Gov. Kemp deploys Georgia National Guard to Washington D.C.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Governor Brian P. Kemp announced today in a press release that the Georgia National Guard is providing support to the ongoing Joint Task Force-District of Columbia (JTF-DC) operations in Washington, D.C.

In total, a contingent of 316 Guardsmen (16 support staff and approximately 300 Soldiers) will mobilize in and around the nation’s capital to aid in restoring public safety following the president’s executive order declaring a crime emergency in the District of Columbia, dated August 11, 2025, the release states.

The Georgia Guard has a long history of partnering with federal, state, and local agencies to respond to such emergency situations, both in the state and in other parts of the country, as well as in allied countries around the world without any compromise to the Guard’s ability to respond to in-state needs.

Georgia is proud to stand with the Trump administration in its mission to ensure the security and beauty of our nation’s capital.

We share a commitment to upholding public safety and are grateful to these brave Guardsmen and women, for the families that support them, and for their dedication to service above self.

As they have demonstrated again and again, our Georgia Guard is well equipped to fulfill both this mission and its obligations to the people of our state.

Governor Brian Kemp

The release states that, following a federal request for the Georgia Guard to provide up to 16 Soldiers as medical, PA, and MP support staff to JTF-DC, these servicemembers were sent earlier this week to Joint Base Anacostia-Boiling within Washington, D.C. where they will work with other military personnel providing support for the broader mission.

These Guardsmen are not expected to have any direct interaction with civilians.

According to the press release, Governor Kemp also approved fulfillment of a separate request for up to approximately 300 Georgia Guard Soldiers to relieve service members stationed in D.C. from the start of the mission.

These 300 servicemembers are scheduled to mobilize in mid-September and will be on active duty in Washington shortly thereafter, barring any changes to the schedule that may arise beforehand.

Guardsmen have a dual mission to serve their respective state and our country as a whole.

As part of the JTF-DC broader mission, the Georgia Guard will join seven other states and over 2,200 Guardsmen from around the nation to provide a visible presence in support of local law enforcement in D.C.

Their specific tasks vary based on the needs of those law enforcement partners.

Personnel may be armed, consistent with their training, depending on the mission and operating under civilian law enforcement. For more information on JTF-DC, visit: https://dc.ng.mil/Domestic-Operations/Joint-Task-Force-JTF-District-of-Columbia-DC/

The release additionally notes that this request to support the JTF-DC is separate from the request to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency operations here in Georgia.

Service members supporting ICE are not armed, nor are they in the field.

They perform only administrative and logistical tasks at various ICE facilities in Georgia.

The Georgia Guard is comprised of more than 14,000 Soldiers and Airmen supporting overseas and domestic missions.

Its support roles in the various missions noted above will not impact its ability to support the state in the event of an emergency, such as a major hurricane or other weather event, the release states.

During the response to Hurricane Helene last year, the Georgia National Guard provided support to nearly forty impacted counties while simultaneously participating in operations on six continents.

Georgia House Minority Leader Responds to Kemp Sending National Guard to D.C.

Today, after Governor Kemp’s announcement, Georgia House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley issued the following statement:

This is an unnecessary, unprecedented, and politically motivated deployment of troops onto American soil that is deeply unfair to the men and women serving in Georgia’s National Guard.

The governor may believe Guardsmen to be political tools, but they are husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, employees, and leaders who are needed here in Georgia - not on Donald Trump’s political mission in D.C.

Law enforcement is a dangerous job, and it is even more dangerous when you haven’t been trained.

National Guardsmen train for combat readiness and disaster response, not law enforcement.

We should respect the service and sacrifice of these troops who signed up to protect the United States and the state of Georgia, not to advance a partisan political agenda.

Our state is already facing budget cuts after his multi-million dollar handout to the wealthy and his support for Trump’s Big Ugly Defunding Bill.

We have more rural hospitals facing closure, women dying from childbirth, and kids who are going hungry in the classroom.

Our governor should be focused on bringing down costs for our Georgia families and expanding access to healthcare for Georgians - not sending our service members to D.C. to do the President’s bidding

Georgia House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley