The Time article called “The Secret World of Extreme Militias” highlights an interesting point.

The threat model for their exercises is camouflaged as anti-insurgent and anti-Islamic but they more likely training to fight the US military.

“I don’t know who the redcoats are,” says Brian Vandersall, 37, who designed the exercise and tried to tamp down talk of politics among the men. “It could be U.N. troops. It could be federal troops. It could be Blackwater, which was used in Katrina. It could be Mexican troops who are crossing the border.”

Or it could be, as it was for this year’s exercise, an Islamic army marauding unchecked because a hypothetical pro-Muslim President has ordered U.S. forces to leave them alone. But as the drill played out, the designated opponents bore little resemblance to terrorists. The scenario described them as a platoon-size unit, in uniform, with “military-grade hardware, communications, encryption capability and vehicle support.” The militia was training for combat against the spitting image of a tactical force from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), FBI or National Guard. “Whoever they are,” Vandersall says, “we have to be ready.”

I see Time’s point but I do not see the list as indicative of US military or law enforcement.

Aside from “in uniform”, which the Extremists themselves have adopted, the other characteristics fit just about any terrorist group such as the Mumbai attackers or those expected to hit tourist sites in Western Europe.

Maybe “encryption capability” is like a secret phrase that identifies establishment rather than anti-establishment enemies.

Apparently this guy comes with extensive encryption capabilities: