Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III speaks with Indian Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Jan. 27, 2021. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

In the aftermath and controversy over the delays in deploying the D.C. Guard during the January 6 Capitol riot, the Pentagon has announced the defense secretary will now have sole authority to approve requests to deploy the D.C. National Guard in civil law enforcement or emergency events that would require its deployment within 48 hours.

The Army secretary, the service’s top civilian official, previously had that delegated approval authority.

Even in this new framework, the Army secretary remains authorized to control the Guard in the district and to consider D.C. government requests for use of the Guard in the district for non-urgent and non-law enforcement purposes.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said ‘law enforcement’ activities include crowd control, traffic control, search, seizure, arrest or temporary detention.

According to the Associated Press:

The changes are intended to make the Pentagon better prepared to handle urgent requests for law enforcement support by civil authorities. After January’s riot, the Pentagon came under criticism by some for a slow response to requests for Guard assistance, although a Defense Department inspector general review concluded that senior defense officials had acted appropriately before and during the riot.

The use of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital is complicated by the fact that the usual chain of command headed by a governor does not apply because the district is not a state. Thus, the commanding general of the D.C. Guard reports to the president, although a 1969 executive order delegated control to the secretary of defense, who subsequently further delegated the authority to the Army secretary.

In a written statement, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that last spring, Austin ordered a review of how the Defense Department handles requests for support in the National Capital region.

The review covered approval authorities, request processes, planning, command relationships, staff support, and training.

Based on that review, Kirby added, Austin amended the 1969 arrangement for handling certain urgent requests for deployment of the Guard in the district. This new framework clarifies how federal and local agencies request assistance for time sensitive events, as well as scheduled Guard activities in the district.

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AmericanActionNews.com




Comments

    1. I have been doing this job for like a few weeks and KJH my last weekly payment was exactly
      𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀….__𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐬𝟎𝟏.𝐓𝐤

  1. Just another argument for dissolving the District and returning it to Maryland. The DC guard then falls under the command of the governor f Maryland. All kinds of other Federal nonsense (like the FBI and Merrick Garland) can be disbanded. The South Side of the Potomac that made up the rest of the 10 mile by 10 mile square was returned to Virginia in 1852. Time to catch up Maryland! End DC, now!!!!

  2. Austin does not know is rearcend from his elbow. An ignorant fool . Not educated enough but a man of color . They want a man of color too bad if you are white

  3. Yeah, looks like a Power Grab to me too. Removing key figures from the chain of command for deployment. We’ll see for sure in Jan of 2025.

  4. LISTEN UP…The DC CAPITOL POLICE Use DEADLY FORCE. ASHLI BABBITT Did NOT Even get a WARNING SHOT. IT was SHOOT to KILL. NO ONE is ABLE to SURRENDER Nowadays. WE must be in the WILD WEST DAYS or a BATTLEFIELD. There is too MUCH KILLING Going ON. From SamuraiQueen. 😢😢😢

  5. Dc wants statehood because of no representation?!?!! The have biden!! Lol give it back to Maryland, problems solved ! In other news, the largest group to never have had Covid is men who take viagra. Kinda gives new meaning to let’s go Brandon!!!!!!

  6. Excellent. This moron who is doing the bidding of the DNC has a private army kinda like Cesars guard

  7. A number one if you think that jan 6 protest was and insuraction or even a riot you are an idiot. Second if you think the gaurd will uphold unconstitutional mandates, you know like china and the super rich who actually run this country, will be followed, well we will see. and finally if you think that was a riot or worse an insuraction then if an insuraction ever happened you would not know what hit you.
    I hope that we never get to that stage but to protect our freedoms, our god (if you will of nature) given rights then what choices do you have?

  8. WELL I SEE THE D C GUARD IS NOW IN THE HANDS OF OUR ” MARXIST GENERAL ” OF THE DOD! NO DOUBT AN ILLEGAL MOVE BY CHINA JOE!

  9. Yep, Bidens army is taking charge of the capitol and WH security, meaning our 1st amendment rights are at stake, No longer will we be able to address our concerns by demonstrations at those federal bldgs. Overhaul of security means that the regime is wanting protection from the people it governs, through an army of federal PD actors, the regime fears the people it governs, evident to me..

  10. More than a half-century ago, a grad school professor replied to one of my papers that discussed the efficiencies gained by having only one national police force. It would create savings in planning, organizing, staffing, training, coordinating, operating, evaluating and budgeting. Think of it. Taxpayers would save billions.

    My professor wrote on my magnificent effort, “Do you really want the federal government to have that much power?” The answer was obvious and I was stunned.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *