Law Enforcement
Another Idaho“Armed Camp”
November 13, 2005 
We noticed a recent Associated Press Dispatch about yet another North Idaho “compound” bristling with firepower and para military types.
The Aryan Nations and the infamous “Rev. Butler” were finally put out of business a couple years ago and the compound was flattened, but only after years of negative publicity in the Panhandle region.
Connected to that sad chapter of our state’s history was the 1992 shootout and siege at Ruby Ridge which brought shame on federal law enforcement and left a mother, child, and a deputy U.S. Marshall dead.
Now a “police and military training organization”–read that MERCENARIES–has purchased a 550 acre dude ranch where it plans to train “clients” from around the world. The site is at the end of a road near Harrison and a spokesman said they want to avoid the public eye and not be seen. Clients will be lodged at the camp during training sessions…The GUARDIAN remembers on-site lodging as a draftee at Fort Knox as well.
The private commercial enterprise calls itself “The Government Training Institute” or GTI for short. They claim to obtain the blessing of the FBI and the U.S. State Department before providing training. The Post Falls police chief was quoted as finding the training “excellent.” He didn’t say if they obtained FBI or State Dept. permission.
GTI must have taken a lesson from those rent-a-cop outfits with names like MERCHANT POLICE, SPECIAL POLICE, SECURITY AGENT, or our favorite for bounty hunters, FUGITIVE RECOVERY AGENTS. No doubt there will be plenty of camo gear and black nylon doodads with velcro straps sold at that location.
Reminds us of all the South and Central American helicopter pilots we saw being trained at an airfield in the Florida Everglades near Miami last February.
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Comments & Discussion
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Nov 13, 2005, 8:03 pm
Micron expansion pumps 860 jobs, $1.2 billion into Manassas: Financial News – Yahoo! Finance
http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/051104/1187600.html?.v=1
Nov 14, 2005, 12:44 pm
This could be a legitimate organization without ties to mercenary groups. There are a few places run by former Marine Scout Snipers which specialize in training SWAT teams and other specialty police and military organizations on shoot techniques. Surgical Shooting was one such an organization out of Washington, although I don’t think they are still in business. These instructors are very skilled and many law enforcement agencies have benefitted from having officers trained in close quarter combat, pistol and rifle accuracy shoots. Military special operation teams are also frequently sent to these special schools because not all arms of the military want to put soldiers through full sniper training. I don’t know if GTI is such a place but there ARE such places. Just thought someone may want to know.
Nov 14, 2005, 1:24 pm
I’m reminded of a quote I saw recently, attributed to Sinclair Lewis: “When facism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, and be carrying the cross.”
Nov 14, 2005, 1:58 pm
I prefer “Camp JBGT” (Jack Booted Government Thug) to “Camp GTI.”
Nov 14, 2005, 4:35 pm
You would not believe what happens in northern Idaho.
Nov 22, 2005, 1:01 pm
The guard image works on this post but too bad that Chilean guard has to protect the new woman president of Chile against the Somoza facists. The same kind of people Idaho is attracting daily.
If you think Islamic terrorisim is bad wait until the spawn of American anti government terrorists like Timothy McVeigh get started here again.
Ed note–The GUARDIAN just returned from North Idaho where people are talking about the GTI amid outright speculation that it is a CIA front of some sort.