The Pentagon is ordering the National Guard in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. to form "quick reaction forces" to prepare and train for "quelling civil disturbances," according to an internal memo obtained by CBS News.

Washington

The Pentagon has ordered National Guard units across all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and territories to create Quick Reaction Forces capable of rapid deployment for quelling civil disturbances. According to an internal memo, these forces will be trained in riot control tactics and equipped with batons, shields, tasers, and pepper spray, with a nationwide total of nearly 24,000 soldiers expected to be ready.

The directive, signed by Major General Ronald Burkett, requires a quarter of each force to be deployable within eight hours and all members within a day. While such forces have been used in the past, this move institutionalizes them as a permanent, federally coordinated resource, raising constitutional questions and likely legal challenges regarding the use of military personnel in domestic law enforcement roles.

What to know about Trump admin plans to form "quick reaction forces"

We begin tonight with orders from the Pentagon for the National Guards in all 50 states and Washington D.C. to form Quick Reaction Forces. According to an internal memo obtained by CBS News, the goal is to ensure guards are readily prepared and trained in, quote, quelling civil disturbances. Homeland Security Correspondent Nicole Skanga joins me now to explain. Nicole, let's start with what exactly these Quick Reaction Forces would actually be. Yeah, Maurice, a top U.S. official in the military ordered the National Guard, like you said, in all 50 states, also D.C. and U.S. territories, to form Quick Reaction Forces that would be available for rapid deployment nationwide. Their purpose would be to quell civil disturbances, and they'll be trained in riot control, including deployment of batons, body shield, tasers, and pepper spray, according to these internal Pentagon memos. Major General Ronald Burkett, who's director of operations for the Pentagon's National Guard Bureau, signed the memo on October 8th, and it instructs states to make these units fully operational by January 1st. Each state has to train hundreds of guard members for a nationwide total of nearly 24,000 soldiers. A quarter of each force has to be ready to deploy and get this just eight hours, and all of them within a day. Now, we should note that Quick Reactionary Forces aren't exactly new. We saw them deploy, for instance, after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. But this move institutionalizes them as a more permanent fixture, federally coordinated domestic deployment, and critics warn it further blurs that line between military and police on American streets. And, Nicole, they're supposed to be used for, quote-unquote, civil unrest. What exactly does that mean? Is there some kind of legal threshold for that? Yeah, I mean, the directive hinges on the same executive order that President Trump signed back in August when he declared a crime emergency in Washington, D.C. That being said, as one source put it to me, this is sort of blue-sky territory. We're sort of in a legal gray zone, and governors can activate guard troops for civil disturbances or public safety emergencies, which include riots, protests that turn violent, major disruptions to public order, what the governor deems a threat to life, property or law enforcement operations. But if the guard's federalized by the president, it can really only be deployed when ordinary law enforcement can't restore order, or when federal law is being obstructed. Using the guard in riot control roles under federal command outside of the Insurrection Act raises serious constitutional questions. We can expect legal challenges. Yes, it could end up in the courts. OK, Nicole Skanga, thank you so much.

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