Editing Posse Comitatus Act (section)

===Advisory and support roles===
Federal troops have a long history of domestic roles, including occupying secessionist Southern states during Reconstruction and putting down major urban riots. The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits using active duty personnel to "execute the laws"; however, there is disagreement over whether this language may apply to troops used in an advisory, support, disaster response, or other homeland defense role, as opposed to domestic law enforcement.<ref name="Military Law Review" />

On March 10, 2009, members of the [[Military Police Corps (United States)|U.S. Army Military Police Corps]] from [[Fort Rucker]] were deployed to [[Samson, Alabama]], in response to [[Geneva County shootings|a shooting spree]]. Samson officials confirmed that the soldiers assisted in traffic control and securing the crime scene. The [[governor of Alabama]] did not request military assistance, nor did President [[Barack Obama]] authorize their deployment. Subsequent investigation found that the Posse Comitatus Act was violated and several military members received "administrative actions".<ref>{{cite web| url= http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/10/army_reviews_shows_troop_use_i.html |title= Army reviews shows troop use in Samson killing spree violated federal law| work= [[The Birmingham News]]| publisher= | date= October 19, 2009| access-date= March 30, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA520027&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf |title= Revolutionizing Northern Command| website= dtic.mil| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20121002192218/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA520027&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf |archive-date=October 2, 2012 | first= Gary L.| last= McGinniss| url-status= dead | access-date= }}</ref>