for example, one of the things we might do is typically what we do in the asymmetric warfare group is we work by, with, and through other u.s. organizations. we might not necessarily work with foreign forces, but other elements do. one of the things we look at his what soldiers, upon a facility and it might be an ied making facility or a lab are one of those kind of facilities, we replicate them here. a can see it firsthand here before they are faced with that in reality. it comes to mind because one of our recent partners here as we've been working with is the mexicans. they have come to look at the facility to differentiate between a drug lab and in ied lab. if you break this glass jar and some kind of gas comes out and it injures either soldiers a law

enforcement, that is the kind of think we want them to do here before their face with that challenge real-life. host: susan from arizona, good morning. caller: it is so nice to hear you. colonel, i want to thank you. i want to thank you and all the military. because if anything ever happens to the united states, i hope to god that you guys are standing next to us to protect me and my family. for the last seven years i feel i have not been safe here in the united states. me and a whole bunch of people. i want to thank you. keep doing what you are doing here train those military is because when they will need them to save us. so thank you and god bless you. guest: thank you, susan. i really appreciate that.

i thank you for this opportunity because the chance for us to showcase what our soldiers are doing for the nation is really our obligation. there is not a lot of chances where we get to interact with the people we come from. the soldiers that are here from every state in the nation and it is us. we are a reflection of our society. and a chance for us to highlight what great things are soldiers are doing for our nation and around the world, it is always a pleasure. i do for your call. host: rebecca from virginia, go ahead. guest: thank you so much for all that you all are doing and the soldiers that are training their and are deployed. i know you work hard everyday to prepare them and thank her that. how long does it typically take a unit to stay there and be trained before they are deployed or send out into the field? guest: rebecca, it really depends on the unit and the mission they are being called on to do.

i cannot answer that specifically. units that rotate through here typically are here for short periods of time. it's not a place where stations are -- place where soldiers are stationed. when i was younger i was stationed at fort drum, new york. we came down to forta ap hill to train for several weeks. as i reflect back on this, it was a couple of years before this was built. i would've been able to really benefit from these facilities. typically it is a couple of weeks that soldiers, go here to train. --, and go here to train. it typically takes about a two-week amount of time is help our soldiers become agile and adaptive. a lot of people talk about when you look at soldiers and what you want them to be and how you want unveiled to react? you want them to be confident responsible, trustworthy.

all those intangible things that you wanted soldiers and good citizens. those things are hard to train. if you ask someone how to make them responsible and adaptable that is a huge part of our effort here. we bring them through and pedro saw some of our soldiers training. we build scenarios to challenge our soldiers and put them in the uncomfortable situations so they can make the right decisions. as i said, we send our soldiers around the world and everyone is watching. we want them to make the right decisions. host: (202) 748-8000 for the eastern and central time zone. (202) 748-8001 for mountain and pacific. and for active military if you want to give her thoughts as well, (202) 748-8002. we have showed you the buildings and some of the scenarios they go on here at the asymmetric warfare training center. one of the things we got to expense was some of the shooting skills training that the

soldiers receive. we had a chance to talk with a lieutenant colonel about the weapons training and white is important. >> what you see is individual soldiers from asymmetric warfare group preparing to occupy the range and do some training. what they're going to do specifically is put on some protective masks, like gas masks , and they will do marksmanship training up to about 50 meters in the near future. that is the focus for this morning's event. in the recent past, they've done some other trainings with pistols and rifles. host: why is this site -- type of skills many important? quacks we are by -- >> we go out and advise army and joint force units around the world. some of those areas are conflict

zones like iraq and afghanistan. it is important that your skills, your combat skills defensive or offensive are well honed. it is part of any units preparation for this kind of eventualities. we happen to focus on the pistol and rifle marksmanship more than probably your average unit because we do not know what sort of situation our divisors -- our divisors are going to encounter especially when embedded with other units. host: again, that was lieutenant colonel justin sapp. regina from virginia, you are on with colonel john petkosek. caller: good morning, sir. i would like to know how this urban training conflicts with the posse, taught us act.

i will take my answer out there. guest: thank you very much for your call. it does not conflict with the posse cometatus act. the army does not engage in law enforcement activities. we do operate in environments where there are civil years and soldiers operating together. to answer your question directly, it does not. but it really does is provide us with an opportunity to become accustomed to operating in areas where civilians and from these are operating. it's a makes them able to better perform their mission. as a justin sapp talked about there is a number of basic skills that we want our soldiers to be able to do. we want them to able to shoot and hit a target. they want them to be able to maneuver in environments. those are the essentials of any military operation. when you overlay that on top of the complex world we live in, we

want our soldiers to be able to operate and decide it is not whether you're going to hit the target, it is whether you should shoot or not shoot. the able to make decisions rapidly in a complex environment. that is what we are trying to achieve. host: you talked about civilian and military together. one of the replicas here is a metro station. why is it important to have that and how do you account for civilian -- dealing with civilians in the sky situations? guest: our soldiers have to be able to operate in all kinds of environments. what you saw it on their looks like a metro station and we've used it in the past for other things. we blow a better cars and of role in a flatbed railcar and it is a hidden gun that are said -- our soldiers a going to go after. the next a we put tanks on it and chemical weapons that are soldiers what to go after. we are able to tailor it to the mission set we're going to face. when you look at underground rail systems, those are probably

in most major cities today. i cannot think of another place where i can train where i would have the opportunity to understand what would happen if i encountered a facility like that. what decisions to we want our soldiers to make? when you good on their and you turn off the lights and it's filled with smoke and you're trying to recover somewhat that might be injured or trying to fight her through it, let us do that here at fort ap hill and provider soldiers with that kind of complex environment for they have to do it elsewhere. host: rhonda for massachusetts. caller: thank you. i came across police officers training of a closed store at the mall. my question is what terminologies like one world government and the patriot act being in place and barack o is using the rustic terrorism, is

there a time this asymmetrical army can be used in the united states against the people? guest: the short answer is no. there is not an asymmetrical army per se. you see training in a facility where they have to close off a mall so they can train and what are they going to do if they have to react to an incident by what happened in kenya just a short time ago. instead of shutting down the mall for law-enforcement to train on those things, what you ring them here or they can replicated here and exley get those techniques down so we can do what we are going to ask them to do without being annexed or imposition on the environment we live in. when you talk about the metro station, that is another great example. we have a commute to work each day. i would be pretty disappointed if the measure was not working on time because someone else was training there.

we can do the kind of thing here and not inconvenience our day-to-day lives. host: talking about training taking place in international areas, is there and it's -- a plan for if an incident happens in the united states? guest: one of the missions of the national guard is to react in case of a national emergency. if there was an emergency but we had have soldier sent in to provide relief as they have a numerous occasions when number of floods or hurricanes, this is the kind of thing they could do. they could get an opportunity to do this kind of tasks. i know with the recent hurricane we had a few years ago in new york, there were metro stations that were flooded. is the be the kind of place for you can figure out those techniques if the military is a recalled on. you want to make sure they are ready to perform this missions. the army does not have a lot of luxury when we are called on.

we are expected to be there and be ready to do whatever we are asked to do. if the army is called on to help but in a situation, one would not effect is to be ready to's -- disable be ready in a few weeks. now, when the american people: the military to perform a mission we expect them to be ready. we are able to look at some of these unconventional things that we might ask our soldiers to do and make them ready for this. host: david from texas. caller: i am retired military. and the late 80's we did some training at fort hood at some all caps stations. me being an armored crew member and thank you matter, it helped our troops to actually learn how to fight in urban warfare so when we went overseas we do it to do. everybody knew they had to do. as a tanker, you never get off

your tankless you have to. now if something cap us your vehicle if you're on foot you know what to do to help out the infantry or the medics or whoever to survive. and the training itself is worth it. all of our soldiers and airmen and marine corps need to go to some kind of training like this because they need when they go overseas. guest: i really appreciate that comment. i myself served in a number of types of units. a few years ago when everyone -- everyone is familiar with the battle falluja, and i participated. you talked about armored vehicles operating in an urban environment, that was not something we trained on when i was training at before going to iraq. we trained on large ranges in germany. we looked at how we were going to engage enemy tanks and 2000 meters. but when we were called upon to do it in before moving on the

streets of falluja with m1 tanks and engaging the enemy at close range, i wish i would've had that kind of training before we were called to do live in combat. host: the asymmetric warfare group had a start dealing with ied's, is that correct? guest: as a conflict evolved about 10 years ago the enemy engaged us and an ace magic weight. they used -- asymmetric ways. these improvised explosive device is and they were a threats to our light-skinned vehicles. born of that was the asymmetric warfare group. what we were charted with doing was let's look at these threats identify these gaps before we face them so we can be prepared for them beforehand. exactly as you talked about, the world is changed in the last 10 years since before the -- when

you look at what weird seeing on television. these small, unmanned aerial systems. you see these quad copters and our member during the super bowl that put out a thing that said no quad copters. everyone is flying them around. we see them all over the world. even in washington dc, you see them landing an unexpected areas. this is an asymmetric threat. that is one of the missions of the asymmetric warfare group. we look at this and say how can we use this? how can the enemy uses? -- use this? we can prepare our soldiers how to react to that. this is one of those places we have done that. in just a very short time ago at this very train center, we would run a platoon through this area and bring in this small little quad copters and see how they react to them. then we could say if you're encountered with that threat how should you deal with it?

haddie stop it? what you watching? we develop the tactics techniques, and procedures to counter the smart -- counter these emerging threats. host: john in buffalo. caller: let us not get ourselves. this country is never again going to send its troops into mass urban warfare. that is all gone. if we get into a situation where someone is going to ask us to take out a whole city of people or a bunch of terrorists, we are going to lighted up or new from. --nuke them. this facility is to train soldiers to frighten americans an urban cities. it is coming. 25 years ago -- host: what convinces you of that? caller: let me finish please.

after they dropped the wall, i went into poland and i was appalled to find that people were required to carry identification with them at all times and let the government know where they were. i was appalled at that being an american citizen. that was 25 years ago. the other thing, one less comment, i live in buffalo, new york. i see in south buffalo there is a large military storage center that has suddenly popped up just off the highway where there is all kinds of military equipment being stored there for some reason. i cannot imagine why. i will take your comment off the year. host: colonel? guest: john, you really cannot predict what the future is going to do. to say we are never going to do anything in the future in terms of the army would be shortsighted. when you talk about urban

fighting, fighting an urban area, we talked vietnam in the battle of way city, that was a huge fight. they said there is a lot going on there and to say that we will never do it again was not correct. we as soldiers do not know what the future will hold in we cannot predict it. but to say we are not going to fight in a particular way, well our enemy has a vote in that. they will determine how we fight in the future. we cannot exclude any possibilities. as an army we have to be prepared for those possibilities. as a seven the previous color, i have been called on to do a lot of things i never thought i would have to do in the military. you always think about how could you have better prepared for that with time and facilities. that is what we are trying to achieve here. provide our soldiers the best chances of not only surviving, but thriving in combat. everything we do at this

location is designed to increase our soldier survivability. i have no idea what the future is going to hold and we spent a lot of time talking about what the threat could be. as soon as you decide what the threat could be will never fight , and an asymmetric warfare way our enemy will say the u.s. is not prepared for that and that is where we need to draw the men. we need to be prepared for a broad spectrum of operations and that is what we are trying to do. host: we've heard a lot of people interesting concern. is there concern about the training you do here, do you think? guest: when people see what is available in the media, the media is much more open in terms of what is available on the internet and in print and tv media. there are a lot of different opinions out there. you will feel a larger, broader scope of opinions. some people might gravitate to a certain opinion that might suit their preconceived notions.

an interview like this is important because we're opening up to not only to the united states, but the world to say this is what we have here. there is nothing to hide. we are trying to say here are the american soldiers, your soldiers. these are the soldiers that are charted with protecting and defending united states of america. they are fantastic. any chance we get to highlight what they are doing, where their training, we want to share that we reckon people. host: stephen from connecticut, go ahead. caller: first, they would have to sign up for pta. this asymmetrical warfare -- we have vladimir putin over there marching across crimea, georgia

chechnya. he wants poland. he wants estonia. he was lucky a. -- lot via. --latvia. we have to get all of our friends from nato -- how do we bleed his army? these kooky callers, i would love to have the u.s. army in my town. build a basic connecticut. thank you. host: thank you for your call and your confidence in our soldiers. that is something we are try to share here. you bring up an interesting point when you talk about the complex things that are going on in the world. you brought up a specific scenario. what we tried to do at the asymmetric warfare training center is not look so much at the who of what is going on, but the what that is going on. we look at the techniques being employed and we may see a

different kind of warfare that is being waged in a particular scenario. maybe that is the type of scenario where soldiers are in combat and they are not wearing a uniform. or there is a cyber component or an electronic warfare component. we are able to look across the world and say we solve this in this area. we see it also played in this area and this area. how do we develop tactics techniques, and procedures to operate in a kind of environment. you talked about some great points to talk about the nature of warfare and how it is changed. that is what we charge our soldier city. i relish the old days where i knew what else can be called on to do. i would get in my tank or armored personnel carrier and face an enemy to kill him before he killed me. but now the world has changed and operating in a complex environment. our soldiers have to be prepared to do numerous missions. i would hope you find confidence to say that there is someone

looking out at what is going on in the world today and preparing her soldiers for the unknown. host: george from conroe, texas. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. first, i want to thank colonel petkosek for his service. there are three things i've been hearing here and seeing here that impressed me very much. the first is that citizens are asking questions. the second is colonel petkosek's first responses questions is that his loyalty is to the constitution of united states and that is what circumscribes his actions. the third thing is that in this world today, we cannot afford to ignore the fact that we may be forced to fight on our own soil. if that were to occur i, from what i am seeing, i am quite

certain that colonel petkosek and his men will be able to handle that situation completely within the law and the laws of our country and with the intent that the constitution intended. i would want to thank you for your kind servicing your call. guest: i really do appreciate your call and your comment. it is always -- awe-inspiring to see what our soldiers are doing. any chance we get to share that with the american people is really a great opportunity. the country is large and soldiers are spread across it at different bases. he do not get a chance to see what your soldiers are doing. anytime we have an opportunity to highlight for the american people that this is your army your military, it is something you should be proud of and you can rest assured that you have the right people doing the right things for our nation. it is always a good thing.

thank you. host: mike from alabama. caller: colonel, i would to congratulate you and your facility there. it is remarkable. it is obviously state-of-the-art. my son just left the active army after three tours in iraq and one in afghanistan. i want to say i am with you and plato who says, only the dead have seen the end of war. i think we do hearing in the voices the people that call you today is the suspicion that the national command authority is in the hand of domestic enemies of the constitution. what do you do when faced with an unconstitutional order? guest: we have an obligation to support and defend the constitution of united states. fortunately i have not had to face that moral dilemma and say what choice do i make between some order and the parameters

that are outlined by the constitution. again, i raise my hand and said i would support and defend the constitution. that is what i am charge to do. as you talked about, that is what our soldier sign up for. i'm glad to hear that you had a son that served and you should be very proud that he made the choice and raised his hand just as i did to do exact for that. i am sure that he could tell you that a lot of the things that even discussed of this program today maybe falls perceptive's -- perceptions about what we are here to do. that's why take the opportunity to share with you and the american people that this is what the army is here for. nothing has changed. this is the same army. united state's army existed before there was a united states of america. it is the oldest institution we have in terms of our nation.

we've been doing the same thing for 200 plus years. the nature of what the army does for the wrecking people has not changed and it has only become stronger. host: cape coral, florida. go ahead. guest: i would like to ask the kernel if you would care to comment on operation j helm -- jade help m 2015 and an operation going on in canada right now. i was also wondering about -- host: i'm sorry. guest: the first exercise i'm unfamiliar with. but i am familiar with the maple exercise in canada. that is one of those great opportunities and i don't know the details of the exercise and what they are trying to accomplish. i cannot speak intelligently about that but it is an opportunity for us to work with our partners, specifically our

canadian partners. that is important to us as an army. we all see what is going on in the world today. different army said different experiences. we are looking for it asked packages. we are looking for if working with the canadians reveal something that says that is a great way to do that. what we do have that and the u.s. army? that is what began from working with our partners. i cannot speak intelligently about the nature of it, but i know we are working with them to identify best practices. host: how do you know if what you are doing a successful? guest: that is the difficult part. how many lives doesn't say for how does it work. getting ahead of the thread is really the hardest part of it. we note it is successful when the go forward. we have soldiers and we asked them to do a lot of things here at when we see the soldiers and say i was at fort ap hill, and we

did some adaptability training or we were in the tunnels and i prepare me for my mission, that is how we measure success. when we get feedback that says what you are doing is important. everybody wants to feel that what they're doing has value and is important. particularly our soldiers in the u.s. army. they sacrifice a lot. they spent sometimes and some hostile conditions and they want to know it makes a difference. and it makes a difference when you know you are helping soldiers on the battlefield. you're helping make soldiers better prepare for their mission. ultimately, there are some son daughter, wife, husband of a gun safe because of the things you did at fort ap >> u.s. army symmetric warfare group. -- asymmetric warfare group. thanks for your time. we want to thank lordford ap hill for their work with us.

that is it for the washington journal today. this program comes at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. both the youwe will see you then. >> flag flying at half staff to remember-- he was the first to step down from post due to an ethics scan dal. we'll have more on the former speaker, including his resignation speech earlier this evening. including a discussion on the financial crisis with federal chair janet yellen and christine lagarde. coming up next is a curing with defense secretary ashton carter and joint keeps of stuff jeff joint chiefs of staff martin dempsey.