CHARLESTON, W. Va. (WVDN) – In the second week as part of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) Soldiers and Airmen continue conducting missions that support the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in reducing crime and ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
The WVNG is supporting Joint Task Force – District of Columbia (JTF-DC) in areas of sustainment, logistics, administration, public affairs and Joint Staff augmentation. Security missions include static and roving presence patrols.
WVNG service members are not conducting beautification projects, such as litter collection and site restoration.
West Virginia Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Jim Seward visited D.C. this week, meeting with many of the approximately 400 WVNG service members on-ground in the Nation’s Capital. The Soldiers and Airmen are mobilized from units including the West Virginia Army National Guard’s 111th Engineer Brigade, 77th Brigade Troop Command, 771st Troop Command Battalion, 1092nd Engineer Battalion, 201st Field Artillery Battalion, and the 1-150th Cavalry Regiment alongside the West Virginia Air National Guard’s 130th and 167th Airlift Wings, and the Homeland Response Force (HRF), a joint unit specializing in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) response capabilities.
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, praised the National Guard during his address at the 147th National Guard Association of the United States General Conference in Milwaukee, Aug. 23.
“When you mobilize the Guard, you mobilize the nation,” Caine said. “Rooted in all of our history is the Guard. From 1636 to 2036 and beyond, the Guard will always be there.”
