Soldiers from the Guam National Guard have been called upon to assist at the nation’s capital following riots at Capitol Hill and the coming inauguration of the President of the United States.
Guam National Guard Public Affairs Officer Mark Scott says that local Guardsmen were jumping at the opportunity to answer the call to head to Washington D.C. National Guard units from around the country were given a mission to provide support at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on January 20th.
“Right now we are getting about 30 to 40 people ready. Three of them left this morning and the rest will be going very soon and they will be going to the nation’s capitol to ensure that there’s a peaceful transition of power,” Scott said.
Their specific mission has not been disclosed but Scott shares that the Guam National Guard is prepared whether it’s traffic control, roadblocks, or crowd control. Every other state and territory is responding proportionately to what they can offer, this means that there will be about 15 to 20,000 National Guard soldiers on the ground.
“It’s a purely volunteer mission. These are soldiers who all raised their hands to go ahead and answer the call, similar to how they raised their hands when they took their oath of enlistment which included supporting and defending the consitution of the United States,” Scott said.
Given the COVID situation, a timeline for the mission has not been disclosed but Scott says that they hope to get out there and back quickly.
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