Arizona military bases to host new National Guard troops trained to quell civil unrest

Arizona military bases will host a large part of a new National Guard force designed to quell civil unrest.

According to Pentagon documents reviewed by the Washington Post, the Trump administration is developing a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” to combat domestic disturbances.

In Arizona, that means 300 troops will be on standby at all times with jurisdiction west of the Mississippi River. Another 300 will be ready in Alabama with jurisdiction of the eastern part of the country.

The first 100 of either the western or eastern set of troops will be ready to deploy within an hour, and the next waves of troops would be ready in either two or 12 hours’ notice, or immediately if they’re on high alert.

More documents from the Pentagon reviewed by the Post this month detail a similar but much larger effort to train 23,500 troops across all 53 states and territories to stop civil disturbances.

Most states will be required to train at least 500 National Guard Members for that effort.

Those troops are expected to be operational by Jan. 1. The troops will be outfitted with weapons and riot gear.

The documents mention that instead of using military aviation to transport the troops, it may be better to contract with an airline and deploy troops from the Phoenix and Atlanta airports.

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs said she’s aware of the plan and is looking into what it means for Arizona.

Hobbs said she’s not sure what the Trump administration hopes to accomplish with their new National Guard forces.

“We’re still in conversation to see, like, what our requirements are to comply versus flexibility to comply,” she said.

Hobbs also noted that the National Guard is already prepared to respond to emergencies.

“I’m not sure what the president’s intent is with this new direction,” she said.

The plan follows an order from the White House sent out in August.

“The Secretary of Defense shall immediately begin ensuring that each State’s Army National Guard and Air National Guard are resourced, trained, organized, and available to assist Federal, State, and local law enforcement in quelling civil disturbances,” the president ordered. “The Secretary of Defense shall designate an appropriate number of each State’s trained National Guard members to be reasonably available for rapid mobilization for such purposes. In addition, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure the availability of a standing National Guard quick reaction force that shall be resourced, trained, and available for rapid nationwide deployment.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

National Guard Reaction Forces are not new. They are generally equipped to respond rapidly to emergencies like natural disasters or terrorism events.