You can’t go home, but you can’t stay here, says Congress

| January 22, 2021

Politico reports that thousands of troops were kicked out of their abysmal housing sleeping in the halls of Congress. After securing the American political elite during the inauguration they were summarily kicked out. They had to seek sanctuary in a parking garage.

In response to cries of betrayal, they were allowed back in to continue to sleep on the floors and in hallways.

Thousands of National Guardsmen were allowed back into the Capitol Thursday night, hours after U.S. Capitol Police officials ordered them to vacate the facilities, sending them outdoors or to nearby parking garages after two weeks pulling security duty after the deadly riot on Jan. 6.

One unit, which had been resting in the Dirksen Senate Office building, was abruptly told to vacate the facility on Thursday, according to one Guardsman. The group was forced to rest in a nearby parking garage without internet reception, with just one electrical outlet, and one bathroom with two stalls for 5,000 troops, the person said. Temperatures in Washington were in the low 40s by nightfall.

“Yesterday dozens of senators and congressmen walked down our lines taking photos, shaking our hands and thanking us for our service. Within 24 hours, they had no further use for us and banished us to the corner of a parking garage. We feel incredibly betrayed,” the Guardsman said.

POLITICO obtained photos showing the Guard members packed together in the parking garage, sleeping on the ground.

In other news, thousands of National Guardsmen will remain in D.C. at least through the end of the month. Military Times reports;

About 10,600 troops remain on duty right now, Air Force Maj. Matthew Murphy, an NGB spokesman, told Military Times. The other 15,000 troops are in the process of heading back home now, he said.

But about 7,000 troops will remain through the end of the month, he said.

“Some agencies are requesting continuity of operations, additional support and recuperation time for their forces to regroup. Approximately 7,000 National Guard personnel are anticipated to provide that assistance through the end of the month,” said Murphy.

D.C. National Guard troops will remain on-post until at least Jan. 30, Mayor Muriel Bowser said during a Thursday afternoon press conference. Future deployment of the DCNG depends on future threats, she said.

“We are evaluating … what we think would be intelligence from federal partners that suggest the need” for continued or future DCNG presence in the city,” she said.

Never letting a crisis go to waste, they see a great opportunity to turn D.C. into something resembling a military junta.

Bowser said she asked Christopher Rodriguez, director of the city’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, to “begin working with our partners to deal with the threat of white extremism and any other threat to our city.”

Rodriguez said that “the threat of right-wing extremism is here. You saw it on Jan. 6. It continues to be a persistent and real threat to the District of Columbia and the region.”

“It is very clear any joint session of Congress should be a special security event or some package like that,” she said.

Fox News also has a brief bit that shows the massive scale of the security effort around the Capitol for the inauguration of the most popular presidential candidate of all time;

More than 25,000 National Guard members from all 50 states, three territories, and Washington, D.C., were supporting federal and district authorities at the 59th presidential inauguration Wednesday, according to the latest figures released by the National Guard Bureau.

Homeland Security was working with all of its 200 partners, including National Guard troops, as well as at least 14,000 law enforcement officials and 5,000 Department of Defense employees.

For those not keeping count, that’s at least 45,000 military and law enforcement for a city with a population of less than 700k people. That means for every 15 residents of the city there was one member of the security team. For comparison’s sake, the ratio of inmates to guards at federal prisons is 9.3 to one.

Category: "The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves", "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Biden, Disposable Warriors, National Guard

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President Elect Toxic Deplorable Racist SAH B Woodman

“Shall I stayor shall I go now?
If I stay there will be trouble.
If I go it will be double….”

My sympathies to those troops.
I wonder how many will desert/not show up for their next Guard meeting/quit/resign/…?

President Elect Toxic Deplorable Racist SAH B Woodman

“Shall I stay or shall I go now?
If I stay there will be trouble.
If I go it will be double….”

My sympathies to those troops.
I wonder how many will desert/not show up for their next Guard meeting/quit/resign/…?

ninja

UPDATE (See link below)…It’s About Time…!!!

Oh, BTW…Why is Hidin Biden and the DemoRats (Chuckie, Plastic Woman Nancy, Auntie Maxine, etc.etc.) keeping QUIET/SILENT about the Antifa Riots on the West Coast?

“National Guard Soldiers Ordered Home By Governors Amid Outrage Over Being Moved To Capitol Parking Garage”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/governors-order-national-guard-soldiers-home-amid-outrage-over-being-moved-to-capitol-parking-garage

“Govs. Ron DeSantis, Chris Sununu and Greg Abbott announced that they are bringing their National Guard troops back from Washington, D.C., after reports they were posted up in a parking garage near the Capitol to rest during their shifts, a move that caused outrage at the treatment of the servicemembers.”

AZRobert

I see a convoy of “My Pillow & Blankets” to the new China wall in the District of China to save the troops, they’ll call it the Red Ball Express.

If we save one trooper, it’s worth it!

David

Mr. Kipling was right.

Poetrooper
11B-Mailclerk

Just wait until Comrade Stolin hears of this!

Ex-PH2

“Within 24 hours, they had no further use for us and banished us to the corner of a parking garage. We feel incredibly betrayed,” the Guardsman said. -article

Well, I did wonder just how long it would take for that kind of reality to sink in.

Isn’t there a basketball court in the White House where they could have stayed? Or how about over at Ft. Myers? Was the WACs barracks torn down or is it still there?

OWB

Will these troopers count now as homeless?

What were they thinking? Order folks in with no sleeping accommodations made? It’s not as if this is the first time Guard folks were sent somewhere. Never heard of the eventual need for sleep being ignored.

There are plenty of hotels within a couple of blocks of the capitol that would probably be glad for some business about now.

penguinman000

I have a family member in the Guard who is not prone to hysterics or whining. He was initially mobilized and here is what the proposed plan was:

-No packing list
-No staging/bivy site
-No plan for food
-A significant number of personnel self deploying from his unit
-No comms plan beyond texting/group chats
-No movement plan other than “Go to D.C”

rgr769

WTF. I was in an Army Reserve REMF psyop unit and we had most of those items required for movement over thirty years ago.

So who was in charge of logistics for this Gropey Joe 45,000 man photo-op? No cots, no blankets, no tents, no chow facilities. Un-effing believable.

5JC

I may have mentioned all this in passing a couple of weeks ago.

Claw

“So who was in charge of logistics?”

The same person who was in charge of running the Dust Bowl at Fort Irwin in the late 1970s/through the 1980s./s

timactual

I was wondering what the mess provisions were. Evidently MREs three times a day? I also assume that with no toilet facilities there was also no water source available.

Sounds like a civil war era military. An *early* civil war military. Without the ability to forage. Great officers.

Retired Grunt

Now, first, to be perfectly fair. US Army soldiers are equipped to be able to sleep anywhere, trust me, I know. So… now granted, that is messed up. During the 1996 Olympics we were put up in a high school gymnasium. I did read that this all started when a Representative saw a soldier in a dunkin donuts or whatever without a mask. I don’t know the efficacy of that report. God bless you all, best of luck in this, our new normal and period of national unity. **sarc**

timactual

At least a high school gym has toilet and shower facilities and a source of water.

Then again, this is DC—A parking garage may be superior to a HS.

Hack Stone

Who says that you can’t relieve yourself in a parking garage? Plenty of garages in The National Capital Region that smell of urine. If you have any doubt, park your car in the garage of the MGM Casino in National Harbor.

timactual

I may be 11X, but I am housebroken.

OldManchu

Hey Lars? How many people has Biden killed with Covid in his short time in office? Over 10,000 have died on his watch already. Unacceptable. Why hasn’t it ended?

And now he endangered his Family by not wearing a mask on federal property. Who will be the next Herman McCain… dead at the hands of POTUS due to having events without mask wearing?

Oh wait…. maybe some of them will be boomers so who cares.

Try to respond without saying orange or Trump.

26Limabeans

Blame the 3rd amendement in 3,2,1…

KoB

Anybody still doubt what the ultimate goal of the elected domestic enemies of our Republic is? God forbid that their Purple Royal Reignments be stained by anything coming from the great unwashed masses of their protectors.

Are your ready Little Lady, it’s Breakfast Time and guess who’s coming!

The Other Whitey

“You gonna pull them pistols, or ya just gonna stand there, whistlin’ Dixie?”

Tobacco spit optional.

The Stranger

No, the tobacco spit is NOT optional! What IS optional is spitting it right between the eyes of a stray redbone hound.

Josey Wales’ Redbone Hound

*GRRRRRRRRRR*

KoB

“He might as well ride along with us…Hell, everybody else is!”

The Stranger

Ain’t watched this in a while. Might have to watch this and Unforgiven this weekend.

“You just shot an unarmed man!”
“He should’ve armed himself.”

The Stranger

Maybe add “Joe Kidd” to the watchlist and make it a trifecta!

George V

OK, so here’s a question beyond my legal knowledge concerning the Posse Comitatus Act which prohibits federal troops from acting in a law enforcement role.

Nat. Guard troops can be deployed for law enforcement (usually to control riots) by their state’s governors or can deploy troops at the request of other governors. Wikipedia says a governor can, under P.C. act, deploy Nat. Guard for law enforcement to adjacent states at the request of that state’s governor which seems to indicate some limits. That is, the gov. of Idaho can’t send troops to Arkansas for civil law enforcement but they can to Montana.

The District of Columbia is run by the federal gov’t. The Nat. Guard, while a component of a state gov’t, must have been federalized to operate there, just like when deployed overseas. That seems like federal troops deployed in law enforcement. Does that run afoul of Posse Comitatus or am I slicing the rabbit.. I mean, splitting hares, a bit too fine?

Ex-PH2

No, you’re not, and keep it up, George.

NECCSeabeCPO

It doesn’t specify distance or connecting or nearing state, they could come from California, you could call that close. What they are doing is activateing them under title 32, which gives the governors a control that’s how come the governors have called them back. The governors have no control when it’s under a title10 but in an title 32 they do so they can call them back.

timactual

A lot probably depends on just what powers Congress delegated to the district when they set up “home rule”.

Sapper3307

Aoc should setup a open bar.

ChipNASA

substitute “Legs”

Sapper3307

“Let them eat ice-cream.”
#HouseDrinker

26limabeans

How about HFP?
asking for somebody else…I already got mine long ago.

E4 Mafia '83-'87

With one the highest crime rates in nation, does anybody else feel the NG was in the wrong place?

It was interesting to see The Party that doesn’t believe in walls putting them up to people out.

A Proud Infidel®™️

You mean the party that says we don’t need guns and “Walls don’t work” bringing BOTH to our Nation’s Capitol?

Smitty

I called my Congressman (R) and asked him to raise hell about this. Also tried to reach my senators (both Dems) but they are hiding behind ?- I left message for them.

Ex-PH2

If the NGs are treated this shabbily, what will it be like when the rest of the military is needed for something important, but simply told to deploy with no planning for logistics?

Good time to transfer out of AD, isn’t it?

Commissar

Capitol police did this.

And it was reversed as soon as congress heard. Democrats were just as against it.

So those above trying to spin this as partisan are being dishonest.

And, honestly, given the places most of us slept during our service; that parking garage looked pretty nice.

The issue really was the lack of adequate latrine facilities.

SFC D

Oh, Capital police are to blame. The very same Capital police that got caught with their pants down and their thumbs up their asses on January 6. The Capital police that report to Mayor Muriel Bowser, who specifically requested ZERO NG support for the planned demonstrations on January 6. Commissar, she’s one of yours. Her loyaties lie with BLM and antifa, not the United States.

Deckie

Bingo.

NHSparky

Hey, Dipshit!

Looks like it was your beloved Dems (one of them, anyway) who got the ball rolling:

https://newsakmi.com/news/usnews/national-guard-forced-to-evacuate-capitol-after-alleged-mask-complaint/

penguinman000

The troops being kicked into the garage is just a symptom of the overall disease.

The issue is political pressure to create a photo op. Gotta have the the pictures to prove how dangerous and scary those on the right are!

We need troops (without ammunition) to guard the capital (don’t worry about bivy sites, latrines, showers, or chow) from the evil right wing insurrectionists (better conduct a political litmus test of all the unarmed troops, they might use their service rifles as clubs on politicians).

This whole evolution wasn’t necessary. All they needed to do was tell the Capital Police “Arrest EVERYONE breaking the law”.

Problem solved, problem staying solved.

Only Army Mom

penguin – you may be on to something there. They really missed a golden opportunity. Order the police to, you know, police. Then, at the next “mostly peaceful protest” when the police don’t, you know, police, they can say, “remember the outrage when the police policed all those people in DC? See? We’re just being responsive to the sentiment of the people. Now, pass that ledger over here so we can delete the line item for police policing in the budget, because there’s the proof”.

Skyjumper

“Commissar says:
January 22, 2021 at 1:16 pm
Capitol police did this.”

Once again Comrade Arschloch, you are wrong again.

But Acting USCP Chief Yogananda Pittman pushed back on that assertion in a statement.

“I want to assure everyone that, with the exception of specific times on Inauguration Day itself while the swearing-in ceremonies were underway, the United States Capitol police did not instruct the National Guard to vacate the Capitol Building facilities,” Pittman said. “And on Inauguration Day, the Guard was notified and encouraged to reoccupy the spaces in the Capitol and CVC at 2 p.m.”

Pittman continued: “It was brought to our attention early today that facility management with the Thurgood Marshall Judicial Office Building reached out directly to the National Guard to offer use of its facilities.”

https://twitter.com/ChadPergram/status/1352625015041241089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1352625015041241089%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fpolitics%2Fgovernors-order-national-guard-soldiers-home-amid-outrage-over-being-moved-to-capitol-parking-garage

OldManchu

Lars tackles terrorist before he goes to bed in parking garages.

HMCS(FMF) ret

Donks have NEVER given a fuck about people that wear the uniform or have served… all they do is blow smoke up our asses.

The was another “John Kerry Stuck in Iraq” moment by our “betters”

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/stuck-in-iraq/

timactual

Whoever was in charge is to blame. That’s the Dem.’s this time. And the NG “leadership”.

Mess facilities may also have been an issue. Anybody know what was on the menu? I don’t know what the TOE of some of those units is, but I’ll bet that some of them had trucks, some specifically dedicated to carry mess equipment, available. Md., Va., WVa., Del., are all within driving distance.

Kind of embarrassing, they can deploy to A’stan and provide for the troops but they can’t deploy to a major metropolitan area and provide for them.

Devtun

NGB chief, GEN Hokanson, is probably a nice guy, but comes across as a grade A perfumed prince genuflecting to his political masters. His troops get trashed by politicians, and the general talks in bureaucratic gibberish.

Only Army Mom

As the General, isn’t he responsible for those under his command? Isn’t it appropriate as the one who is responsible to ensure his troops are adequately supplied? Yeah, I agree on the perfumed prince genuflecting, but I also see it as deflecting.

KoB

You are spot on OAM. One of the top rules for leadership is the welfare of the Troops under your Command. This has been the mark of Good Leaders from the beginning. The ossifers that lived and sacrificed alongside and under the same hardships as they did were the ones that got the most out of their Troops.

Good example of that in Hollywood Productions was German Tank Commander Colonel Hessler during the Battle of The Bulge (c1965). He informed his aid, Konrad, that he, Hessler, was to have the same rations and rest periods as the men. That was the only way he could really gauge how they were holding up. History is replete with many other examples. And don’t you just know that line officers like rgr769 and other Deplorables here, lived in the field alongside their men, ate and slept as they did. The good ones did that. The others? Well there was term called “fragged” that comes to mind.

Imma wondering how many of the upper echelons lived and ate as their troops did in this deployment?

rgr769

I did sleep with my men in the field in the Viet of Nam. I also dug my own prone shelter in each NDP we occupied. I never asked my men to do anything I wouldn’t do. Notably my first first sergeant, reiterated that to me as a young LT. I was still lived in the field alongside my men in the last rifle company I commanded during the last month of my 15 month tour. I was one of the few line officers that experienced two birthdays humping a rucksack in the jungle.

timactual

Very bad example.

KoB

Go back more toward the beginning of that picture timactual. My specific reference was to him having the same foods and rest periods as his men. Your above shot was when he was thinking that his plan to get the fuel dump intact and accomplish his mission. Was not defending or debating his other state of mind or the fact that he was a Commander of Nazi Panzer Troops.

If I’d of used Bobby Lee as an example, someone would have bitched that he was a traitor to his men in that his cook had a pet chicken that gave the Good General a fresh egg every day. That is, until the chicken got prepared to make a meal for some visiting British Army Observers.

Main point still being, the mark of a good leader is how well he/she looks out to the welfare of their Troops. Period!

timactual

My point was that a good leader does not rejoice in the prospect of his men fighting until they die purely for the sake of fighting. His “concern” about his men was only to make sure they were capable of endless combat, not any humanitarian concern for their actual welfare.

11B-Mailclerk
Devtun

Ha! As the Limeys say ‘a cock-up’.

Poetrooper

Well Schumer may have dicked it up but it seemed to stiffen his resolve…😂

timactual

She probably said the same about Bush, too. All Republicans are impossible to work with, racist, selfish, corrupt…….

Poetrooper

Ol’ Poe sees this as a positive for conservatives, especially occurring as it is at the very outset of a new Democrat administration. Hopefully it will serve to reinforce traditional principles in those younger members of the military who, as a result of the constant bombardment of liberal gaslighting and propagandizing, may have been wavering a bit in their support of serving the Constitution.

It’s an early lesson that the liberal elites, as always, are not friends of the military–one more demonstration of the Democrat paradox of seemingly finding endless uses for the military but despising the “Deplorables” needed to carry them out.

Any bets on how long it is until they have us back in a hot conflict?

11B-Mailclerk

It would not surprise me at all if they are already moving troops back into Syria and other places.

Since the President of Mexico is speaking well of Trump, they may be next on the list.

SFC D
HMCS(FMF) ret

Jeezus Christ! What the fuck was she thinking?

No wonder DC looks like an armed camp…

timactual

“What the fuck was she thinking?”

Good question. Just remember—President, Vice-President, Speaker of the House.

Sweet dreams.

timactual

Why not? Don’t you realize what a grave threat we faced? Why, in Richmond Va. alone 50 armed right-wing extremists form several groups sowed up! Sure, they were peaceful, BUT THAT’S NOT IMPORTANT! What counts is that the entire state of Va., and our way of life, was in danger from those 50 or so terrorists. And just because nobody showed up in DC doesn’t mean they don’t exist! They are there, lurking in the shadows, just waiting for foolish people like you to drop your guard.

Besides, if machine guns were good enough for the ’68 riots, they are good enough for the 2020 non-riots.

https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/34kpad/during_1968_washington_dc_riots_machine_guns_were/

CplMajor Mike

First I’ll say that I have zero use or respect for anyone of the democrats and nearly as little for the republicans. I agree that it is bullshit but also think the NG troops whining about it is bullshit, how many former military members on here would have just been happy to have had a dry place to sleep? But damn, only one outlet to charge all our phones, it makes me wonder how some of these troops would handle honestly difficult situations. No offense to anyone and not saying they haven’t faced really difficult situation but they signed their names on the enlistment contract, its been a long time ago for me but maybe today they are guaranteed comfy quarters no matter where they are.

11B-Mailclerk

I was more concerned about the two-stall shitter for that many soldiers.

But kicked out of a heated building in DC January is pretty shitty “thanks for your service” and “thanks for being an unarmed bullet-catcher for us”.

No wonder the 6th was such a fustercluck. Congress can screw up rock-paper-scissors.

OWB

Not going to argue the point about how many members of the military have faced much worse conditions because we all know that we have. Of course.

The optics here cannot be justified. How many bathrooms, hotel rooms, and restaurants are within a four block radius of the parking garage into which these troopers were herded? Sure, most of them had prior experience in field conditions. How many ever tried doing field conditions without appropriate gear? Did they have it with them? Where were their tents, sleeping bags and such?

Was this just a place to take a short break, or were they supposed to sleep and bathe here? My level of outrage is entirely dependent upon the answer to that question. Although, in reality, I, too, have trouble getting overly outraged about it. Relatively speaking, this was pretty easy duty, depending.

timactual

“how many former military members on here would have just been happy to have had a dry place to sleep?”

When necessary, I “slept” in mud, slush, etc. I even went without food and water when necessary. I didn’t and don’t complain about doing so—WHEN NECESSARY.

I will, however, whine and complain about having to do those things when NOT necessary, when some idiot officer fucked up. And I will also point out that such screwups were not supposed to happen after we got rid of the incompetent draftee army and went to an all volunteer professional military with Higher Standards.

Ex-PH2

How come I’m the only one wondering if the Guard troops got any meals other than MRE stuff? Or water?

KoB

This NC Congress Critter bought and personally delivered a bunch of pizzas to the Troops.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/madison-cawthorn-delivers-pizzas-to-national-guard-troops-dc

timactual

Ooh! Ooh!
Me too! Me too!

I just got started, but I think I can make up for lost time.

77 11C20
Ex-PH2

Good. Something else we can blame on the dumbocrapts.

Hondo

Sounds as predictable in terms of enhancing spread as forcing nursing homes to admit those who’ve tested positive for the virus. But no one would ever be so foolish as to order nursing homes and/or other elder care facilities to do something like that, right?

Oh, wait . . . never mind.

KoB

This NC Congress Critter bought and personally delivered a bunch of pizzas to the Troops.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/madison-cawthorn-delivers-pizzas-to-national-guard-troops-dc

HMCS(FMF) ret

BZ for him… just hope that he doesn’t suck down too much of that swamp water while he’s there.

Berliner

Local Seattle radio reporting that guilty party was a congresscritter (d) that was upset seeing a soldier remove his mask in a nearby Dunkin Donuts… how else does one eat a donut? This complained up and everybody had to trade the polished floors for dirty concrete.

Green Thumb

Seattle? Really?

I would have thought that would have wrought charges….