According to sources, National Guard troops might be stationed in two states and serve as a quick reaction force to respond to protests in U.S. cities.
1 of 4 | Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reviewed documents discussing the possible creation of a quick reaction military force that would respond to civil unrest in the United States, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo
Hundreds of National Guard troops might be stationed in two states and serve as a quick reaction force that could respond to riots and other civil unrest in U.S. cities.
Pentagon officials have created preliminary plans that would place 300 National Guard troops at a base in Arizona and another 300 at a base in Alabama, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
Each would serve as a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” to quell violence during protests, riots and other forms of civil unrest, according to Pentagon documents that The Washington Post reviewed.
The units would be capable of deploying within an hour, with Arizona troops responding to unrest in locations west of the Mississippi River and the Alabama troops to locations east of the river.
Its costs could reach hundreds of millions if military aircraft and their crews are part of the reaction force, but using commercial air services would reduce those costs, according to the Pentagon documents.
If the Trump administration approves the creation of such a force, it would be able to move troops among states instead of relying on National Guard troops from each respective state.
The quick reaction force would not become active until 2027.
When asked for comment, an unnamed Pentagon official called the Defense Department a “planning organization” that “routinely reviews how the department would respond to a variety of contingencies around the globe,” Fox News reported.
“We will not discuss these plans through leaked documents, pre-decisional or otherwise,” the official said.
The documents were prepared by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to Fox News.
Reports of the potential quick reaction force were made after Trump on Monday deployed 800 National Guard troops to Washington after declaring a crime emergency in the nation’s capital, despite the fact that crime has gone down in recent years there.
He earlier deployed 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles to protect federal buildings and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while they enforced federal immigration laws there in June.
The president also deployed thousands of troops to the nation’s southern border to deter illegal crossings.
