The National Guard was supposed to be in D.C. to protect the Capitol Building following the January 6 riots. Then, many were asked to stay following the inauguration of President Biden.
Now, three months later, there are still countless troops still present. There have been countless “missions” being requested of the National Guard, and the requests are growing tiresome.
Guard officials are losing their patience. They want the Guardsmen to go home, where they can finally go back to their families and to their day-to-day jobs. It has even led to some of the recurring requests to protect D.C. to be denied.
Defense officials have said that the Army only approved a quarter of the requests made by city officials for Guard troops to secure various areas. They were asked to provide security due to the possibility of unrest following the verdict of Police Officer Derek Chauvin along with many others.
It seems that D.C. officials have grown too dependent on the National Guard. The city had initially asked for 1,000 troops. The acting Army Secretary John Whitley only approved 250 to be deployed.
Whitley has been dealing with countless requests over the past few months. This includes one where city officials asked for six teams to monitor Metro stops and to serve in the capacity of traffic checkpoints.
The request for such troops around the city was signed off on by the Director of D.C.’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, Christopher Rodriguez. The request sent by Rodriguez identified that there was the potential for First Amendment demonstrations and that they would be congruent with demonstrations that occurred in 202 where DC “saw a large influx of participants and general disorder and criminal activity.”
Hmmm, isn’t it funny how suddenly D.C. feels comfortable with asking for help from the National Guard? In 2020, Trump offered such help to blue cities across the country so that there would be an end to the rioting.
Why not use the police? Oh, right – the police are the enemy.
The requests are being met with frustration. Guard officials and the Department of Defense don’t want to be using troops for any and every need in D.C. These troops need to be used in times of need and crisis, not simply because D.C. is terrified of a few “First Amendment demonstrations.”
If they were truly as fearful as they claim, they could choose to come forward and condemn them. They could tell liberal members of Congress to condemn the riots, too.
But, they won’t.
Yet, it’s time that D.C. figures out how to do things on their own. Guard officials have said that the city needs to seek the support of federal law enforcement agencies. They’re done. They’re out. And now that the verdict has been reached on Chauvin’s case, there’s no reason why troops need to be in D.C. at all.
It’s expensive. It’s a burden to every troop. And the missions are getting more and more ridiculous. It’s time that D.C. bears the burden on their own instead of costing the Department of Defense millions of dollars because they’re scared that their progressive decisions put them at risk of violence and rioting in the streets.
The city officials who keep asking for the troops don’t even know how to offer a decent environment. Following the January 6 riots, Guard members were treated with overcrowding, insufficient sleeping quarters, stale food, and more.
States across the country have pulled their troops. No one wants to help D.C. anymore because they’re not looking to help themselves.
Even as the Pentagon managed to get some states to commit to extending the presence of troops for another month back in March, there was reluctance. Now, there will be no more extensions.
Defense officials have stated that there are funding issues and long-term commitments aren’t possible without Guard units having to give up previously made commitments.
Employers don’t want to offer extended periods of time off to Guard troops, either.
D.C. city officials have to get the message: Troops are out.
