The Trump administration is looking at plans to create a quick response team made up of National Guard troops. These troops would be ready to move into American cities during protests or other unrest. The plan was found in internal Pentagon documents that The Washington Post reviewed.
The proposal would put 600 troops on standby at all times. They could be sent out in as little as one hour. The troops would be split into two groups of 300 each. One group would be based in Alabama and the other in Arizona. The Alabama group would cover areas east of the Mississippi River, while the Arizona group would handle the west.
Pentagon documents show that officials are planning what they call a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force.” The documents explain that this force would be made up of hundreds of National Guard troops. They would be trained to quickly move into cities facing civil unrest.
Cost could reach hundreds of millions of dollars
The cost of this program could be very high. The documents show it might cost hundreds of millions of dollars if military aircraft and crews are kept ready around the clock. Using commercial airlines to move troops would cost less money, according to the papers.
The documents are marked as predecisional, which means no final choice has been made yet. National Guard officials put together these papers. The time stamps on them go back to late July and early August. The earliest this program could start through normal Pentagon budget processes would be fiscal year 2027.
It is not clear if Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has seen this proposal yet. Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson said the Defense Department regularly looks at how it would respond to different situations around the world. She said the Pentagon would not discuss plans that were leaked through documents.
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Most National Guard units already have fast response teams for use in their own states. But this new plan would move troops from one state to another. This is different from how the National Guard normally works.
The National Guard tested a similar idea before the 2020 election. They put 600 troops on alert in Arizona and Alabama as the country prepared for possible political violence. This test came after months of protests across the country following the police murder of George Floyd, which even saw surreal moments like Batman and Joker appearing at demonstrations.
Trump has used the military for domestic purposes more than most presidents, despite his own lack of military service. On Monday, he approved sending 800 D.C. National Guard troops to Washington to help with law enforcement. He said this was needed to fight violent crime, but D.C. police data shows such crimes are actually going down. The city’s mayor called the move troubling and without precedent.
Earlier this year, Trump sent more than 5,000 National Guard members and active duty Marines to the Los Angeles area. California’s governor and other Democrats opposed this move. Administration officials said it was needed to protect federal workers and property during protests against Trump’s immigration policies.
Some legal experts are worried about this plan. Joseph Nunn from the Brennan Center for Justice said the Trump administration is using a weak legal theory. He warned against making military help in law enforcement seem normal.
Lindsay Cohn, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College, said this plan is strange because nothing major is happening right now. Crime is going down and there are no big protests or civil problems. She said there is little evidence that anything big will happen soon.
