Members of the 114th Military Police Company in Clinton are at the nation's Capitol to help ensure a safe transition of power at the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden. Last week, state legislators urged Governor Tate Reeves to mobilize the National Guard to D.C. following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump extremists. Adjutant General Janson Boyles says the soldiers being sent are always prepared for this type of security mission. He says one-fourth of the company serves as law enforcement in their civilian lives. "I've just told them 'Look, have your antennas up. Always be looking around you in this environment that you're going into and be aware of your surroundings,'" says Adj. General Boyles. "They know that. I'm not telling them something they don't know. About half of this group has been in Kuwait already, they've been in the middle east doing some very difficult missions in very dangerous situations. So they are mentally prepared for any kind of threat."
Last June, 400 Mississippi soldiers were mobilized to Washington to assist with security during Black Lives Matter protests. Adjutant General Boyles says the state has only sent around 100 soldiers to the U.S. Capitol for this deployment. He says Mississippi's National Guard is being heavily utilized throughout various missions. "We've got the COVID-19 response going now that's taking a lot of our soldiers and airman. We're also providing security for the state of Mississippi, we always consider that before we deploy soldiers to the Capitol region, so we're doing that part. We also have training currently going on," says Adj. General Boyles. "So we've got a lot going on these next two weeks with the Mississippi National Guard, including this mission."
Mississippi's National Guard will be part of an expected 20,000 soldiers involved in securing Washington D.C. this week.
