THE CRUSADER NETWORK: How a Christian Nationalist Paramilitary Group Gained Access to Indiana's Taxpayer-Funded Military Bases
PART ONE: THE ACCESS
A private paramilitary organization with a name pulled straight from the history books has been granted permission to train at over 100,000 acres of Indiana’s most sophisticated military training facilities.
Camp Atterbury. Muscatatuck Urban Training Center. Jefferson Proving Ground.
All of them built and maintained with your tax dollars, all of them open to an organization that calls itself Crusader Advanced Tactical Training (CATT).
How did they pull this off? Through a partnership with a state-sponsored middleman called the National Center for Complex Operations (NCCO), which just so happens to be sponsored by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC).
It is a web of connections that raises a simple but urgent question: Why is the state of Indiana giving a Christian nationalist paramilitary group access to our military bases?
Inside the Organization
To understand the risk, we must first define the ideology driving it. Christian nationalism is not merely a political stance; it is the belief that America is inherently a Christian nation and that the government should enforce Christian values. National security experts increasingly flag it as a domestic threat due to its potential to justify extra-legal violence and undermine democratic institutions.
CATT describes itself as providing “multi-disciplinary resiliency training” to public, private, and academic sectors. But the name itself signals its identity. “Crusader” is not a subtle choice—it is a deliberate nod to medieval religious wars, serving as a rallying cry for modern Christian nationalism.
The organization operates through several branches: civilian tactical training for private citizens, special operations training for military and law enforcement personnel, and international travel training for those seeking preparation for global instability. Their offerings include a “CATT Certified Academy” with “CATT Watch” services for homeowners’ associations, “CATT Marksman” precision shooting programs, and training in surveillance and active shooter response.
Operating under the motto “Protect the House” and the philosophy “Complacency Kills, Don’t Die Stupid,” CATT insists that “the 1st Responder is YOU.” This is not a neutral security contractor. It is a paramilitary organization with a distinct religious and ideological identity, actively seeking to embed itself in communities and institutions. Thanks to a state-sponsored partnership, it already has the keys to our military bases.
The Pipeline to Our Military Bases
So how did CATT gain this access? A strategic partnership.
[Enter the National Center for Complex Operations]
The NCCO is a state-level entity designed to streamline access to Indiana’s defense assets for private industry and public sector entities. In plain English, it serves as a concierge service connecting private companies to military facilities. The NCCO is sponsored by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation—the state’s principal economic development arm—and hosted by the Sagamore Institute, a nonpartisan think tank based in Indianapolis.
Holding the strategic partnership with the NCCO is CATT FORCE–a for-profit LLC registered to Kevin and Sheila Presnell in Morgantown. CATT FORCE describes itself as operating an industrial park at Jefferson Proving Ground, offering commercial rental buildings and land for defense contractors and academia to use for manufacturing and assembly.
But this partnership extends far beyond office space. CATT FORCE is capitalizing on its NCCO connection to sell access to taxpayer-funded military installations through its civilian training programs.
Consider what these facilities are. Camp Atterbury is a federally owned, 34,000-acre military post operated by the Indiana National Guard, complete with live-fire ranges and air-to-ground combat capabilities. Muscatatuck is the Department of Defense’s largest urban training facility—a “real city” with two hundred buildings and a man-made reservoir, designed specifically for urban warfare training. These facilities cost taxpayers billions to build and maintain.
Yet CATT’s website openly advertises “one-of-a-kind, one-stop-shop resiliency training” at these multi-billion-dollar venues, dividing its offerings into two platforms: a SPECOPS program “Under the Wire” for special operations, law enforcement, and military personnel, and a “1st Response“ program “Behind the Wire“ for civilians on installations “normally restricted from Civilian use.” CATT boasts of “OVER 100,000 ACRES OF AVAILABLE TRAINING FACILITIES”—a direct result of its NCCO partnership.
Hoosiers are left wondering who approved this arrangement, who is watching the store, and why a group with a Christian nationalist identity is getting access to our bases to train civilians “Behind the Wire.”
The Real Cost of Access
Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck are not commercial venues; they are critical national security assets. By allowing a group rooted in Christian nationalism to operate “Behind the Wire,” the state is doing more than renting out space—it is legitimizing an organization with a partisan, religious agenda. This mirrors a broader pattern in Indiana, where Governor Mike Braun has facilitated the entry of ideological actors like Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA into public schools. In both cases, state resources are leveraged to empower groups seeking to reshape society according to specific theological visions.
Supporters of the NCCO-CATT partnership will argue this is simply effective economic development: attracting defense-related business, creating jobs, and upskilling the workforce. They may contend that denying access would be discriminatory or bad for business.
But these are not office parks. They are military installations designed for national defense, not private profit. The question is not whether Indiana should attract business, but whether the state should grant any private group, especially one with a paramilitary identity—unfettered access to facilities built to protect the nation. This is not about discrimination; it is about the responsible stewardship of public resources.
Currently, there is no clear answer to who signed off on this deal, what vetting process CATT underwent, or whether the Indiana National Guard and Department of Defense were fully consulted. Without transparency, Hoosiers have every right to worry that the drive for economic growth has steamrolled the state’s duty to secure its own borders. Until oversight mechanisms are clarified, the public deserves to know exactly who is training on their tax-funded bases and why.
NEXT IN THIS SERIES: PART TWO — THE NETWORK
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