U.S. National Guard soldiers issue M4 rifles and live ammunition on the east side of the Capitol on Jan. 17, 2021.
The Pentagon has approved a plan that would allow 5,000 National Guard personnel to remain in Washington, D.C., indefinitely after mid-March.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved a plan to keep 7,000 National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., until March 12, according to the U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes. After that date, 5,000 troops will be retained indefinitely.
Also according to an email from Robert Salesses, deputy assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, to WTTG-TV (FOX5 DC), the National Security Council (NSC) will meet with the Defense Department and Capitol Police at next Wednesday’s (Feb. 17) agency meeting on post-March 12 defense planning.
“We need to determine the number of National Guard personnel that can be maintained in Washington, D.C., on a long-term basis and continue through at least the fall of 2021.” Salesses wrote, “We also need to understand other options for providing DoD support, including the use of reservists and active duty personnel.”
On Monday (Feb. 8), chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the cost of keeping the National Guard at the Capitol would amount to $483 million as of March 15, with $284 million to cover personnel costs and $199 million to cover operational costs.
Following the Jan. 6 storming of Congress, thousands of National Guard personnel were stationed in Washington, D.C., where authorities claimed to be guarding the inauguration of the 46th president, Joe Biden. on Jan. 20, more than 26,000 soldiers were on duty in D.C. But after Jan. 6, there were no reported security incidents involving the National Guard, and only three arrests were made in Washington, D.C., on Inauguration Day.
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