(The Hill) — The National Guard is building a “quick reaction force” of some 23,500 troops trained in crowd control and civil disturbance that can be ready to deploy to U.S. cities by early next year, according to a leaked memo reported by multiple outlets Wednesday.

The Oct. 8 memo, signed by National Guard Bureau Director of Operations Maj. Gen. Ronald Burkett, orders the Guard from nearly every U.S. state, Puerto Rico and Guam to train 500 service members. States with smaller populations, such as Delaware, will have 250 troops in their forces, while Alaska will have 350, and Guam will have 100, Task & Purpose reported.

A previous Pentagon memo issued in September, and revealed by The Guardian, had mandated that the Washington, D.C., National Guard create a “specialized military police

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