A coalition of military veterans and active-duty families is raising concerns about the deployment of National Guard units to the nation’s capital.
On Aug. 16, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced 150 military police from the Ohio National Guard would deploy to Washington, D.C. The soldiers joined Joint Task Force District of Columbia (JTF-DC) in support of what’s been dubbed the “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Mission.” Now, a group of Ohio veterans is speaking out against the governor and said the activation of National Guard troops for the purpose of law enforcement and beautification is unlawful and causes more harm than good.
So far, close to 1,900 guardsmen from seven states including North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia are deployed to the mission, which aligns with President Donald Trump’s Aug. 11 executive order that declared a crime emergency in the District of Columbia.
Army National Guard veteran Chris Purdy is the founder and CEO of The Chamberlain Network, an organization that encourages veterans to mobilize in the name of democracy. He said he wishes governors like DeWine would take control of their National Guard units.
“These are the military of each state effectively,” Purdy said. “If the president wants to federalize the National Guard, then that’s a fight he can have. For governors to go along with something they know is wrong, is a real dereliction of duty on their part.”
Although members serving on JTF-DC have not been federally activated on Title 10 orders, the president doubled down on the sentiment and signed an additional executive order on Aug. 25. The new order requires U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to ensure each state’s Army and Air National Guard units are ready to provide a “quick reaction force” for nationwide deployments, and assist federal and local law enforcement with diffusing civil disturbances and ensuring public safety.
After troops were deployed for about 10 days, the president announced a historic milestone, and stated D.C. had gone seven days without a homicide and crime rates were down by more than 80 percent. Army veteran Dan Maurer is an associate professor at Ohio Northern University College of Law and said the president’s intent to send National Guard troops to other states is a clear violation of The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. The law prohibits military involvement in civilian affairs unless it’s for extraordinary circumstances, such as when the president federalizes the troops using the Insurrection Act.
“Assuming the crime rate is statistically lower than it was a week ago – and that you can attribute it to the National Guard – the end is justifying the means and that’s not what the law says,” Maurer said. “The law prohibits the use of the military even if it’s sufficient, even if it’s successful, unless certain conditions exist that warrant it.”
Ohio veterans also expressed concerns about the potential deploying Ohio National Guard could have on the community’s trust in military members. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Christopher Dziubek remembered his experience with the branch’s Civil Affairs unit and said police have a specific skillset to establish trust with community citizens. But, it can be a challenge if civilians don’t know the difference between law enforcement and the military.
“Police are hampered when they put on a uniform in a deployed environment and try to exercise those same skillsets to gain the trust of a indigenous population, in a place where the Army has been for combat operations,” he said.
Navy veteran Kenneth Harbaugh is worried about the politicization of service members while law enforcement, guardsmen, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) patrol the streets of Washington, D.C. side-by-side in the same uniform.
“I think it should be abundantly clear that National Guard troops are not covering their faces, they are not ashamed of serving in uniform,” Harbaugh said. “But they are being associated unfairly with other government organizations – levers of power – that are not behaving as professionally. Connecting the National Guard to that is one more step towards politicization of the military and betraying the trust that we have – for so long – held dearly between the military and the society it exists to protect.”
In a recent press release, JTF-DC announced U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Leland D. Blanchard III, interim commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, approved guard members supporting JTF-DC to carry their service-issued weapons “after careful consideration of the security environment.”
“This decision is not something taken lightly,” said Blanchard. “We are in coordination with our law enforcement partners and all appropriate review processes are in place.”
