# Legality of using domestic law-enforcement personnel on a military operation overseas

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-using-domestic-law-enforcement-personnel-on-a-military-operation-overseas/772310>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 18, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-using-domestic-law-enforcement-personnel-on-a-military-operation-overseas/772310 "2016-11-18T05:11:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-using-domestic-law-enforcement-personnel-on-a-military-operation-overseas/772310/1 "2016-11-18T05:11:54Z")

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With Posse Comitatus, the military can’t police things at home, but is there a reverse legal version of Posse Comitatus, whereby the U.S. government can’t use, say, NYPD SWAT personnel in a counterterrorism operation in the Middle East?

(As for why the government would do that, that would be fighting the hypothetical, but maybe these NYPD SWATsters have specific expertise for a particular mission that the SEALs don’t, etc.)

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**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-using-domestic-law-enforcement-personnel-on-a-military-operation-overseas/772310/2 "2016-11-18T05:32:28Z")

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Large numbers of American police officers are reservists who are deployed in military operations overseas frequently. But they do that as part of Reserve and National Guard units, not under the command of their police departments.