Standard Training Op
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
– Isaiah 41:10 NKJV.
If you have ever watched Will Smith in the movie Enemy of the State, then you know what an STO is. It is a Standard Training Operation. Of course, most of us thought that such things were just the figment of someone’s imagination. Apparently, there are such things being conducted.
Back in April, Federal authorities (FBI) and military personnel (U.S. Army Special Operations Command) conducted a routine training exercise. This exercise involved entering unannounced into a Boston hotel room detaining and interrogating the individual staying in the room. According to Federal and military authorities it was to have been a practice exercise with a role-playing individual chosen for the exercise being detained. What actually happened was they entered the wrong room at 10pm and detained a sleeping Delta Airlines pilot who they threw into the shower and interrogated for 45 minutes. No one was injured during the STO according to authorities.
Lt. Col. Mike Burns, a spokesperson for US Army Special Operations Command stated: “First and foremost, we’d like to extend our deepest apologies to the individual who was affected by the training exercise.” The STO is now being reviewed by the FBI and the Department of Defense. Almost forgot, someone called the Boston Police Department, and they did confirm it was just an STO gone off the rails. (WBZ-TV Boston 04.06.23; NPR 04.06.23)
So, the next time your hotel room door is broken down or your home door is bashed in it could just be an STO gone wrong! Most of us will never have anything like that happen to us and the chances of it occurring are probably as high as a billion to one. However, we do have uncomfortable and unpredictable events that occur at times.
When these random uncomfortable things happen, it will be good to remember Isaiah 41:10 because if you know the Lord, He will be with you through whatever may be going on. God promises to be with you, and He promises to “strengthen you.” As the apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:13 you too can do all things including whatever you are going through because Christ can strengthen you. Ask for the Lord’s help as He promises to help you and then rest in the knowledge that the Lord has you in His “righteous right hand.”