Young soldiers will be battling 'seasoned freedom fighters' across North Carolina counties in a two-week 'unconventional guerrilla warfare exercise' - known as Robin Sage - where they attempt to overthrow an 'illegitimate government' (Pictured: Robin Sage training in July 2019)

A civil war rehearsal? US Army will conduct a two-week ‘guerilla war’ training exercise in North Carolina to teach Special Forces how to overthrow an ‘illegitimate government’ just weeks after DoJ announced new ‘domestic terrorism’ unit

Natasha Anderson, Daily Mail, 11 Jan. 2022

  • Special Forces candidates will participate in the two-week Robin Sage training exercises in which they will practice overthrowing illegitimate governments
  • Robin Sage places soldiers in a ‘politically unstable’ fictional country and uses ‘unconventional guerrilla warfare’ to defeat a ‘numerically superior enemy’
  • Soldiers will face off against seasoned military members and specially trained civilians during the exercise, which serves as the Special Forces final exam
  • Several citizens, however, are concerned the exercise encourages soldiers to target civilians 
  • News of the training exercise comes at a tense time in the US, just five days after the country celebrated the first anniversary of the Capitol riot
  • It also follows the DOJ’s creation of a new ‘domestic terrorism’ unit as the nation faces what officials said is an ‘elevated threat from domestic violent extremists’

Young Army soldiers will be battling ‘seasoned freedom fighters’ across two dozen North Carolina counties in a two-week ‘guerrilla warfare exercise’ where they attempt to overthrow an ‘illegitimate government’.

News of the training exercise comes just days after the anniversary of the Capitol riot and as the Justice Department announces the creation of a new ‘domestic terrorism’ unit to tackle what officials said is an ‘elevated threat from domestic violent extremists’.

Some questioned the close timing of the events, while others went further with fears that the Biden administration is ‘preparing for American Uprising’.

‘Biden’s military wargames fighting and killing American “Freedom Fighters” in guerilla (sic) warfare,’ one Twitter user posted in reaction to news of the guerilla warfare training on US soil.

Another Twitter user even questioned if the government was ‘trying to get troops accustomed to the idea of killing fellow Americans?’

However, the guerilla training exercise, known as Robin Sage, has actually been running every few months since the 1970s.

Young soldiers will be battling ‘seasoned freedom fighters’ across North Carolina counties in a two-week ‘unconventional guerrilla warfare exercise’ – known as Robin Sage – where they attempt to overthrow an ‘illegitimate government’ (Pictured: Robin Sage training in July 2019)

During Robin Sage training, young soldiers will face off against seasoned service members from units across Fort Bragg, acting as opposing forces and guerrilla freedom fighters, as well as ‘specially trained’ guerilla civilians.

Some social media users find the exercise concerning as the 143-year-old Posse Comitatus Act bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement except when expressly authorized by law. The legislation cites military interference in civilian affairs as a threat to democracy and personal liberty.

Others have implied the exercise is preparing soldiers to prevent an insurgence and fear it is training American troops how to fight their own people.

The Robin Sage exercise, which serves as the final exam in Special Forces Qualification Course training, will begin January 22 at an undisclosed location on private land.

It places soldiers in the ‘politically unstable’ fictional country of Pineland and forces them to conduct reconnaissance, raids, ambushes, and numerous other operations a ‘numerically superior enemy’.

Robin Sage places soldiers in the 'politically unstable' fictional country of Pineland and forces them to conduct reconnaissance, raids, ambushes, and numerous other operations a 'numerically superior enemy' (Pictured: A Special Forces candidate engaging a target during Robin Sage training in 2019)

Robin Sage places soldiers in the ‘politically unstable’ fictional country of Pineland and forces them to conduct reconnaissance, raids, ambushes, and numerous other operations a ‘numerically superior enemy’ (Pictured: A Special Forces candidate engaging a target during Robin Sage training in 2019)

‘The Special Forces candidates have to meet up with and make rapport with a third-world nation guerrilla force, train them up, and then work by, with, and through that guerrilla force to conduct combat operations against a numerically superior enemy occupying force,’ retired Special Forces warrant officer Steve Balestrieri, who typically runs the course, told Business Insider.

The US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, which conducts the Robin Sage exercise, said teams are placed in a ‘real world setting characterized by armed conflict’ and presented with war-crime scenarios, such as a partner force wanting to execute a prisoner or destroy a village.

The soldiers are then tasked with negotiating the situations without violating war laws or losing the support of their allies.