What started as an 800-troop mission for the D.C. National Guard has ballooned to more than 2,000 troops as Republican governors from six states have pledged to send hundreds of their Guardsmen as reinforcements.
Four soldiers have been charged in an alleged sexual assault that took place in the barracks at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state last year, a spokesperson for the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel confirmed to Military.com.
Guardsmen have mostly been patrolling tourist areas not known for high crime rates, such as the National Mall and a transit hub near Capitol Hill called Union Station, as well as several Metro stations throughout the city.
The order requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to create a specialized unit within the D.C. National Guard “dedicated to ensuring public safety and order in the nation's capital.”
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., has filed an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would formally change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
The reinstallation marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to reverse the work of a congressionally mandated commission charged with scrubbing tributes to the Confederacy from the military.
Jackson was quietly demoted to captain in 2022, three years after his retirement from the Navy, following an inspector general report that substantiated allegations of inappropriate and unprofessional behavior on the job.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order giving the Department of Defense the “secondary name” of the Department of War – a workaround for the fact that a formal name change requires an act of Congress.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., went to the Senate floor to request what’s known as “unanimous consent” to pass a resolution that would have stated the Senate believes Babbitt is not eligible for military funeral honors.