Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
military leaders have ordered National Guard to develop a “quick reaction force” of troops trained to deal with civil disturbances and riots in every state that could be ready to deploy at just a few hours’ notice, the latest sign of long-term Trump administration plans to more easily send troops onto American streets.
A set of memos circulated this month directs Guard units in all 50 states and U.S. territories except the District of Columbia to train a contingent of soldiers in a special curriculum that includes the proper use of batons, body shields, stun guns and pepper spray.
Signed by Maj. Gen. Ronald Burkett, the National Guard’s director of operations, the memo reviewed by The Associated Press gave different numbers for each state’s force — often 500 each — totaling more than 23,000 troops. memo direct WashingtonDC, to maintain a “special” military police battalion with 50 National Guard troops on active duty orders.
It moves forward with the President donald trumpA comprehensive approach to the US military’s powerful role in targeting illegal immigration and crime. He has already broken traditional boundaries by sending the National Guard into American cities, often over the objection of Democratic local leaders.
The memo, first reported by The Guardian, comes after Trump signed an executive order in August directing the Pentagon to create rapid reaction forces that “will be available for rapid nationwide deployment.” The executive order is cited by one of the officials for the memo, about which the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The National Guard has always had troops ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, but traditionally they are used to reacting quickly to natural disasters and do not receive specialized training.
According to the memorandum, the new, specialized quick reaction forces will be able to deploy a quarter of all their troops within eight hours and all troops assigned to the units will be able to deploy within a day.
During a roundtable at the White House last week with homeland security officials, the Secretary of Defense pete hegseth Asked about a memorandum detailing similar plans. Hegseth said he would not comment on “details”, but said there were “multiple layers of National Guard response forces”.
“We have several different ways, constitutionally and legally, we can deploy Guard troops, and we will do so when necessary,” Hegseth said.
While Trump has sent the National Guard to cities including Los Angeles and D.C., his efforts to deploy troops in other locations have increasingly faced legal challenges. The Trump administration is barred from sending troops to the Chicago area until at least late November following a U.S. Supreme Court order asking the parties to file additional legal information. And a federal trial seeking to block the troop deployment in Portland, Oregon began this week.
The memo, which was sent to states earlier this month, orders that each state and territory have their rapid response forces operational by January 1, 2026. To help with that goal, the units will be provided with 100 sets of crowd control equipment as well as two full-time trainers by the National Guard Bureau.
Units will also be allowed to access an additional five days of training for soldiers through the “Interservice Nonlethal Individual Weapons Instructor Course.”
According to one of the memos, the initial part of the curriculum includes topics such as “crowd management techniques,” “domestic civil disturbance training,” and “proper use of batons and body shields.” The intermediate portion focuses on the use of non-lethal weapons such as Tasers and pepper spray.
Each National Guard unit is required to update military leaders monthly on its progress in meeting this new mandate.