The Pentagon began activating thousands of National Guard and Reserve troops across the nation Monday, as military commanders briefed President Bush on plans for the mobilization he called “a strong symbol of this nation’s resolve.”
Bush said the first wave of guardsmen and reservists would help in cleanup operations from last week’s terrorist attacks and in securing the nation’s borders by flying combat air patrols over New York City and Washington, inspecting ships entering major harbors, and serving as police at military bases and airfields.
Over the weekend, the armed services began placing on heightened alert some of their fastest-deploying active-duty units. Among them were troops from the Army’s 18th Airborne Corps, which includes the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C.; the 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, Ga.; and the 10th Mountain Division at Ft. Drum, N.Y.
Over the past two days, three guided-missile cruisers have been dispatched from a Navy base at Yokusuka, Japan, to secret destinations. And on Wednesday, the Theodore Roosevelt carrier battle group, accompanied by a dozen warships, and the Bataan amphibious ready group, carrying hundreds of Marines, is to sail from Norfolk, Va., to the Mediterranean or the Persian Gulf, Pentagon officials said.
In addition, the Pentagon has begun bolstering the nation’s arsenals for sustained warfare.