By JAKE POTTER

Good news for Whiteville residents—the local National Guard battalion’s more “on guard” than ever before.

Whiteville-based Company B of the N.C. National Guard’s 120th Combined Arms Battalion currently is going through its annual two-week training course, but this year’s exercises might lead to the battalion being designated as a “rapid reaction force.”

Rapid reaction force units are designed to deploy quickly in emergency situations, such as the Hurricane Katrina aftermath in the Gulf Coast, said Lt. Jennifer Martin of the Rapid Reaction Force public affairs office.

“We can get a call and within 24 hours, we’re ready to go,” she said. “We can deploy anywhere in the country.”

The concept is new to this state—in fact, only one North Carolina-based National Guard unit, the 113th Brigade of Greensboro, has been designated as a rapid reaction force before, having done so last year.

“The National Guard Bureau has said that every state needs to develop one,” Martin said.

Lt. Col. Allen Boyette, who oversees the 120th Battalion, which covers much of Southeastern North Carolina, said the designation serves to bolster local authorities’ manpower and capabilities.

“If there was an issue that came up and local authorities needed us, we would be one of the first units to go,” he said.

Lt. Edward Thomas noted that the National Guard’s specific event training and procedural differences from local authorities makes the rapid reaction force a vital complement to traditional relief efforts or disaster units.

“Our main focus is to help out local law enforcement where it’s needed,” he said.

Company B still has to get certified, so members have been participating in several drills during the past two weeks.

“Last week they learned everything from convoy procedures to setting up checkpoints to riot control,” Martin said. “Last week was more instructional, and this week they have been doing mock exercises.”

The state grades each unit’s performance in drills to consider the unit for rapid reaction force certification.

“They will have what is called an after-action review, saying ‘These are the things you did well, and these are some things you could do better,’” Martin said.

Thomas emphasized the National Guard’s commitment to homeland protection, noting that Guard troops are “just like you and me.

“The Guard, by nature, is real low to the ground in that we’re all everyday citizens,” he said. “It’s home-based. This is our family.”