Charles van Heck's Woodhull Journal

11 November has traditionally been a day of reflection for me. This is the day I pause to remember the end of the First World War, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Three classical music pieces express my sentiments about this day: Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, Edward Elgar’s “Nimrod” from his Enigma Variations, and the War Requiem, Op. 66, composed in 1961-1962 by Benjamin Britten, speak to the enormous loss of human life in wartime.  “The Lark Ascending” captures for me, as someone once said of the piece, “Pain and sorrow contrasting with hope and freedom.”

As Remembrance Day, renamed to Veterans Day in the States in 1954, approaches, I find myself wondering who is protecting the Republic. What does the Oath of Enlistment (for the enlisted) and the Oath of Office (for Officers) mean today? What do these oaths mean to their Commander-in-Chief?    

A disturbing order signed by Major General Ronald Burkett, operations director for the National Guard, came to public attention in October. The order, issued in a series of memos, directs that Guard members in each state be trained for a “quick reaction force” for deployment to quell civil disturbances and rioting in American cities.

Who will distinguish between civil disturbance and civil, peaceful demonstrations? What, to their mind, will determine the difference?

Burkett’s order is a follow-up to the Trumpian vision of a “muscular” role for the military. The vision was laid out in Executive Order 14333 of 11 August and was expanded upon on 25 August. The EO reads as follows:

“Executive Order 14333 of August 11, 2025 (Declaring a Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia), I am now ordering further actions to address the conditions described in that Executive Order.

(d)(i) The Secretary of Defense shall, subject to the availability of appropriations and applicable law, immediately create and begin training, manning, hiring, and equipping a specialized unit within the District of Columbia National Guard, subject to activation under Title 32 of the United States Code, that is dedicated to ensuring public safety and order in the Nation’s capital.  As appropriate and consistent with applicable law, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall each deputize the members of this unit to enforce Federal law.

(ii)  The Secretary of Defense shall immediately begin ensuring that each State’s Army National Guard and Air National Guard are resourced, trained, organized, and available to assist Federal, State, and local law enforcement in quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety and order whenever the circumstances necessitate, as appropriate under law.  In coordination with the respective adjutants general, the Secretary of Defense shall designate an appropriate number of each State’s trained National Guard members to be reasonably available for rapid mobilization for such purposes.  In addition, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure the availability of a standing National Guard quick reaction force that shall be resourced, trained, and available for rapid nationwide deployment. “

Secretary of Defense (or War as he prefers) Pete Hegseth said during a roundtable at the White House two weeks ago with homeland security officials, “We’ve got a lot of different ways that, constitutionally and legally, we can employ Guard troops, and we will do so when necessary.”

The National Guard soldiers’ quick reaction forces will take an “Interservice Nonlethal Individual Weapons Instructor Course.” This training includes  “crowd management techniques,” “domestic civil disturbance training,” and “proper use of baton and body shields,” tasers, and pepper spray. The total number of active National Guard soldiers is 23,000, according to the Associated Press. The numbers vary from state to state, but the average number is 500 members. This specialized quick reaction force will deploy a fourth of its troops within eight hours. The remaining soldiers will deploy within one day.

The quick reaction force will be operational by 1 January 2026.

I cannot help but wonder what those who sacrificed their lives during the First World War, and their sons and daughters in the Second World War, whose souls ascended to heaven like larks, would think of these orders, and the government (any government) that prepares to turn on their citizens, violating civil rights and liberties, and human rights to maintain personal power.

Ralph Vaughan Williams: “The Lark Ascending” with Arabella Steinbacher | NDR Radiophilharmonie

Photograph: A color photograph of Allied soldiers on a battlefield on the Western Front. This image was taken using the Paget process, an early experiment in color photography.

Source: James Francis Hurley / State Library of New South Wales

               The Atlantic, April 27, 2014