 5 September 2016 at 0900.

a. The following Brigades will be starting on 8 September 2016.

Brigades Dates Soldiers

1^st Stryker Brigade Combat Team 8 September 2016 350

1^st Infantry Brigade Combat Team 29 September 2016 625

4^th Sustainment Brigade 8 September 2016 275

4 Combat Aviation Brigade 8 September 2016 175

759^th MP Battalion 29 September 2016 215

10^th Combat Support Hospital 8 September 2016 265

423^rd Transportation Company 29 September 2016 350

b. The preparation will be conducted on range 165 near Red Devil training site at gate 12. The soldiers at this event will be conducting preparation for a field site hospital, FOB, riot control, ect.

c. The training will last for six weeks before the rotation of soldiers in the field site every 3 weeks after the first six weeks.

Andy Wolf of PopularMilitary.com debunks the memo:

Despite the official looking notice, the document gave several clues as to its authenticity- but only to those who would have experience with such documents. For example, there is no security clearance classification on the document, as well as other formatting areas.

Popular Military reached out to the Fort Carson Public Affairs Office, who were all too familiar with the aforementioned document.

“The Facebook posting showing what appears to be an official 4th Infantry Division memo stating that Fort Carson is starting martial law training is a complete fabrication,” a Fort Carson official wrote via email.  “There is no training being conducted on Fort Carson concerning any type of martial law preparation. The Posse Comitatus Act forbids military involvement in domestic law enforcement without congressional approval.”

While certain units (such as Military Police) occasionally train for “martial law”-type activities, it is generally done in conjunction with regular training of their everyday duties, such as riot control or securing contested areas. In addition, such matters are more often relegated to National Guard troops, who can be mobilized more easily than Active Duty troops.

I tried to verify the memorandum’s assertions. This is what I found:

• There is a U.S. Army 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, CO. Click here for its website.
• Its headquarters is in Bldg 1435, 6105 Wetzel Ave., Fort Carson, CO 80913-4145.
• A search for “AFYB-STA-MNT” brought up the website of the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, which is a short distance from NORAD and USNORTHCOM headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, CO.
• The 4th Infantry Division’s units are somewhat different from the Brigade units mentioned in the memo:
  • 1st Stryker Combat Brigade Team
  • 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (the memo has this as 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team)
  • 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team
  • 4th Combat Aviation Brigade
  • 4th Division Artillery
  • 4th Sustainment Brigade
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion

• Most importantly, Obama did not issue an Executive Order numbered 2322, nor did he issue any executive order on martial law, nor is there any Executive Order issued by any President that is numbered 2322. Numbered Executive Orders began under President Herbert Hoover, with the number 5075. See The American Presidency Project‘s web page, “Executive Orders: Washington – Obama“.

My conclusion: The alleged 4th Infantry Division “Preparation for Martial Law” memorandum is a fake.

Please don’t contribute to the dissemination of this fakery via email or social media.

H/t GiGi

~Eowyn