Overview
- Leaked documents propose a 600-soldier quick-reaction unit split into 300-person hubs in Alabama and Arizona to deploy within an hour to civil disturbances.
- The framework relies on Title 32 status to enable governors to retain command while granting troops broader law enforcement powers under federal funding.
- Documents marked 'predecisional' are dated late July and early August and project fiscal 2027 as the earliest date for traditional Pentagon budget funding.
- Projections estimate costs could reach hundreds of millions if military aircraft and crews are kept on continuous alert, with commercial airlift cited as a cheaper alternative.
- Legal scholars and state leaders caution that standing domestic deployments risk eroding Posse Comitatus constraints and provoking state-federal conflicts over National Guard authority.