President Joe Biden has issued an apology to the National Guard after photos recently emerged showing some soldiers stationed in Washington being forced to sleep cramped together on parking garage floors.
As the BBC reported, the photos went viral last week on the day after Biden’s inauguration and sparked national outrage, particularly among members of Congress who demanded accountability.
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Following the deadly Capitol riots on January 6, some 25,000 troops were deployed to Washington, D.C., on security duty.
In between shifts, the guardsmen were pictured spread out on the floor while catching up on some sleep inside the Capitol building. Eventually, they were provided with cots to rest on rather than resorting to simply stretching out on the cold marble floor.
However, as Politico reported, some soldiers were eventually told they weren’t allowed to nap inside the building and were ordered to vacate the facilities during their breaks.
This resulted in thousands of troops being forced to nap outdoors.
One guardsmen told Politico their unit resorted to sleeping inside a nearby parking garage where they had no internet reception, just one electrical outlet, and a single bathroom for 5,000 troops. At night, temperatures in Washington fell to the low 40s.
“Yesterday dozens of senators and congressmen walked down our lines taking photos, shaking our hands and thanking us for our service,” the guardsman said. “Within 24 hours, they had no further use for us and banished us to the corner of a parking garage. We feel incredibly betrayed.”
Photographs of the troops sleeping inside parking garages began circulating online late last week and sparked national outrage.
“Our troops deserve the utmost honor & respect for securing the Capitol & defending democracy this week,” Senator Tim Scott fumed on Twitter . “This is unconscionable & unsafe. Whoever’s decision this was to house our National Guardsmen & women in underground parking lots must be held accountable.”
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez retweeted the photos and added, “Yeah this is not okay. My office is free this week to any service members who’d like to use it for a break or take nap on the couch. We’ll stock up on snacks for you all too.”
On Friday, President Biden called the chief of the National Guard Bureau to apologize for the conditions the troops were forced to face.
As The New York Times reported, Biden also asked what could be done to help those guardsmen, and the incident is now being investigated by the Senate Rules Committee.
That same day, First Lady Jill Biden delivered chocolate chip cookies to National Guard members and personally thanked them “for keeping me and my family safe.”
Of those 25,000 troops stationed in Washington, about 15,000 are expected to now return to their respective states.
However, military.com reports that approximately 7,000 troops will be asked to stay in D.C. until the end of January, with further plans to keep them there until the end of March. Those details are still in the planning stages.
Anyone who stays past the original 31-day mobilization order will be there on a volunteer basis, but Guard Bureau spokesman Nahaku McFadden assures they “are not going to make anybody stay.”
h/t: Politico , BBC , New York Times , military.com
