National Guard in each state is ordered to create 'quick reaction
forces' trained in civil unrest
[October 31, 2025]
By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Military leaders have ordered the National Guard in
every state to develop a “quick reaction force” of troops trained to
deal with civil disturbances and riots that can be ready to deploy with
just hours' notice, the latest indication of longer-term Trump
administration plans to more readily dispatch soldiers to U.S. streets.
A set of memos circulated this month directs Guard units in all 50
states and U.S. territories, except for the District of Columbia, to
train a contingent of soldiers in a specialized course that includes the
proper use of batons, body shields, stun guns and pepper spray.
Signed by Major Gen. Ronald Burkett, operations director for the
National Guard, the memos reviewed by The Associated Press give various
numbers for each state's force — often 500 each — that total more than
23,000 troops in all. The memos direct Washington, D.C., to maintain a
“specialized” military police battalion with 50 National Guard soldiers
on active duty orders.
It presses forward with President Donald Trump's broader vision for a
muscular role for the U.S. military in targeting illegal immigration and
crime. He has already pushed traditional boundaries by sending the
National Guard into American cities, often over the objection of
Democratic local leaders.
The memos, reported earlier by The Guardian, come after Trump signed an
executive order in August that directed the Pentagon to create quick
reaction forces that would be “available for rapid nationwide
deployment.” The executive order is cited as one of the authorities for
the memo, about which the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
The National Guard has always had troops that were on standby to deploy
at a moment's notice, but they traditionally have been used to quickly
react to natural disasters and did not receive special training.
The new, specialized quick reaction forces will be able to deploy a
fourth of all their troops within eight hours and all of those assigned
to the units within a day, according to the memo.
During a roundtable at the White House last week with homeland security
officials, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked about a memo
detailing similar plans. Hegseth said he would not comment on the
“particulars” but went on to say that there were “multiple layers of
National Guard response forces.”
[to top of second column]
|
A member of the National Guard stands watch on Beale Street, Friday,
Oct. 24, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
“We’ve got a lot of different ways that, constitutionally and
legally, we can employ” Guard troops, and “we will do so when
necessary,” Hegseth said.
While Trump has sent the National Guard into cities including Los
Angeles and D.C., his efforts to deploy troops in other places have
faced swift legal challenges. The Trump administration is blocked
from sending troops into the Chicago area until at least the latter
half of November, following a U.S. Supreme Court order calling on
the sides to file additional legal briefs. And a federal trial
seeking to block a troop deployment in Portland, Oregon, got
underway this week.
The memos, which were sent out to the states early this month,
mandate that each state and territory have its quick reaction forces
operational by Jan. 1, 2026. To help with that goal, units will be
provided 100 sets of crowd control equipment as well as two
full-time trainers by the National Guard Bureau.
The units also will be allowed to use an additional five days of
training for soldiers to get through the “Interservice Nonlethal
Individual Weapons Instructor Course.”
According to one of the memos, the initial portion of the course
includes topics like “crowd management techniques,” “domestic civil
disturbance training,” and “proper use of baton and body shields.”
The intermediate portion focuses on the use of non-lethal weapons
like Tasers and pepper spray.
Each National Guard unit is required to update military leaders
monthly on its progress in meeting this new mandate.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
