We feel incredibly betrayed': Thousands of Guardsmen forced to vacate Capitol

[brooklynite]

Source: Politico

Thousands of National Guardsmen were forced to vacate congressional grounds on Thursday and are now taking their rest breaks outside and in nearby parking garages, after two weeks of sleepless nights protecting the nation’s capital in the wake of the violent assault 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.

...snip...

All National Guard troops were told to vacate the Capitol and nearby congressional buildings on Thursday, and to set up mobile command centers outside or in nearby hotels, another Guardsman confirmed. They were told to take their rest breaks during their 12-hour shifts outside and in parking garages, the person said.

Prominent lawmakers from both parties took to Twitter to decry the decision and call for answers after POLITICO first reported the news Thursday night. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, tweeted: "If this is true, it's outrageous. I will get to the bottom of this."

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/21/national-guard-troops-vacate-capitol-461220

---

Sounds as though it was an administrative decision by the Capitol Police.

[Hoyt]

1. Capitol Police are governed by Congress. They fired the Chief last week, but

it’s time to put someone with sense in charge, like tonight.

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. Sounds manufactured to me.

Did anyone ask Biden and Harris to intercede? Or was this a managed local bombshell?

[mysteryowl]

3. So, why would the Capital Police not discuss this with others before making that decision?

The CP need some revamping in leadership training.

[Lulu KC]

4. I want to hear what General Honore has to say

(Should read HONORE with accent over last E--can't get this to work!)

This does not sound right.

[Bayard]

5. Aren't they supposed to start going home now?

[Thekaspervote]

6. MSNBC tonight: someone said no to that and moving NG troops back to the capital

[Hekate]

7. Iwonder if this is a move by McConnell et al to remove the most visible reminder of the Insurrection

“Nothing to see here, let’s move along, and why would you want to convict Trump in the Senate?”

Living under GOP rule has dialed up my cynicism.

[CTyankee]

27. Yes! That makes sense to me. Cui bono?

[riversedge]

8. ...have been informed Capitol Police have apologized to the Guardsmen and they will be allowed back

geez. No way to treat them.


.....By 10 p.m., Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said the situation was “being resolved” and that the Guardsmen would be able to return indoors later in the night.

“Just made a number of calls and have been informed Capitol Police have apologized to the Guardsmen and they will be allowed back into the complex tonight,” added Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), who lost both of her legs in combat. “I’ll keep checking to make sure they are.”

A Guard source confirmed late Thursday night that all troops in the parking garages were ordered to return inside the Capitol.

[riversedge]

9. Replying to @SenDuckworth Update: Troops are now all out of the garage. Now I can go to bed.

Duckworth has been on the phone helping them tonight.


Tammy Duckworth
@SenDuckworth
·
1m
Replying to
@SenDuckworth
Update: Troops are now all out of the garage. Now I can go to bed.

Link to tweet

?s=20

[sakabatou]

10. Duckworth is getting things done

[onetexan]

11. Thank you Sen. Duckworth. Whoever made this bonehead decision need to answer & apologize to the

Good men &women protecting them &the Capitol. Im terribly disappointed our NG were treated this way. Glad they were allowed back into the capitol &i hope theyre still being fed well by chef Andres & other restaurants, &that madam Speaker &congress people continue to treat them well &thank them for their service.

[riversedge]

12. It was the Park Police and they did apologize. How it how happened NOT explained

[onetexan]

13. Thanks, i just read the other thread. Painful to hear what happened.

[Kaleva]

19. If it was the Park Police, why did the Capitol Police apoligize?

"....By 10 p.m., Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said the situation was “being resolved” and that the Guardsmen would be able to return indoors later in the night.

“Just made a number of calls and have been informed Capitol Police have apologized to the Guardsmen and they will be allowed back into the complex tonight,” added Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), who lost both of her legs in combat. “I’ll keep checking to make sure they are.”

A Guard source confirmed late Thursday night that all troops in the parking garages were ordered to return inside the Capitol."

https://democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2677972

[riversedge]

20. yes, Capitol police. my mistake -sorry for the confusion

[Kaleva]

21. No problem!

[Sapient Donkey]

14. Who the hell in the Capitol Police made this decision?

I hope they look into this to make sure it wasn't some political move to make it look as if the Biden admin was treating our soldiers poorly.

[Hotler]

17. I agree. A fascist move for sure. The red Don my be gone but, the war is not over. nt

[CTyankee]

28. Yep. As I said, cui bono?

[OldBaldy1701E]

15. Ahh Yes

Yet another example of some bonehead making a decision and then hiding behind bureaucracy so he cannot be blamed. One of the many things that I found funny about the 'drain the swamp' cry was that they had no idea what 'the swamp' was. They thought it was people. (And, there are plenty of people who need to be 'drained' back to their caves but that is another story). The 'swamp' is the morass of bureaucratic bullshiat that is SOP for our government. And, it was made bigger by those who were crowing about getting rid of it. (No surprise there). Now we see if the new administration will decide if the cry to correct the bloated bureaucracy (which originated long before the MAGAts claimed it for themselves) is worth answering. Or, they will use it to make things even more bloated and impossible to handle. The call for transparency still needs to be addressed. I hope it will be answered.

[George II]

16. The National Guard was back in the Capitol before midnight.

[Kaleva]

18. Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman needs to provide answers.

[Nitram]

22. I'm not sure who they feel "betrayed" them. This is what they signed up for, isn't it?

[maxrandb]

23. Holy Crap! The new Pentagon boss has some work to do

I spent close to 30 years in the Navy. There were times that I would have given my left testicle to have something as spacious and comfortable as a parking garage to sleep in.

During 24/7 Flight Ops, we'd catch a nap in the blazing sun, or freezing cold on a nonskid flight deck.

My God! Don't even get me started on the Box Lunches during extended General Quarters.

WTF? The guy who described this as "being betrayed" should be sent on a 12 month deployment to the OPLATS in the Persian Gulf.

I am all for treating our troops well, and if I understand the National Guard, they all have government paid for hotels and per diem.

You join the military, you better understand that your job is not always going to be comfortable.

Electrical Outlets and Wifi???

Reminds me of one day at Muster when I forgot to shave:

Master Chief: "why didn't you shave dumbass"?
Me: "someone stold my radio Master Chief"
Master Chief: "what the fuck does that have to do with you shaving"?
Me: "my electric shaver was on top of my radio".

[Kaleva]

25. On my first ship, we took showers topside while underway when it was raining.

First words passed when we left port were often "Secure the sea and anchor detail. Fresh water is secured throughout the ship." We couldn't shave, shower or brush our teeth till we pulled back into port.

I slept in my work space as the stench in the berthing compartments was just too much. A kapok on the deck was my mattress and my foul weather jacket was my blanket. After my first cruise, I stocked up on 5 gallon containers of water in my work shop before we left port. i used that for bird baths, shaving and brushing my teeth and also for washing my socks and skivvies. I washed my utilities by putting them in my mesh laundry bag and tying a heaving line to it and dragging the bag in the wake of the ship. It took me just once to learn not to wash my skivvies and socks that way. it takes a special kind of someone to wear salt encrusted underwear and I ain't that kind of person.

[maxrandb]

26. I was on an Amphib

You haven't smelled death until you've smelled Marines coming back to the ship after 3 weeks in the field.

[Kaleva]

30. I woke up many times to smell of K***ke's stinky feet right in my face

We didn't have dividers separating our racks. So K***ke would slide down on his rack when he was asleep and his feet would end up on my pillow.

On subsequent cruises, I didn't sleep in the berthing compartment when underway much unless we were just out for a few days.

[flotsam]

24. Every damn Guardsman who complained about being "betrayed"

Should be activated and sent to an infantry unit for 90 days-then ask them to describe their "feelings"!

[Greybnk48]

29. Flotus personally delivered snacks to them today.

I'm thinking the GOP ordered the Capitol police to pull this stunt.