16 June 2014 (08:37 UTC-07 Tango)/17 Sha’ban 1435/26 Khordad 1393/19 Geng Wu 4712

Is it any coincidence that in the state considered to be the Mormon capital of the world, not only are there massive data collection centers run by corporations and government contractors, but massive yearly military intelligence wargames as well?

Edward Snowden proved that most of the spying by the National Security Agency is actually being done on U.S. citizens, and the NSA’s main data collection center is located on Camp Williams, Utah.

‘Intelligence collectors’ board a UH-60 Black Hawk during Panther Strike 2014 at Camp Williams, Utah. California Army National Guard photo Specialist Brianne M. Roudebush, 18JUN2014.

(I attended PLDC [pronounced p-l-d-c] and BNCO [pronounced b-knock] at Camp Williams)

A simulated forward operating base (FOB) on Camp Williams. Utah Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Robert D Walden, 17JUN2014.

But there’s something else happening at Camp Williams: Operation Panther Strike.  Why?  “For the current conflicts we’re involved in, Utah provides some critical elements of realism. Salt Lake is at the same elevation as Bagram Airfield there in Afghanistan, and many soldiers comment on the similarities in the terrain. The exercise also tends to gravitate here because there is a lot of command support, and investments have been made to have all the necessary infrastructure in place.“-Colonel Derek Tolman, 300th MI Brigade, Utah

California Army National Guard photo by First Lieutenant Jan Bender, 09JUN2014.

Panther Strike is a yearly wargame involving military intelligence units from the U.S. Army, Army Reserve, National Guard units from at least 20 states, and even the British Empire (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom)!

Panther Strike started in 2003 in Florida, then moved to Utah in 2005.

Canadians joining in the Panther Strike fun on Camp Williams. Utah Army National Guard photo by Sergeant First Class Brock Jones, 11JUN2012.

Then in 2012 it evolved into a global event, becoming the “premiere”  military inteligence wargame: “In previous years, there was more of an emphasis on Warrior Tasks and battle drills than you see in Panther Strike 2012. We really wanted to make this an intelligence-centered exercise.  By making Panther Strike more of an intelligence exercise, we’ve gotten a lot of attention from within the intelligence community, and a lot of support.  For example, Intelligence Security Command has a lot of resources and assets that we have been able to tap into and coordinate for this exercise. A lot of our training teams that came out are INSCOM teams, or are from INSCOM units, which brings a level of legitimacy to the exercise.”-Captain Timothy Kelley, 142nd MI Battalion, Florida

“This is the premiere military intelligence training exercise in the country where you will have signal intelligence, human intelligence, counterintelligence, imagery intelligence and all-source coupled with coalition partners. Soldiers coming to this exercise had the opportunity to work not only with the latest equipment and software; they had the opportunity to train using the full spectrum of intelligences available both in the Guard and in the active component.”-Major Scott A. Chalmers, 300th MI Brigade, Utah

Panther Strike 2014 recently kicked off at Camp Williams.  It involves more than 600 personnel from several federal and state military units, as well as from the British Empire (Australia, Canada and United Kingdom).

Panther Strike 2015  plans to bring in more foreign military units.

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MARTIAL LAW U.S.A. 2013: FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS NSA DATA COLLECTION VIOLATES CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF U.S. CITIZENS! CALLS DATA COLLECTION “OREWELLIAN”.