Specialized teams to train for possible WMD attacks

Specialized teams to train for possible WMD attacks
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, September 30, 2007

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Defense Department will train and equip more than 15,000 troops to form special teams to respond to any terrorist attack on the homeland using weapons of mass destruction, the Pentagon’s top homeland security official said.

The exact number is classified, but about 70 percent of the troops are expected to come from the National Guard and the rest are expected to be active-duty troops and activated reservists, said Paul McHale, assistant defense secretary for homeland defense.

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If troops were required to restore order, they would likely be National Guardsmen who are not part of the CCMRF teams, McHale said.

National Guardsmen who are mobilized by the state are exempt from the Posse Comitatus act, which prevents federal troops from enforcing civilian law on U.S. soil.

If for some reason the National Guard was not sufficient to restore order, additional active-duty troops could be used for law enforcement under a law commonly known as the Insurrection Act, McHale said.

However, the president would have to make a decision to use active-duty troops in such a capacity after receiving a recommendation from the attorney general, he said.


Rest of article at: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=49151