Called to Serve
by Rep. Dusty Johnson
More than 20,000 of our National Guard troops lined the streets of Washington this week to help safely usher in the peaceful transition of power. It was a striking image to see firsthand.
After the violence in the Capitol, these men and women dropped everything to come protect the streets of America’s capital city.
Although most of these brave men and women don’t call D.C. home, they answered the call to serve our nation and agreed to be given a moment’s notice when trouble strikes domestically. They slept on marble floors in the capitol, dined on granola bars, and stood outside at the ready in winter temperatures for hours on end.
I had the opportunity to meet with South Dakota’s National Guard today. More than two hundred of our states finest have been stationed in D.C. for the last week. It’s not a job many of us would willingly sign up for, but these folks did.
Serving our nation is far from glamorous, and I’ll be forever grateful for the many sacrifices our service members make every time they put on the uniform. Especially this week.
South Dakota guard members need to come home. There was no reason for that type of military response in DC except for political optics. Period.