[Grovenet] US Army Brigade assigned to active duty inside USA

[David Morelli]

The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of  
the last 60 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 North, the Army service component of  
Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or  
manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.

It is not the first time an active-duty unit has been tapped to help  
at home. In August 2005, for example, when Hurricane Katrina  
unleashed hell in Mississippi and Louisiana, several active-duty  
units were pulled from various posts and mobilized to those areas.

But this new mission 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.


http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/

Is it just me, or shouldn't their duties be handled by state National  
Guard units?

David