Hawaii National Guard balances missions in Washington, D.C., and back home

Hawaii is one of just 11 states with National Guard troops on a second round of security duty at the U.S. Capitol, as they also help with COVID-19 and vaccinations back home.

But unlike some states, Hawaii’s Guard personnel haven’t been stretched thin between those missions and others.

Eighty Hawaii Guard soldiers and airmen are performing security duty through early May in Washington, D.C., and an additional 800 are on coronavirus duty in the islands, with about 80 conducting vaccinations in Honolulu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii counties.

A Hawaii National Guard joint task force has put more than 24,000 shots into the arms of Hawaii residents, said Guard spokesman Jeff Hickman.

The chief of the National Guard Bureau, a four-star general, said it was his opinion to “non-concur” with the defense secretary’s request for 2,280 personnel at a time of huge COVID-19 concerns and other efforts in home states.

“The Hawaii National Guard is over 5,500 strong. With about 800 on COVID support and about 80 deployed to Washington, D.C., we still have enough guardsmen to run day-to-day operations for the Hawaii National Guard and also have the ability to respond to any natural disasters that our state may encounter,” Hickman said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a request by the U.S. Capitol Police for ongoing help and authorized the nearly 2,300 National Guard personnel to provide support through May 23, the Pentagon said March 9.

That number is down from the 5,100 who were in place at that time and the 26,000 who provided security for the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration. Hawaii provided a force of about 200 at the time.

The National Guard Association of the United States, a lobbying group, said the Guard finally found volunteers for the second round from 11 states — Hawaii, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Washington and Wisconsin — as well as the District of the Columbia.

Hickman said the mission remains under “Title 32,” paid for by the federal government, with control over the deployment retained by Gov. David Ige.

The Hawaii troops were drawn from volunteers from a variety of Army and Air Guard units.

The armed troops “are patrolling certain areas … the perimeter and where all the entry points are,” Hickman said. “They are conducting patrols there, manning some of the gates. So, pretty much the normal stuff that we did last time as well, really working with D.C. police.”

Hickman said the Hawaii troops were nowhere near last week’s security emergency when 25-year-old Noah Green, who is said to have suffered from delusions, rammed his car into two Capitol police officers. One officer died and Green was shot and killed.

The National Guard deployed what it called an immediate-reaction force the afternoon following the incident, The New York Times reported.

The ongoing deployment of National Guard troops has faced a backlash from the National Guard Bureau and lawmakers over its necessity.

In a joint statement, U.S. Reps. Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Mike Rogers, R-Ala., both members of the House Armed Services Committee, said they were “deeply troubled” by the level of security around the U.S. Capitol. “More than two months after the Jan. 6 attack, the seat of our nation’s democracy remains heavily protected by guardsmen and surrounded by a perimeter fence,” they said.

As the U.S. Capitol Police continues to build capacity, “there is no doubt that some level of support from the National Guard should remain in the National Capitol Region to respond to credible threats,” the pair said. But the extended security posture approved by the defense secretary “is not warranted at this time.”

The National Guard’s additional two months of security duty will cost taxpayers $111 million, with the tab for the earlier three-month mission at $410 million, The Hill news site reported.

The Hawaii troops are staying in local hotel rooms, Hickman said. They are expected back home in about a month.