Pentagon Directs Guard to Form Rapid Response Units

A recent directive from a senior U.S. military official mandates that National Guard units across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories establish specialized “quick reaction forces.” These units are slated for training in “riot control” techniques, encompassing the deployment of batons, body shields, Tasers, and pepper spray, according to an internal Pentagon memo reviewed by The Guardian.

The internal document, dated October 8 and signed by Maj. Gen. Ronald Burkett, who serves as the director of the Pentagon’s National Guard Bureau, outlines specific requirements for the size of these rapid deployment forces. Most states are instructed to train 500 National Guard members, contributing to a total of 23,500 troops nationwide dedicated to this new capability.

Authority and Precedent

General Burkett’s directive draws its authority from an executive order issued by former President Donald Trump in August. This order initially authorized the deployment of the Guard to address crime rates in Washington D.C. Crucially, the same executive order also tasked the Secretary of Defense with creating “a standing National Guard quick reaction force… available for rapid nationwide deployment” specifically for “quelling civil disturbances.”

The establishment of such forces raises significant questions about their potential application and the evolving role of the National Guard in domestic affairs.

Expert Concerns Over Militarized Policing

The move has drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups. Janessa Goldbeck, a former U.S. Marine Corps captain and current chief executive of the Vet Voice Foundation, a non-profit advocacy organization, expressed profound concerns. Goldbeck characterized the order as “an attempt by the president to normalize a national, militarized police force.”

Goldbeck voiced predictions that these forces could be deployed to states governed by Democratic leaders without their explicit consent. Furthermore, she warned that such units might be utilized to suppress voter turnout and disrupt the impartial operation of electoral processes. In a dire “worst-case scenario,” Goldbeck suggested, “the president could declare a state of emergency and say that elections are rigged and use allegations of voter fraud to seize the ballots of secure voting centers.”

Pentagon and White House Silence

Neither the White House nor the Pentagon provided a response to multiple inquiries for comment regarding the directive and the concerns it has raised. A spokesperson for the National Guard Bureau also declined to address specific anxieties about the potential for normalizing a national militarized police force or the hypothetical use of these forces to seize ballot boxes.

The memo indicates that the Pentagon plans to dispatch military trainers to every state and U.S. territory, including distant locations like Guam, with the explicit objective of establishing these quick reaction capabilities.

Source: The Guardian