{"id":48478,"date":"2021-01-30T00:48:10","date_gmt":"2021-01-30T00:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/01\/30\/secdef-austin-visits-troops-standing-watch-at-the-locked-down-us-capitol\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:10:09","slug":"secdef-austin-visits-troops-standing-watch-at-the-locked-down-us-capitol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/01\/30\/secdef-austin-visits-troops-standing-watch-at-the-locked-down-us-capitol\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin visits troops standing watch at the locked-down US Capitol"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Three weeks after a group of pro-Trump protestors stormed the Capitol, there are thousands of National Guardsmen<\/a> protecting a barricaded Capitol Hill. On Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited with some of those troops, bumping fists and asking how everything is going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A contingent of 7,000 Guardsmen<\/a> is expected to stay in and around the Capitol through February, with 5,000 scheduled to stay through mid-March<\/a>. D.C. National Guard troops are expected to remain on orders until the end of March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just wanted to come out here and talk to you and see how things were going,\u201d Austin told a group of Task Force Capitol staff. \u201cLet me say up front that I\u2019m absolutely grateful for your service and your professionalism, your commitment. Your country\u2019s grateful, and certainly our lawmakers here, who are doing the business of our government, are really, really grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accompanied by Army Brig. Gen. Janeen Birckhead, the task force\u2019s commander, and Army Maj. Gen. William Walker, D.C.\u2019s adjutant general, Austin walked a line of guardsmen posted along Constitution Avenue, including soldiers from Maine, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kansas, Georgia, California, Minnesota, Maryland and the District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the soldiers had been activated multiple times over the past year, including Michigan Guardsmen who were on protest duty in Kenosha after the shooting of Jacob Blake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just want to say thanks for what you\u2019re doing. Really appreciate you leaving home, and family, to come out here and help us defend the Capitol,\u201d Austin told one soldier from Michigan. \u201cStay alert, take care of yourself. If you need something, don\u2019t hesitate to let your chain of command know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Austin asked the soldiers about their lives back home, what they do for a living, whether they left behind spouses and children and how they spend their free time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One was a car salesman with a fianc\u00e9, another a student studying criminal justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know it\u2019s a little chilly out here,\u201d Austin told a group of soldiers, standing watch with an 18-degree wind chill. \u201cI know we\u2019re going to do the right thing to take care of you, so make sure you talk to your chain of command if you need anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports of poor conditions have circulated since 26,000 Guardsmen began streaming into Washington ahead of President Joe Biden\u2019s inauguration, including tales of 24-hour shifts, lack of hot meals and cramped conditions in hallways and a parking garage for breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\t