{"id":104295,"date":"2020-06-04T20:40:01","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T20:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/04\/active-duty-troops-deployed-to-dc-region-start-to-leave-2\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T19:09:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T19:09:00","slug":"active-duty-troops-deployed-to-dc-region-start-to-leave-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2020\/06\/04\/active-duty-troops-deployed-to-dc-region-start-to-leave-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Active-duty troops deployed to DC region to help with unrest begin to leave"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Several hundred active-duty troops brought in to help if needed with the civil unrest in the nation\u2019s capital are leaving Washington, D.C., Thursday, just a day after their initially planned departure was abruptly delayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division have been kept at military bases outside the city, and will now return to Fort Bragg, N.C., according to a defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss impending troop movements. The official said Defense Secretary Mark Esper has approved the move. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, defense officials approved an order to send the soldiers home, but just a few hours later Esper reversed the decision<\/a>, keeping them outside the city for another day amid growing tensions with the White House over the military response to the protests. <\/p>\n\n\n\t