Again Scott paused to allow his points to soak in. Though his commanders’ roundtable discussions were intended to promote open and freewheeling discussion and thought, Scott felt that it was important to set the tone of the discussion and make it clear where he personally stood. Some of his commanders, such as Larry Fisher, would never permit themselves to stray too far from the “official” party line. He had a habit of crafting his comments so that they conformed neatly to Scott’s opinion. Clyde Emerson, on the other hand, would go out of his way to find a position that was diametrically opposed to Scott’s “official” view. It was not that Emerson was a renegade or contrarian. Rather, he liked to make Scott and his staff work to defend their positions. This was not all bad. Every now and then Scott found that in the process of doing so he discovered flaws in his own initial thinking that had not been self-evident. So Emerson’s position as the “loyal opposition” was both respected and welcomed.

“Today, perhaps more than ever,” Scott went on, “we face the specter that the United States Army will be called upon to support the enforcement of national polices or laws that other Federal agencies are unable to handle. Just this summer we were witness to a situation some people in Washington and the media still claim cried out for just such a commitment. Ever since Waco there has been an escalation of violence against the Federal Government by various factions that cannot be ignored. While the FBI and other federal agencies have managed to rise to the challenge thus far, we cannot assume that they will always be able to do so.”

Relaxing slightly, Scott unfolded his hands, looked down at the first sheet in the package that sat before him, and picked it up. “As the chief has already mentioned, the topic for today’s roundtable discussion is the use of the Army to combat domestic violence. To kick things off the G2 is going to look at the theoretical threats that could prompt the national command authority to commit us to a domestic confrontation.”

On cue Felden nodded to Lieutenant Colonel Gary Olson, the division’s G2, or intelligence officer. Olson quickly moved to the front of the room with his back to a rear projection screen. From the room behind the screen an NCO turned on the projector and flashed the first slide up on the screen that showed the division’s patch with the G2’s motto. “Good afternoon,” Olson announced, remembering to leave off the word gentlemen in deference to the aviation brigade’s commander, Colonel Kristin Parkman.