National Guard wants to help; ANCs not so sure

On a quiet stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue near the Potomac Avenue Metro Station, Hill East resident Starynee Adams watched her two children giddily waive to the National Guard troops across the street picking up trash.

Initially deployed to combat crime, the National Guard is now turning to advisory neighborhood commissions seeking a community to-do list; not everyone is on board.

Picking up trash is not the reason they came to D.C., but it’s now part of the Guard’s new mission.

With crime in D.C. at a 30-year low, President Trump in August declared a crime emergency invoking the Home Rule Act to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department and activate the National Guard from D.C. and six Republican-led states.  Just weeks into the deployment, the National Guard is seeking beautification projects across the city—a move that has sparked mixed reactions from caution to collaboration.  Leaders and residents are divided on whether to collaborate or stand firm on the Guard’s departure.

“If you want people to do beautification projects, why not rehire the people that were just fired from the National Park Service,” Adams said.

A shift in direction happened Sept. 8 when D.C. National Guard Director Marcus Hunt sent a District-wide letter to advisory neighborhood commissioners “requesting help identifying projects on neighborhood beautification efforts.”

Hunt, a native Washingtonian and Ward 8 resident, appealed to commissioners with a sense of partnership and urged leaders to work “alongside” the National Guards as a community.

The response has been mixed. Earlier this month, 93 different ANCs penned a joint letter published in The 51^st opposing the deployment of National Guard troops in D.C. “It is a direct attack on the freedom and independence every community deserves,” the commissioners wrote.

Commissioners in Ward 8 were among the first to reject Hunt’s request to help, voting unanimously to refuse the offer. “We don’t need the National Guard in the community to help with beautification” they said.

Ward 1 ANC leaders also declined to respond, calling the offer “uncomfortable and concerning.” 

However, Ward 7 Commissioner John Adams said, “We invite and embrace” the help.

ANC 6B, which represents Capitol Hill and Hill East is still pondering the decision.

David Soblesohn, ANC 6B secretary, said that ANC Commissioner Edward Ryder considered holding an emergency meeting on the request but ultimately decided to wait until the full body meeting on Sept. 30 when the public can weigh in.

The troops will be here until December, so we have time to make a “measured decision,” Soblesohn said.

Soblesohn said some constituents would like to see the ANCs work more collaboratively with the National Guard.  He said his commission conferred with the Home Rule Caucus, an informal group of roughly 75 ANCs that advocates for D.C. self-governance.

Soblesohn said the alternative responses falls into three camps: reject the offer outright, find collaborative ways to work with the troops or ignore the offer and don’t respond. “One and three are essentially the same,” he added.

While all ANCs agree in principle that the troops should go home, Soblesohn said there is a school of thought that says, “if they are going to wander the streets aimlessly, we should let them do something.”

Former federal contractor Ryan Donaldson, who said he has witnessed crime first-hand, deemed the National Guard as a necessary deterrent and supports its presence for both safety and beautification efforts.

Donaldson, a Capitol Hill resident, said as a federal city, D.C. represents the pride of the nation and “we need to put our best foot forward.” 

Donaldson said he has had his bike stolen a few times, witnessed a resident assaulted by a homeless person and even found a discarded handgun at a D.C. Metro station.  “So yes, I support more police and National Guard presence—not just for me but for everyone who lives and works here,” he said.

However, Adams said she sees the beautification efforts as a political move.

“If this was really about crime, we’d see the National Guard in high-crime areas—not picking up trash near $800,000 homes and monuments,” she said. “This feels more like a test of presidential power than a public safety mission.”

Adams, a remote tech employee, added, “We don’t need troops to beautify D.C.—this money could be going toward schools and school programs, instead it’s being spent on a military presence we didn’t ask for.”

Pentagon civilian employee Mark T., who declined to provide his last name due to privacy concerns, has lived on Capitol Hill for 20 years; he offered what he described as a pragmatic approach. “If the situation has been imposed on us, let’s make the best of it,” he said.

If handled correctly and the contributions are meaningful, Mark T. said it won’t legitimize federal overreach but rather help the community. “If not, we run the risk of sounding like hyper-liberal complainers,” he added.

Home Rule Caucus Chairman Miguel Trindade Deramo coordinates advocacy across the commissions and urged the National Guard to remain focused on its mission of “readiness to respond to security threats.”

On Sept. 18, the Home Rule Caucus published a response letter to Hunt thanking him for his offer but expressing “collective disapproval.” The letter cited a misuse of federal resources and warned of a troubling precedent.

Deramo told The Wash there is a lot of work to be done around the city, noting the inappropriate use of the Guards.

“They are trained soldiers; we don’t need them picking up trash and laying mulch, Deramo said.” The federal government needed to properly fund the National Park Services and the other agencies trained for these matters, he said.

Deramo said he didn’t fault wards who accepted the National Guard’s offer but stressed the principle of local autonomy outweighs the short-term service they provide.

Adams admits her children are amused and curious about the Guards posted in the neighborhood, but she cautioned this political environment is a slippery slope.

“Leaders should be standing up and pushing back and not playing along to make the troops look more useful,” she said.

D.C. leaders are navigating a delicate dance asserting local authority while responding to federal pressure and oversight.

Mayor Muriel Bowser and Council Chair Phil Mendelson spent five hours testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Sept. 18.  While Bowser did not push back on the National Guard, she emphasized public safety must be managed locally.

“Let us do our job,” she told committee members.

Even with differing opinions on beautification projects, there is consensus that the Guards must be treated respectfully. Adams said, “They didn’t ask for this mission, but they are here to serve.”  Mark T. added “Let’s treat them with the pride and decorum the uniform deserves.”