Pentagon to Create Rapid Response Units to Contain Disturbances in the U.S.

The Pentagon has ordered the National Guard in all 50 states and four territories to form rapid response units that can be deployed on demand to contain civil disturbances within the United States. These units will be equipped with batons, body shields, Taser guns, and pepper spray.

An internal memorandum published by The Guardian, dated October 8th and signed by Major General Ronald Burkett, Director of Operations of the Pentagon's National Guard Bureau, orders the training of approximately 500 soldiers per state, for a total of 27,000 personnel nationwide.

The memorandum states that the Department of the Army, under Secretary Pete Hegseth, will deploy military instructors to all states and territories to ensure the program is "operational" by January 1, 2026.

Each jurisdiction will also receive "100 crowd control equipment sets to meet this requirement." The document affirms that troops will be trained in how to "form a squad-sized riot control formation," use a baton and a riot shield, and "supervise a riot/crowd control operation," as well as in de-escalation techniques.

They are expected to report monthly to the Pentagon on their progress.

These instructions fulfill an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in August, which urged Hegseth to ensure that "the Army National Guard and Air National Guard of each state have the necessary resources, training, organization, and availability to assist federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in quelling civil disturbances and ensuring public safety and order whenever circumstances require."

Trump's order also specifically directed the secretary to "ensure the availability of a standing National Guard rapid reaction force with the necessary resources, training, and availability for rapid deployment nationwide."

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, commenting on the October memorandum, stated: "The president has lawfully deployed the National Guard in several cities, either in response to violent riots that local leaders have refused to quell, or by invitation to assist local law enforcement as appropriate.

"President Trump and his entire administration are working to make America a safe country again. The excellent results in cities like Memphis and Washington, D.C., where crime has decreased significantly following the deployment of the National Guard, refute all the unfounded alarmism and lies."

But not everyone is reassured. Janessa Goldbeck, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and CEO of the Vet Voice Foundation, told The Guardian that the order represented "an attempt by the president to normalize a militarized national police force."

Goldbeck warned that such forces could be used in states with Democratic governors without their permission or even deployed to suppress voter participation in elections.

"The president could declare a state of emergency and say the elections are rigged and use allegations of voter fraud to seize ballots from secure polling centers," she said, describing a worst-case scenario.

Trump has already deployed the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., this year to assist local law enforcement in combating urban crime, despite official statistics suggesting such a measure was unnecessary. He has since attempted to do the same in other Democrat-led cities like Chicago and Portland, Oregon, only to face obstacles in the courts.