Nat’l Guards warns Congress it’ll have to halt trainings, ground aircraft if $529M DC deployment not

[Elderberry]

American Military News by Ryan Morgan June 23, 2021

Nat’l Guards warns Congress it’ll have to halt trainings, ground aircraft if $529M DC deployment not reimbursed

After thousands of National Guard troops deployed to Washington D.C. for more than four months, the force is warning Congress that the $520 million bill has come due and if it is not reimbursed it will have to make significant cuts to its training and ground its aircraft, according to documents first obtained by Military.com.

In a memo to Congress from the National Guard Bureau, first reported by Military.com, the force said it needs to be assured by July 1st that it will be reimbursed for the costs of the D.C. deployment. If the funding does not come through, Guard commanders in all 54 states and territories will be ordered to prepare to halt or even cancel training operations through August and September.

Fox News reported Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said, “Without those resources, the Guard . . . will find themselves with training issues.” Wormuth also said Guard units have already begun to postpone some training.

More: https://americanmilitarynews.com/2021/06/natl-guards-warns-congress-itll-have-to-halt-trainings-ground-aircraft-if-529m-dc-deployment-not-reimbursed/

[rangerrebew]

National Guard threatens to cancel training and exercises if not reimbursed for $521M Capitol deployment
by Abraham Mahshie, Defense Reporter |
 | June 23, 2021 03:51 PM

 
The half-billion-dollar National Guard price tag to man the U.S. Capitol for more than five months following the Jan. 6 riot has emptied the Guard's coffers and will affect readiness if Congress does not act, National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Daniel Hokanson said Wednesday.

National Guard members were deployed in 2020 for more than 21 million service days to respond to missions, including the domestic COVID-19 response, hurricane relief, fighting wildfires, protecting cities ravaged by the George Floyd protests, and overseas missions. But the Guard’s largest and most expensive mission was to protect the U.S. capital, including providing security for the presidential inauguration and the much-criticized militarization of the U.S. Capitol grounds with razor wire and 7-foot nonscalable fences.

The peak deployment in the nation’s capital required 26,000 service members from all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/national-guard-threatens-cancel-training-and-exercises-not-reimbursed-521m-capitol-deployment