The Nation - News from Oct. 25, 1987

For the first time, special presidential powers were tapped this weekend to test how fast National Guard and military Reserve units can respond to a national emergency, a Pentagon spokeswoman said. The mobilization of 20,000 people in more than 100 units of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard reserves began at noon Friday. “We want to find out how quickly we can notify members,” the Pentagon’s Jan Bodanyi said. She stressed that the call-up was “not related to current events” in the Persian Gulf or anywhere else in the world. Under federal law, the President has the authority to call to federal duty up to 200,000 military reservists and National Guard personnel without a declaration of a national emergency, she said.