The new military units announced by the Department of Defense are aimed at responding to domestic security emergencies.

The Department of Defense has announced plans to establish additional military units to respond to domestic security emergencies, and Maine will play a major role.

Under the plan, the Maine National Guard will provide the command and control unit to oversee 170 soldiers from across New England trained to respond to everything from a biological weapons attack to a natural disaster that involves major chemical contaminants.

General Bill Libby commands Maine's National Guard. "There needs to be a reponse capability to assist local and state authorities, in particular when they're dealing with chemical, biological, radiological and high explosive events," he says.

The Maine-led unit will work with another one based in Massachusetts. Libby says the plan calls for the new unit to be operating in 2012.