From the Army Times comes a story of battle-hardened troops from Iraq being trained to 'help and protect' at home.
How might these troops be used with unrest (should it arise, God forbid) in the U.S.?
The 3rd Infantry Division 1st Brigade Combat Team spent 35 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys.
Now they’re training for the same mission — with a twist — at home.
Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army … Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.
.... In August 2005, during Katrina … several active-duty units were pulled from various posts and mobilized to those areas.
But this … marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities.