To respond to migrants, Florida sought weapons training for special State Guard unit

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A select group of volunteers expected to help Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis intercept migrants at sea gathered at a Panhandle combat training facility this fall for lessons on how to use rifles and pistols, treat “massive hemorrhages” and practice “aerial gunnery.” The training sessions, authorized this summer following a surge in migrant arrivals by boat to the Keys, mostly from Cuba and Haiti, were for a specialized unit of the Florida State Guard, revived last year by the Florida Legislature. The unit that received the training has the power to make arrests and carry weapons...