The National Guard folks are not happy having to defend the Capitol against the American people

 

See little justification in their extended deployment to Capitolhillestan after Biden's Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin overruled the chief of the National Guard  Bureau with the decision to keep National Guard troops at the U.S. Capitol

Letter from the leadership of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS)  --- published in the "Military Times" and other relevant media ---  calls for an end to the National Guard presence at the U.S. Capitol  

Meanwhile, the mainstream media reports focused on the numbers of National Guard troops being removed from the Washington, D.C., contingent  >>>  and not on the remaining 2500 now approved for continued duty there

In spite of organizational recommendations to the contrary, earlier this week the Pentagon approved a request from Capitol Police authorizing  the continued garrisoning of about 2,300 National Guardsmen at the Capitol through May 23, 2021. That number is roughly half of the 5,100 DC and state-related troops now stationed at the Capitol, with most of their deployments expected to end this past Friday.  

Furthermore, the Department of Defense is reportedly considering issuing involuntary activation orders so as to keep a sufficient number of National Guard troops stationed at the U.S. Capitol. The deliberations on the mandatory activation of certain guardsmen came just one day after SecDef Lloyd Austin said that he authorized extending the National Guard troop's time stationed at the Capitol until May 28th.  

Increasingly vocal criticism about this ever-stretching deployment have come from current and former defense officials, and other stakeholders in the National Guard/ Army Reserve establishment across the country.  

For example, National Guard Bureau chief Gen. Daniel Hokanson sent a memo to senior Pentagon officials last month, that said  senior guard officials were having difficulty finding enough "volunteers" from relevant DC and state-based units to continue the mission. 

This past Friday, the leadership of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) released a statement saying it was becoming “increasingly difficult to convince Guard soldiers and airmen that their continued presence at the Capitol is warranted....” (citing a year of unprecedented demands on National Guard units across the USA thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and several other natural disasters).  

NGAUS Chairman Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire and NGAUS President, retired Brig. Gen. J. Roy Robinson,  said in the release that  "... National Guard soldiers and airmen here in Washington need to return home to their families, civilian employers and regular military obligations....”