WASHINGTON (AP) — Military leaders ordered National Guard The latest sign of a protracted Trump administration is for every state to develop military “rapid response forces” trained to respond to civil unrest and riots that can be deployed with just a few hours’ notice. Plans to deploy troops more quickly To the streets of America.
A series of memos circulated this month directs Guard troops in all 50 states and U.S. territories, except: District of Columbiatrain a detachment of soldiers with specialized courses that include the proper use of batons, body shields, stun guns, and pepper spray.
The memo, signed by Maj. Gen. Ronald Burkett, the National Guard’s director of operations, and seen by The Associated Press, gives varying numbers for each state’s troop strength, often 500 each, for a total strength of more than 23,000. The memo directs Washington, D.C., to maintain a 50-man “professional” military police battalion. national guard soldier On active duty orders.
It advances President Donald Trump’s broader vision. The powerful role of the US military It targets illegal immigrants and crime. he already Pushing the boundaries of conventional By sending the National Guard into American cities, often over the objections of local Democratic leaders.
The memo, first reported by the Guardian, was created after President Trump signed it. presidential order In August, he directed the Pentagon to create a rapid response force “available for rapid nationwide deployment.” The executive order is listed as one of the memo’s powers, but the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the memo.
The National Guard has troops on standby at all times, but it has traditionally been used to quickly respond to natural disasters and has no special training.
The new specialized rapid response force can deploy a quarter of its total force within eight hours and all units assigned to the unit within a day, according to the memo.
At a roundtable with homeland security officials last week at the White House, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth He was asked about a memo detailing similar plans. Hegseth would not comment on “details” but said there is a “multi-layered National Guard response force.”
“There are a lot of different ways constitutionally and legally to hire the Guard,” Hegseth said. “We will hire them as needed.”
While Trump sent National Guard troops move into cities including Los Angeles and his efforts to deploy troops elsewhere in Washington, D.C., quickly faced legal challenges. The Trump administration will be blocked from sending troops to the Chicago area until at least late November after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered both sides to submit additional legal briefs. and federal trial Trying to prevent military deployment to Portland, Oregon. I left this week.
The memo, sent to states earlier this month, requires each state and territory to activate a rapid response force by January 1, 2026. To support this goal, the National Guard Bureau will provide each unit with 100 sets of crowd control equipment and two full-time trainers.
The unit will also be allowed an additional five days of training for soldiers to complete the Inter-Service Non-Lethal Personal Weapons Instructor Course.
According to one of the notes, the first part of the course includes topics such as “Crowd Control Techniques,” “Domestic Insurrection Training,” and “Proper Use of Batons and Body Shields.” The middle section will focus on the use of non-lethal weapons such as Tasers and pepper spray.
Each National Guard unit is required to report monthly to military leaders on their progress toward accomplishing this new mission.
