February 01, 2021

Enough Is Enough: It's Time for National Guard Members to Go Home

By Nathalie Grogan

Last year was an unprecedented year for domestic deployments of the National Guard.

While Guardsmen were tasked all year with responding to state and federal emergencies, providing COVID-19 testing and vaccine support and augmenting law enforcement for civil unrest, perhaps their most visible mission has been providing security for the presidential inauguration.

Scenes of some of the 26,000 uniformed troops sleeping in the U.S. Capitol complex, guarding national monuments and blocking off usually busy downtown streets dominated news sites around the country and the world.

The time has come for Guardsmen to return home and take up their state mission and civilian employment.

As the Biden administration enters its third week, the threat has passed and, along with it, the need for Guardsmen outside of the District of Columbia National Guard to monitor the situation. The time has come for Guardsmen to return home and take up their state mission and civilian employment.

The mobilization of Guard members to protect the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2021, demonstrates the flexibility required and the stresses placed upon the National Guard in recent years. The dual mission of the National Guard was especially tested in the run-up to the 59th presidential inauguration due to competing threats against both the U.S. Capitol and state capitols across the country.

Read the full article from Military.com.

More from CNAS

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia