Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders orders National Guard to Washington D.C.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated on Monday that Arkansas National Guard troops will be sent to Washington, D.C.

Governor’s office officials said 100 soldiers are being sent from the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade. Their mission will be to support the D.C. National Guard’s ongoing civil security operations, they said.

Soldiers will assemble at Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center in Barling in the coming weeks to complete administrative processing, medical and dental readiness screening, pre-mobilization training, and mission-specific preparation, officials said, adding that after Thanksgiving, the troops will be deployed to the National Guard Capital Region for what is expected to be a “several-month” deployment.

“Arkansas’ Guardsmen are there when we need them – whether it’s to deploy overseas, help secure the Southern Border, respond to a natural disaster, or keep our nation’s capital safe,” the governor said. “I have no doubt that in this mission, they will show the same skill and discipline that makes them such valuable public servants and will help bring law and order back to the streets of Washington, D.C.”

The governor continued to thank the Guardsmen and their families, and President Trump “for cleaning up crime.”

The mission is federally funded, officials said, and the soldiers will conduct security presence patrols and provide law enforcement support in designated areas. This deployment is part of a routine rotational relief of National Guard units currently assigned to the mission.