Navy Veterans Join Forces to Sound the Alarm on Trump’s Military Plot

In a development that has sent shockwaves through both military and civilian circles, the Pentagon has ordered the National Guard to establish quick reaction forces in every state and U.S. territory. Designed to respond rapidly to riots and civil unrest, these units—comprising up to 500 soldiers each—are being trained in crowd control, detainee handling, and the use of non-lethal weapons such as batons, stun guns, and body shields.

For some, this move is a prudent step in maintaining order during turbulent times. But for a growing coalition of Navy veterans and former military officers, it’s a red flag—an alarming sign of a regime intent on normalizing the presence of armed soldiers in American streets.

Trump’s Bold Assertions

The news broke the same day that former President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, declared that courts would not stop him from deploying troops against U.S. citizens. “If I want to enact a certain act, I’m allowed to do it routinely, and I’d be allowed to do whatever I want,” Trump said, doubling down on his authority to send the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines wherever he chooses. “Nobody would get involved and I could send anybody I wanted.”

Such statements have fueled concerns that the militarization of America’s streets is not just a response to unrest, but a deliberate strategy to condition the public to accept military presence as the new normal.

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The Rise of Quick Reaction Forces

According to Pentagon directives, these newly formed quick reaction forces are not just theoretical. They are being actively trained and readied for deployment at a moment’s notice. Their mission: to quell riots and suppress civil unrest, should it occur. The scope and scale of this initiative are unprecedented in recent history, raising questions about the federal government’s intentions.

Ken Harbaugh, a Navy veteran and host at the Midas Touch Network, has been sounding the alarm for months. “The Trump regime has made a decision to make armed soldiers patrolling our cities feel normal. It is not normal. This is what happens in authoritarian regimes that are afraid of their own people,” Harbaugh warned in a recent broadcast.

Targeting Blue Cities

Harbaugh and fellow veterans argue that the Trump administration’s strategy is clear: target blue cities—Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Chicago—with federal forces such as ICE and CBP, provoke conflict, and use the resulting unrest to justify further deployments of the National Guard and even active-duty military units.

“We saw that in LA already with the deployment of U.S. Marines, and we’ve seen National Guard units in DC and elsewhere,” Harbaugh said. “It’s about conditioning the public to accept this military presence in our communities. It’s also about equating Trump’s regime protection force, ICE, with the military, especially the National Guard.”

But the National Guard, as Harbaugh and others are quick to point out, is not ICE. The Guard has a centuries-long tradition of faithfulness to the Constitution, while ICE, they argue, lacks the same reflexive devotion and has developed a culture that rewards brutality.

The Last Line of Defense

The coalition of Navy veterans believes that the last line of defense against Trump’s desire to use the military against American citizens may be the governors of blue states, who still retain control over their state National Guard units.

Josh Friday, California’s Chief Service Officer and a Navy veteran now running for Lieutenant Governor, spoke with Harbaugh about the growing threat. “I don’t think that we thought that the president would overreach in the way he has,” Friday admitted. “It’s something we wake up and think about every single day because the threat is real.”

Friday recounted visiting a National Guard base outside Los Angeles after 4,000 Guardsmen were federalized. “They set up in very short order a full military operation. It was so clear to me then that if they could do it there, they could do it anywhere—and that they were going to try to.”

Since then, similar deployments have occurred in D.C., Chicago, Portland, and now there are talks about San Francisco. “They’re testing what they can get away with, what will become normalized, what we as American citizens will come to accept, what the courts will come to accept,” Friday warned.

Not the Guardsmen, But the Orders

Both Harbaugh and Friday are careful not to blame the Guardsmen themselves. “These are our neighbors. These are teachers, police officers, firefighters—people who stepped up to serve their community,” Friday said. “What the administration is doing now is playing politics with those who have served.”

He emphasized the critical role the Guard has played in disaster response and community support, especially during COVID-19 and the Palisades fires. Deploying the Guard for political reasons, Friday argued, threatens to sever the emotional bond communities have with their National Guard.

“In California especially, the National Guard is who shows up after the fires, during hurricanes, when we need them most. The way they’re being deployed in these intentionally provocative scenarios tells me that the administration wants nothing more than to create friction and division between the National Guard and the community it exists to support and defend,” Friday said.

ICE vs. The National Guard

A powerful ad campaign by veterans groups highlights the stark difference between the National Guard and ICE. Guardsmen are shown as neighbors and protectors, while ICE agents—often masked and in unmarked cars—are portrayed as regime enforcers instilling fear.

Friday stressed the need to maintain this distinction. “The Guard is made up of our neighbors—teachers, police officers, people who have stepped up to protect our community. ICE raids are not about protection; they’re about instilling fear and anxiety.”

Standing Up for Democracy

As the 2026 elections approach, veterans like Harbaugh and Friday are urging Americans to remain vigilant. They are organizing petitions and calling on fellow service members to be ready, should the National Guard be deployed for purposes beyond public safety.

“This administration’s use of the Guard has nothing to do with keeping our people safe,” Friday concluded. “We’ve got to stand up to it. People are going to lose trust, become fearful, and that doesn’t make us safer—it makes us less safe.”

As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: America’s veterans are not staying silent. They are mobilizing to defend the Constitution—and to warn the nation about the dangers of normalizing military presence in our streets.