{"id":67549,"date":"2021-10-22T16:33:46","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T16:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/10\/22\/there-are-no-actual-plans-to-deploy-troops-to-help-with-the-supply-chain\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:21:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:21:25","slug":"there-are-no-actual-plans-to-deploy-troops-to-help-with-the-supply-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/10\/22\/there-are-no-actual-plans-to-deploy-troops-to-help-with-the-supply-chain\/","title":{"rendered":"There are no actual plans to deploy troops to help with the supply chain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

President Joe Biden offered his thoughts Thursday night on the idea of activating National Guard<\/a> units to help get goods from point A to point B around the country, telling a CNN Town Hall<\/a> that, \u201cYes, absolutely, positively. I will do that,\u201d but his own staff have already waved it off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If troops do chip in to help with unloading containers or driving trucks, or any other type of support, it will be on a state level, a White House official told Military Times on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRequesting the use of the National Guard<\/a> at the state level is under the purview of governors, and we are not actively pursuing the use of the National Guard on a federal level,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Defense Department, likewise, hasn\u2019t been read in on the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe at DoD have received no requests for assistance with transportation,\u201d Army Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell, a Pentagon spokesman, told Military Times on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while there are certainly service members with commercial drivers licenses, governors would also have to consider that those troops might already be using that skill in civilian jobs, and a deployment would pull them away from roles they already play in the supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\t