At the same time, another two divisions\u2019 worth of troops \u2014 23,000 soldiers and airmen, to be precise \u2014 were donning their masks and other protective equipment to continue the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And yet another 34,300 National Guard troops, the equivalent of another three divisions, woke up that day deployed overseas, guarding the southwest border, or otherwise mobilized under Title 10 federal authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In sum, 92,000 National Guard members were activated on Jan. 20. By comparison, only six divisions totaling 73,000<\/a> American soldiers landed in France on D-Day, June 6, 1944.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And much like how the Allied assault waves kept coming into the Normandy beaches that day, the activations have kept coming for the National Guard over the past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though many of the troops activated on Jan. 20 have since gone home, the high operational tempo won\u2019t let up any time soon for the Guard\u2019s 441,000 soldiers and airmen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fears of continued unrest<\/a> will keep more than 5,000 Guard troops on duty in Washington D.C. through at least mid-March, including the entirety of the D.C. National Guard, according to an orders memorandum obtained by Military Times. The DCNG will be on duty through March 31, officials say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Department of Homeland Security also issued a threat bulletin<\/a> Wednesday morning that warned of a heightened threat from \u201cideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition.\u201d Any domestic terror attacks stemming from such groups would likely necessitate a National Guard response in some form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, the number of Guard troops committed to the COVID-19 response stands to increase in the coming months as states mobilize additional troops to implement Biden\u2019s official COVID-19 response strategy<\/a>, which highlights the Guard as a key resource for governors. As part of the strategy, Biden increased the federal reimbursement to the states for pandemic-related Guard activations to 100 percent after the Trump administration had previously reduced it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the onset of the pandemic, when the federal government was fully reimbursing the effort, the number of guardsmen fighting COVID-19 peaked at 47,100 in mid-May, according to NGB data. It\u2019s not immediately clear whether a surge in activations for vaccine distribution and administration would eclipse the previous peak, but experts around the country<\/a> are calling for their role to increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The National Guard isn\u2019t going home any time soon. And its leaders are starting to worry about the potential impact of this operational strain on the troops, their families, and their employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Possible retention impact<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n One senior leader who has publicly expressed concern about the recent pace of activations is Maj. Gen. James Eifert, the adjutant general of the Florida National Guard. He testified Tuesday to the Florida Senate about how his force doesn\u2019t have enough soldiers to shoulder the demand. Florida Politics first reported<\/a> Eifert\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe cannot adequately support the state\u2019s citizens on Florida\u2019s [hypothetical] worst day with the size of our National Guard at this point,\u201d said Eifert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He cited the fatigue of current Guardsmen as one of the most pressing needs to expand his force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe other thing that is really exacerbated the problem for us as well is the high operational tempo of our guardsmen at this moment,\u201d Eifert explained to legislators. \u201cYou can only go back to that well so often because these are volunteers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re really concerned on the back end of this\u2026How much are their employers and families going to be willing to allow this to continue with the demand that it\u2019s put on our soldiers?\u201d asked Eifert, raising the question of whether his troops could handle the continued burden of what Florida and the country required of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eifert pointed to the pandemic response, two deployments to D.C., hurricanes, local support to law enforcement, and the current overseas deployment of ten percent of his force as stressors that aligned in 2020 and have continued into 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to Eifert, other senior Guard officials around the country are \u201csensitized\u201d to the potential retention impact of the current missions, said retired Brig. Gen. Roy Robinson, director of the National Guard Association of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a Wednesday evening phone interview with Military Times, Robinson explained that the retention impacts could be greater for some states and certain types of units than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are certain [Guard] formations \u2014 Brigade Combat Teams, some of the MPs, some special forces\u2026that are that are getting pretty close to being about as busy as they can be able to be, and still have to be traditional [part-time] guardsmen,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is geographic in nature,\u201d he explained. \u201cOut west, or in the northeast, or in the southeast\u2026there may be some mitigating circumstances making it more difficult for those units just to keep their formations full.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alleviating the strain<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Eifert and Robinson pointed to increased force sizes as a way to potentially alleviate the operational tempo issues experienced by Guard troops. Adding more troops could help reduce how often current guardsmen are activated for current missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs you look out over what the National Guard has been involved in for the last 36 months\u2026I think it would probably be in the best interest of the nation to continue to grow the National Guard and reserve formations,\u201d said Robinson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But when it comes down to retaining the soldiers and airmen currently in the part-time ranks, Robinson said, \u201cWe have to make sure that we take care of soldiers [and airmen] and reward their service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robinson said one of NGAUS\u2019 top legislative priorities is no-cost Tricare health insurance for Guard troops regardless of their activation status. \u201cThey should be covered all the time\u2026I believe that will be a huge retention tool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another issue at play is duty status reform, which has been a thorn in the side of the Defense Department, NGAUS, and guardsmen around the country for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently, there are dozens of legal statuses under which Guard troops can be activated, and each status carries a unique set of benefits that don\u2019t always mirror those enjoyed by their active duty counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One such status, State Active Duty, varies from state to state<\/a> and does not include health coverage beyond workers compensation or any Veterans Affairs disability coverage. SAD is the duty status of first resort for most states who utilize the Guard for local civil disturbance or disaster response missions because it allows troops to enforce laws without running afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even certain federal active duty statuses<\/a> can have a Guard servicemember \u201cin the same foxhole\u201d as an active or federal reserve component soldier, said Robinson, but \u201cthey may be drawing a different set of benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A prime example of that phenomena is when Guard troops attend military schools under Title 32 orders, explained JC Cardinale, legislative programs manager for NGAUS. \u201cThe only time Title 32 will ever capture Post-9\/11 G.I. Bill [benefits] is if you\u2019re responding to a presidential emergency,\u201d Cardinale said in a Thursday morning phone interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cardinale, who is also an Army Reserve officer, said that Army Reserve or Air Force Reserve troops accrue G.I. Bill benefits in these situations while their Guard counterparts do not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Advocates of duty status reform hold that any day spent in uniform, regardless of status, should count towards the same benefits enjoyed by active component troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Tuesday evening, the Democratic majority of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, headed by Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), reshared an April Medium post<\/a> in an indication that the current Congress may take up the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you perform the same job and take on similar risks, you deserve the same benefits,\u201d read a tweet<\/a> from the committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe duty status reform process has been ongoing now for about seven years,\u201d said NGAUS director Robinson. \u201cI think we are closer than we\u2019ve ever been to having a product that can actually go over to [Congress].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, Robinson explained, the key to retaining part-time Guard troops \u2014 who are answering the call to service at rates not seen since World War II or the Korean War\u2014 will be improving their benefits packages to reflect the increased work they\u2019re doing across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey want to serve their country, but they don\u2019t want to serve their country in a full-time status,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe should make it attractive for them to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The author of this article, Davis Winkie, is a National Guard officer and a member of NGAUS.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Soldiers](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/50857085883_c5a67f0369_k.jpg.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6184970.jpg.jpg\")