Today's D Brief: Guardsmen staying in DC; Trans ban reversed, again; Saudi widens US access; WH focus on sexual assault; And a bit more.
Ben Watson
By Ben Watson
January 26, 2021 10:38 AM ET
The D Brief
Post-insurrection security snapshot for DC: On Monday we learned several thousand National Guard troops will remain in the nation’s capital through the middle of March. That’s what U.S. Army and National Guard officials told reporters after acting Army Secretary John Whitley approved the request to keep troops in Washington, D.C., well after the inauguration of President Joe Biden last week.
Twenty-one states’ Guard troops are supporting D.C. and federal law enforcement — including the U.S. Park Police, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Capitol Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department — under authorization from Title 32, U.S.C., Section 502(f). Their support ranges from crowd control assistance to medical help and a variety of logistics taskings. The soldiers remaining in town will have “civil disturbance†gear, and some will be armed “if necessary,†Army officials said Monday. The latest planning figures have about 7,000 Guard troops staying around D.C. through the end of January.
Some 5,000 Guard troops are staying on through mid-March to help the Capitol Police; the D.C. National Guard is leading those coordination efforts. Another 650 will help the Secret Service; 550 will support the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department; and 500 more will assist the U.S. Park Police through mid-March.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/01/the-d-brief-january-26-2021/171631/
