{"id":77972,"date":"2025-09-12T19:08:46","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T19:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/09\/12\/troops-in-dc-encounter-few-crises-but-plenty-of-walking-and-yard-work\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:49:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:49:15","slug":"troops-in-dc-encounter-few-crises-but-plenty-of-walking-and-yard-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2025\/09\/12\/troops-in-dc-encounter-few-crises-but-plenty-of-walking-and-yard-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Troops in DC encounter few crises, but plenty of walking and yard work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Walking around the National Mall or nearby Washington Union Station, passersby are sure to see some of the more than 2,300 National Guard members deployed to the nation\u2019s capital. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For nearly a month, Guard members hailing from D.C., Louisiana, West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Ohio, South Dakota and Georgia have donned their Army fatigues to help combat what President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has called \u201cintolerable risks\u201d<\/a> to federal government functions in Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese conditions are disgraceful anywhere, but particularly in the capital of our Nation and the seat of the Federal Government,\u201d the Trump administration said in its executive order declaring a crime emergency in D.C. last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than a dozen Guard troops who spoke to Military Times on the condition of anonymity in recent days view their current deployment as \u201cpart of the job\u201d but say they simply haven\u2019t seen \u201cemergency\u201d levels of crime since being assigned to the D.C. mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHave I seen [an emergency]? I\u2019d better not answer that,\u201d one Guard member said, shaking his head. \u201cBesides people falling off the steps, not really.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the District of Columbia National Guard, which account for about 40% of those deployed, have been told their mission will extend through at least Nov. 30, according to a spokesperson with Joint Task Force \u2014 District of Columbia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said the approximately 150 members of the Ohio National Guard will have their deployment extended through the end of November. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Members of the District of Columbia National Guard patrol along the National Mall, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, other troops from outside Washington who spoke with Military Times expressed a sense of being in the dark about their ongoing assignment, saying they had \u201cno clue\u201d how long they would be deployed or whether their current duties could change in the coming days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know what we\u2019re doing tomorrow,\u201d one Guard member said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The assignment feels \u201cvery different\u201d for the troops, they said, who more often are called to respond to natural disasters, deploy overseas or support law enforcement during a major event like an inauguration or parade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Guard troops are activated to respond to civil disturbances, it\u2019s typically in response to local or state police being \u2014 or possibly being \u2014 overwhelmed by protesters or rioters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some troops walking around the nation\u2019s capital said they feel like an experiment, a \u201ctest force\u201d to see if this type of deployment could be replicated elsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the Guard members deployed in D.C. are police officers, sheriff\u2019s deputies and state troopers who have put their civilian jobs on hold to patrol the capital\u2019s high-trafficked tourist areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several Guard soldiers said their presence likely freed local law enforcement to focus on more crime-ridden areas of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have helped with overdoses. Some people do say they see a difference,\u201d the Guard member said, adding, \u201c[but] I think there are other ways to go about it instead of using the Guard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weighing the cost<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department is currently operating with 800 fewer officers than the number needed to police the city, according to Mayor Muriel Bowser. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The police department told Military Times on Friday the starting salary of a new officer is $66,419, so the capital city would need at least $53 million dollars to bring its current number of 3,200 officers to 4,000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Pedestrians pass an MRAP combat vehicle deployed by the Washington D.C. National Guard outside Union Station, Aug. 14, 2025. (Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While the Pentagon has not yet released data on the cost of the deployment for the American taxpayer, retired Maj. Gen. Randy Manner, who served as vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, told Military Times last month that a deployment of 2,000 Guard members would likely cost an estimated average of about $20 million per month<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The director of studies at the Center for New American Security told CNN the estimated cost could be as much as $1 million per day<\/a>. Based on these estimates, the total cost for the Guard deployment could range from about $75 million to $115 million should all troops remain through Nov. 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The military will absorb the costs for the troops, rather than the District of Columbia or the states that sent them, because their deployment is federally funded under Title 32 of the U.S. Code<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These costs, meanwhile, do not include funding for the additional federal law enforcement officers deployed to the city during the president\u2019s 30-day federal takeover of D.C. law enforcement, which expired this week and is not connected to Pentagon funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One federal officer, who spoke to Military Times on the condition of anonymity earlier this month because he was not authorized to speak to the press, expressed his frustration over being pulled away from his normal casework during the federal takeover of D.C. law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is overkill,\u201d he said, as protesters shouted from across the street at Union Station. \u201cThe military police were unnecessary. The additional feds weren\u2019t needed. We do not need to be doing this. Crime was improving,\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A trio of soldiers from the West Virginia National Guard told Military Times they saw their efforts as a \u201ctemporary stopgap\u201d until the city could add more local police officers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For them, the mission in D.C. felt similar to a previous assignment in the Mountain State in 2022, when nearly 350 Guard troops provided staffing support in state-run prisons for over a year and a half to alleviate staff shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think saving a few lives is a good reason to be here,\u201d one of the soldiers said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another contemplated joining the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to help with the shortages once his deployment ended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could make the drive from home,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it could be nice to work here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid the deployments, Bowser has maintained that total violent crime in the district was already at a 30-year low<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, Trump countered that crime in D.C. was the \u201cworst ever\u201d and claimed it had been \u201cmany years\u201d since the city had a murder-free stretch of even a week. Neither statement is supported by data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
President Donald Trump visits the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on Aug. 21, 2025 in Washington. (Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This week, the president said D.C. had \u201cvirtually no crime\u201d as he went out to a public dinner in the district for the first time since the start of his second term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The capital city\u2019s law enforcement data shows that crime in 2025 was indeed decreasing before the deployment, and it has decreased further since the federal law enforcement takeover<\/a> and troop deployment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of crimes in D.C. between Jan. 1 and Aug. 11 of 2025 had declined about 7%<\/a> from the previous year. Since the administration\u2019s deployment on Aug.11, total crime in the nation\u2019s capital has decreased by 18%<\/a> when compared to the same time last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beautification <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Several of the deployed Guardsmen have been tasked with \u201cbeautification\u201d chores around the city, ranging from picking up trash to spreading mulch \u2014 duties that were traditionally performed by National Park Service personnel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo date, Guardsmen have cleared 964 bags of trash, spread 997 cubic yards of mulch, removed five truckloads of plant waste, cleared 3.2 miles of roadway, and painted 270 feet of fencing,\u201d according to Guard statistics sent to reporters on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A National Park Service official told Military Times on Thursday the service had lost between 130 and 180 national capital region employees, in addition to manpower loss due to the administration\u2019s freeze on maintenance contracts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official, who spoke to Military Times on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said many people at NPS now have multiple titles and are working \u201cdouble duty every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is this little bit of irony about the fact that the administration did all these cuts, and then went to the buyouts, and now the National Guard started kind of making up for that,\u201d said the official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cuts were first reported by The Washington Post, which said the National Park Service workforce tasked with maintaining thousands of acres of trees and gardens in D.C. had been reduced from 200 before Trump assumed office in January to just 20<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Park Service communications office refused requests to publicly provide the number of staff cuts that had been implemented this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement to Military Times, an NPS spokeswoman said that \u201cThe Washington Post continues to rely on anonymous sources, unverified claims, and made-up numbers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to OPM, salaries for Department of Interior employees in Washington range from less than $100,000 per year to as much as $220,000 annually for senior executive service employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cutting 130 to 180 employees from the D.C. parks would have likely saved millions of dollars for American taxpayers, but the savings amount to a fraction of what the Guard deployment will end up costing over the course of multiple months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Air National Guard airmen work clearing leaves and debris from McPherson Square Park in Washington, Aug. 28, 2025 (Andrew Leyden\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The NPS official who spoke with Military Times said Guard members have been eager to help, but the scope and efficiency of their work just isn\u2019t comparable to specialized staffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re looking for meaningful work, and it ends up being kind of tough,\u201d the Park Service official said. \u201cIt is not possible to just plug in someone to be a plumber, arborist, engineer, contract officer, project manager, electrician, preservationist or mason. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith volunteers, you have to get them equipment and train them on the equipment, and you can\u2019t have as big of an impact as possible.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official stressed that the work they have done, \u201cand the professionalism with which they have performed that work,\u201d has been greatly appreciated because it likely would not have been completed with such a small NPS staff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the concept of bringing in a military force to \u201cgarden,\u201d the official added, was \u201cdisrespectful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe all feel so bad for them. … Right problem, wrong tool.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dozens of troops who spoke to Military Times view their current deployment as \u201cpart of the job,\u201d but say they haven\u2019t seen \u201cemergency\u201d levels of 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