It's true you can't do much with a few hundred soldiers controlling a country this size, in actual military situations, but you can control communications, railroads, electrical grids, pipelines, and major highways and bridges. It wouldn't take much more than a few men to stop rail traffic, by manning the control centers. The satellite uplinks for the major TV and radio networks, internet could be seized with a small group. Many parts of this country would be cold, dark and hungry in short order. After a week or so after some manufactured or coincidental emergency, hungry, cold, sick and disorganized people could be loaded into FEMA busses for short ride to an aid station to get food, medical attention, a hot shower, and a bunk. Sorry, you can't bring any of your emergency gear with you, as space is limited. Don't forget your papers.
As Hillary Clinton said recently, "Never waste a good crisis"
http://conservativemeanderings.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/alinsky-fan-clinton-tells-europeans-never-waste-a-good-crisis/The small size of the group is just another trick anyway. The whole idea is just to get it formed. Once it exists it can be fed money and men under the table and can grow to any size they need. You know the story about the camel getting into the tent. He just puts his nose under the tent and then when he's not stopped, it's his head, then his neck, his front legs. Then you see you really have a problem: too late.
This whole idea is wrong on so many levels. It is ripe for abuse. One man's "emergency team' is another's goon squad or Praetorian Guard.