Date: Aug. 3, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM EST
Moderator: Lt. Col. Vonnie Wright
Speaker: Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard, Interim Commanding General, DC National Guard
Reporters’ Present:
- Lianna Golden, ABC 7 News, Washington, D.C. Bureau
- Steve Beynon, ABC News
- Gina Cavallaro, AUSA
- Anthony Capaccio, Bloomberg
- Dominique Johnson, Hearst Television Washington Bureau
- Matthew Adams, Stars and Stripes
- Patty Nieberg, Task & Purpose
- Missy Ryan, The Atlantic
- Amanda Moore, The Nation
- Eric Schmitt, The New York Times
- Thalia Vereles, Univision Washington, D.C.
- Melissa Kim, WUSA 9
- William Corcoran, Yomiuri Shimbun
Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard: Thank you.
First, I’d like to say good morning to everyone joining us, whether you’re in person or online. I really appreciate you taking the time to be with us.
I’m Brigadier General Leland Blanchard, interim commanding general of the DC National Guard, as well as the commander of the Joint Task Force.
For 390 years, the National Guard has answered the call for this nation. From the first citizen-soldier who picked up his musket and responded in a time of crisis for his community, to the soldiers and airmen that you see today, one thing has remained constant: when our nation calls, we respond.
Since August 11, 2025, more than 9,700 National Guard soldiers and airmen from across the nation have served shoulder to shoulder with our local and federal partners. They left their careers, their families, and the things they know to come here and answer a higher calling: protecting our nation’s capital while strengthening the trust between those who serve and those they serve.
Supporting a mission of this magnitude requires extraordinary coordination. It demands unity of effort between law enforcement, emergency management partners, and, of course, the National Guard. And while much of that work happens quietly behind the scenes, the impact is measurable.
I recognize that in today’s digital environment, people often see brief moments or isolated videos and images of this mission. They may not always understand or be given the context or the purpose behind what they’re seeing. This is why I believe today’s media roundtable is important. It’s an opportunity to provide context, answer questions, and provide examples of the professionalism, readiness, and commitment that I have witnessed over the past year.
I’d like to share a few statistics with you. As of today, our Guardsmen have provided 788 medical assists, ranging from administering CPR to applying tourniquets for gunshot victims and a whole range of medical assistance. We reunited 43 lost children with their families, supported law enforcement 479 times in the course of their duties, intervened in 262 altercations before they further escalated, and the team has administered Narcan to 325 individuals over the course of this last year.
Those are not simply numbers. Those are not just data points. Each of those represents fathers, mothers, children, people who have received emergency care, been returned to parents and families, had their lives saved from opioid overdoses, or were involved in violent situations brought under control before further harm was done.
Many of these successes do not make it into the news cycle. They happen quietly, without recognition, and it is because our soldiers and our airmen understand that service is not about headlines. It’s about showing up when people need them.
Our Guardsmen also bring something unique and uniquely valuable to this mission: the experiences they have gained in their civilian professions. Police officers, firefighters, paramedics, teachers, engineers, counselors, IT specialists, and countless other professionals bring those skills directly into this operational environment. Those diverse experiences make our work stronger, more adaptable, and better prepared to respond to the unexpected. Again, I have seen that firsthand each and every day.
Whether responding to violent incidents in neighborhoods, providing lifesaving medical care before first responders are able to get there, or assisting vulnerable members of our community experiencing crisis, our Guardsmen have demonstrated professionalism, discipline, and skill under pressure.
This is what partnership looks like. It’s what readiness looks like. It’s what service looks like.
This mission has also strengthened the partnerships that make Washington, DC safer and more resilient. Each day, we operate alongside the Metropolitan Police Department, our federal law enforcement agencies, emergency management organizations, and leaders at every echelon. Those relationships improve coordination today while preparing us to respond together tomorrow.
The National Guard does not replace law enforcement. We expand operational capacity, strengthen the ability to serve, and provide additional capabilities during extraordinary circumstances. And together, we answer the call.
We are building stronger partnerships, developing stronger leaders who will return inspired and ready to impact their own communities, and ensuring that the National Guard remains always ready, always there, today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
Lt. Col. Wright: Thank you, sir. We’ll begin with our first question. I’m going to start with someone in the room. From ABC 7 News, Washington, D.C. Bureau, Lianna Golden.
Lianna Golden, ABC 7 News, Washington, D.C. Bureau: Thank you for taking our questions and sharing this update with us today. My first question would be for you: the deployment has cost taxpayers about $100 million since the National Guard came into DC. It’s been a controversial stay. What would be your comment to folks at home who believe their tax dollars could be better spent elsewhere?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: I appreciate your question. When we’re talking about cost and benefit, I really focus hard on the benefit side. That’s my job every day.
I understand and appreciate those concerns. I’m also a taxpayer. I’m also a father. I’m also a husband. And when I see the impact out on the street, I’ll use an example from Saturday. I was at Starburst Plaza, a place that’s been challenging for the community, and I saw one of our airmen in action administering Narcan and saving a life on the scene. A few minutes later, a young teenager rode by on his scooter, stopped, and said, “I’ve never seen this place so clean.” A few moments later, another person walked up and said, “Thank you for being here. We’ve been asking for years and years for the National Guard to come here and clean this neighborhood up. Our kids deserve that.”
I acknowledge that there are costs. I also acknowledge that for every parent whose child is safe, every child who’s going to be able to finish this school year the way they started, and hopefully not have to go to a funeral service for a parent or a loved one or a neighbor, that’s the part that I focus on, which is really the benefit side of the equation.
When we talk about the cost, absolutely, we are very mindful of that, which is why we spend a lot of time trying to be more efficient and more effective as leaders with the dollars.
Lianna Golden: Thank you for that response. Just a quick follow-up: there’s about a $302 million contract on the way for long-term housing for the men and women who are serving here in DC. Could you briefly touch on the decision to switch to apartment-style versus hotel-style housing?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: Sure. There were really a few factors in that.
One, we wanted to make sure that we brought all of the folks participating on the mission a little bit closer together. We can secure them a little bit better. It cuts down on the commute, and it cuts down on all the things that we’ve got to do to get ready for the mission each day.
The other thing is, it’s going to save us about $90 million over the course of the contract. That’s true across the board when you look at the cost of lodging. We also know there will be other incremental costs saved as far as transportation to and from locations. The farther out you are, the more costly it is.
So it was really about three big things for me: readiness, being closer and more responsive if something happens and you need to secure folks; cost, which goes back to your first question, being able to save a significant amount of money over the course of the contract; and making sure that these young Americans who are serving their nation and serving their community, doing what we’ve asked them to do, have the best opportunity to be comfortable at the end of some very long and challenging days.
Lt. Col. Wright: Thank you. Just a reminder to all, please make sure your phones are on mute if you’re on the line.
Moving to the next question, Melissa Kim from WUSA 9.
Melissa Kim, WUSA 9: Yes. Hi. Just quickly, I know that last month the president announced that the National Guard presence would continue until 2029. I know you touched on what you’ve already accomplished here, but big picture, what are you hoping to accomplish in the next few years?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: I appreciate that. At the president’s direction, we’ll be here really until the president says the mission is over. And I think he’s been pretty clear: we’re driving toward zero. I hear a lot of skepticism about that, but from my perspective, what I really see is not accepting less than better.
We’re going to continue to work with our law enforcement partners and community agencies and drive toward better for our people. I think our citizens deserve that. I think every visitor, every resident deserves to be in an environment where they’re safe, they’re secure, it’s predictable, and they don’t have to fear going out.
I hear people tell me on the streets, “It’s been a long time since I came to this part of the neighborhood.” I hear a lot of people tell me, “I never would have come to Union Station,” and now they’re out there taking family photos. I have so many experiences that motivate me each and every day when I engage with these community members.
I am hopeful, personally, that we’ll be able to expand that feeling so they can go out and do things each and every day in their neighborhood and be safe.
Lt. Col. Wright: Do you have a follow-up, ma’am? Okay, next question. Steve Beynon from ABC News.
Steve Beynon, ABC News: Yeah, appreciate it. General, can you talk a little bit about readiness impact on units deployed on the mission, and kind of the total impact the mission has, and what you expect to happen on that record?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: I appreciate that question. One of the things that we are always concerned about is our ability to meet all of our mission sets.
The National Guard has two mission sets. We have a domestic mission responding to our communities, which we’re doing. We also have that federal requirement, which is to be ready to fight and win our nation’s battles.
One of the things that we’re very mindful of here is our ability to maintain individual readiness through all of the medical requirements and just making sure that they’re ready. We’re getting them out, working on a lot of those individual skills that they’ve got. So we incorporate that into our cycle. They’re out on the street working, and then we bring them in for some training.
We really are mindful that we’re not significantly impacting the overall readiness of those organizations. And I would argue, quite frankly, we see from the metrics that at the individual level, we are having a significant positive impact on readiness.
Lt. Col. Wright: Hi Steve, do you have a follow-up, sir?
Steve Beynon: Can you talk a little bit about the process of where you’re placing Guardsmen in the city, in tourist areas and not necessarily higher-crime neighborhoods in the District?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: I appreciate that question. There are a couple pieces to that.
As we look at and receive analysis from our law enforcement partners, they’re really the ones who are looking at it and working with us to say, “This is where we need to be right now,” because this is where operations can be positively impacted.
To use a couple of examples, we’re in some of the places that are potentially a little bit more visible because that allows them to displace some of their law enforcement and focus in other areas. So that’s the first part.
The second part is, I’m going to tell you, we are absolutely in various neighborhoods. We’ve been in Anacostia for quite some time. Over the last few days, I know there’s been some reporting and some interest in Ward 8, Trinidad, and some of the other parts of the city where people have asked us to be. And we will continue.
I think you’ll see over the next few weeks, as we hit the one-year mark, one of the discussion points we’ve had is: what’s next? How do we transition to the next phase? And so I think you’ll see some changes to some of those locations and some of those places where you are seeing us very visibly.
Lt. Col. Wright: All right, thank you, Steve. Anthony Capaccio from Bloomberg.
Anthony Capaccio, Bloomberg: Yes, sir. Sir, can you hear me okay?
Lt. Col. Wright: I got you, sir.
Anthony Capaccio: Sir, I go to the area and I use the Metro quite a bit. I’ve seen a lot of your people, friendly, milling around at the upper levels in the Metro and not down on the trains. What are they empowered to do in case of assault on passengers? And what are the rules of engagement in terms of stopping crimes on the Metro? They do seem a little unfamiliar around it. I’m not sure why they’re there.
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: I appreciate that. I’m going to be careful, because words have meaning. We don’t have “rules of engagement”; we have rules on the use of force on this mission.
Very clearly, what they are authorized to do when they witness something is step in. They are there because that’s where Metro Transit has asked us to be. That allows us to then push Metro Transit Police officers into other locations.
And I do want to note that we do actually have what we call a “ride the rail” mission. We have teams that are out and about on the Metro. To give you an example, we have stopped a sexual assault in progress on the Metro. We recently stopped a knife-wielding assailant on a Metro bus. So we are out and about.
Our law enforcement partners have asked us to be there.
Anthony Capaccio: What are their rules on using firearms? They’re all armed. Broadly, can you say what would justify use of weapons in the Metro area?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: Only in times where they would have to preserve human life.
Anthony Capaccio: Okay, thank you.
Lt. Col. Wright: Thank you, Anthony. Moving on to Eric Schmitt from The New York Times.
Eric Schmitt, The New York Times: General, you just mentioned that you’re going to be transitioning to the next phase soon. Can you sketch out first what that next phase entails? And is it related to the fact that the number of National Guard in the city has now doubled over the summer? What was the purpose of that? How are those forces being deployed? And then I do have a follow-up.
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: Okay. As we experienced and went through all of the events related to America 250, we recognized that there would be some significant crowds, that July 4th was going to be a large crowd, and we had all these big events. Working in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, ranging from the Metropolitan Police Department to the Secret Service and others, we wanted to ensure that we were able to respond to everything that might be asked of us. So we definitely increased those numbers over the summer, and that was in response to that.
We’ll see those numbers decline over the next few weeks as we come to a conclusion once the race is complete.
From there, as I talk about transition, we’ve got a year of experience out there, and what we see is some change in trends. We understand that people respond to our presence, and our presence has moved and had impact, so they can see that in the data. Naturally, at this point, after one year, we ask: how do we continue to meet the president’s objectives and the mission set? That’s what we’re really looking at. We’re examining that now.
At one year, it’s natural that trends and people’s actions will change, and so we’re looking at that and how to respond to it.
Eric Schmitt: Just as a follow-up, given you now have almost 12 months’ experience of this, are you now asking participating states and state National Guards from their adjutants general if they can send units, MP units or units that are more aligned with law enforcement objectives, rather than just any National Guard who’s going to be posted on some of the concourses of the Metro?
And then a takeaway question for Colonel Wright: would you all be willing to give us some broad geographical breakdown by quadrants in the city where these National Guard personnel are employed, or the number of missions, just so we have a sense — northeast, southeast, northwest, southwest — where these folks are?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: I appreciate that. Here’s what I would say: every Guardsman is trained and ready to meet the objectives they’re given.
When you ask whether we’re looking for specific units or specific types of job skills or MOSs, we certainly develop whatever the participating states, governors, and respective adjutants general are willing to provide. And when they get here, just like we do with every single soldier who shows up, we spend the first few days going through training, ensuring that they know what’s being asked of them, and making sure that they have the skills needed to accomplish the mission.
As far as specific skill sets, we continue to work with the states and the adjutants general and are more than happy to take on the great soldiers and airmen they’ve been providing.
Lt. Col. Wright: Thank you, Eric. As for your question, yes, we’ll be able to give you some general information. I’m going to stay away from specifics, obviously, for operational concerns, but we can provide a broad breakdown to give you a general idea of where they’re located.
We’ll get back to you, Eric. We’ll follow up there without getting into OPSEC. We’ll get with NGB and make sure we get the data for you.
Moving on. Missy Ryan from The Atlantic. Do you have a question, ma’am?
Missy Ryan, The Atlantic: No, I do not.
Lt. Col. Wright: Okay, thank you very much. Patty Nieberg from Task & Purpose.
Patty Nieberg, Task & Purpose: I do, thank you. General Blanchard, you said that in the next few weeks we’ll see the numbers come down. Obviously, we have the new apartment contract, and the National Guard Bureau says it goes for three years. Can you give us a little bit of an understanding of what the numbers are going to look like over the next however long, and kind of what the goal is for when the mission ends?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: I won’t get into specific numbers, but again, as we come out of the summer, you’ll see a natural decline in the overall numbers.
We’re going to continue to assess our operational requirements and work with law enforcement to ensure that as those numbers change, and as we need to support major events celebrating America’s 250th birthday, we continue to reassess each and every week.
What we don’t want to do is have resources that we don’t need, but we also want to ensure that we’re able to meet every requirement being asked of us as we go forward.
Patty Nieberg: Maybe I’m not understanding — I apologize. In terms of how long folks are still going to be here, and you’re increasing numbers, but kind of overall, the full motivation of people still being in DC — is there an end date in line?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: Per the president’s directive and the subsequent orders down through the process, we’re here at least until January 2029, or until the president tells us we’re complete.
Lt. Col. Wright: Thanks, Patty. Moving on to Matthew Adams from Stars and Stripes.
Matthew Adams, Stars and Stripes: Yes, I do. Thank you for taking time to talk with us. One of the things about the task force has been reducing crime in DC, but there have been studies and reports that suggest the Guard is having minimal effects on that. How is the task force assessing its impact on crime? Do you all have data or reports suggesting the amount of it?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: I appreciate that. If I’m understanding correctly, I believe the report you’re referring to — what I would say is, if you go to the three primary conclusions in that report, they absolutely say that there’s a positive impact where the Guard is on crime.
I think what they were really getting after, if I read their paper correctly, is that they disagreed with some of the locations. So they’re not really saying that there’s no impact, although that’s what the headlines are. What they’re saying is that they disagree with some of the locations.
As we move forward, what we’ll do is bring the same impact that we’re seeing. I can tell you, for example, we moved into Starburst Plaza over the last week — very publicly, and there’s been some reporting done on it — and we have definitely seen a significant impact there. I think we’re going to continue to bring that impact across the city as we expand.
Lt. Col. Wright: Do you have a follow-up, Mr. Adams?
Matthew Adams: Yes. As you’ll be moving into your next phase, do you think changes in placement will address some of what that report acknowledged?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: Again, I hope that we continue to have the same impact wherever we’re at as we have where we’ve been and where we continue to maintain a presence.
For each and every one of those individuals — whether it’s the young person who was getting robbed recently at gunpoint, where a couple of our soldiers driving by at 11:30 at night saw a commotion, stopped, and saved their life in that neighborhood, or performing CPR and responding to a gunshot victim in a different neighborhood — as we continue to go out and expand our presence in different areas, I think we will have that same impact in those places.
Lt. Col. Wright: All right, thank you. Moving on to Gina Cavallaro from AUSA.
Gina Cavallaro, AUSA: Yep, thank you. General, why do you have a new watercraft capability in your DC mission? How many boats will there eventually be, and who’s driving the boat? The Army doesn’t really have an abundance of maritime soldiers, so who’s driving the boat, and how many will there eventually be?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: That’s a great question. I appreciate it.
We’re going to continue to expand our capabilities to meet the needs. It’s interesting — I’ve learned a lot through this process. One of the things I’ve learned is that the Army, in a lot of ways, is responsible for the interior waterways in America and a lot of things that we do. And I think if you went across the country and talked to multiple states that have significant coastline or waterways, what you’ll find in the National Guard is that a lot of states — whether it’s New York, Alaska, California, Texas, or Florida — actually have watercraft.
As far as who’s driving the boats, we’ve been training our folks. We’ve been working with our interagency partners, as well as the various elements across the Army, to make sure that they are trained and certified, investing a lot of our time and energy with that small group to ensure that they’re able to meet the needs, whatever the case may be.
So I would argue it’s not as unique as we probably think, although you are correct that it’s certainly not something that’s very visible on a daily basis when you think about the US Army.
Lt. Col. Wright: Hi Gina, do you have a follow-up?
Gina Cavallaro: Yeah. There aren’t that many maritime soldiers. How are they getting trained up? And just a quick question, General Blanchard: is your title acting still, or are you the commanding general?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: That’s a great question. Officially, I’m the interim commanding general. But the way I look at my role each and every day, I have an amazing honor. You look at each and every one of these soldiers and airmen, not only in the DC Guard but on this mission. So regardless of what the title is, I come to work every day working to ensure that I’m able to meet the needs of each of those airmen, soldiers, and their families.
Gina Cavallaro: Okay, thank you. I just didn’t want to get it wrong.
Lt. Col. Wright: Thank you. All right, moving along to Dominique Johnson from Hearst Television Washington Bureau.
Dominique Johnson, Hearst Television Washington Bureau: Nothing for me today. Thank you.
Lt. Col. Wright: All right, thank you very much. Thalia Vereles from Univision Washington, D.C.
Thalia Vereles, Univision Washington, D.C.: Thank you so much for taking my question. What is the National Guard’s role when it comes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement? And also, what would be your message to the Hispanic and Latino community in the city?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: I appreciate that. We don’t have a specific role, as you mentioned.
What I would tell you is that if you look across our force, you’ll see soldiers in our uniforms who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, neighborhoods, and experiences. We have many first-generation Americans in our formation, and I’m extraordinarily proud of that.
To be quite honest with you, when we talk to folks out in the communities, they are encouraging more participation and encouraging their children to do this. They see the long-term benefit, not just from the benefits, but the education and experience that then translates to a bright future.
Again, I think my message to all members of the community is: we’re here for your safety and security. We appreciate what you do. We’re very mindful each and every day of the reasons that we raised our right hand.
Thalia Vereles: And are you enforcing when ICE comes to the city?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: I don’t want to get into operational details, but I’ll really focus on our mission set as given to us by our federal law enforcement partners. We’ve not been involved in a lot of that to date.
Lt. Col. Wright: All right, thank you, Thalia. Moving on to William Corcoran from Yomiuri Shimbun.
William Corcoran, Yomiuri Shimbun: No question, please. Thank you.
Lt. Col. Wright: All right, thank you very much. Moving on, I can continue around. Ms. Golden, do you have another question by chance? All right, thank you. Melissa Kim, do you have a question? You’re good? Okay.
Moving back down to Mr. Capaccio, do you have another question, sir?
Anthony Capaccio: Yeah, forgive me if I missed this, but how many Guardsmen are in the city right now? And what’s the rough number you want to drop them down to, sir?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: Right now we’ve got just over 4,600.
And we’ll continue to reassess based on the needs of our interagency partners and their requests as we move forward.
Anthony Capaccio: Okay, so roughly 4,600 currently?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: Yes.
Anthony Capaccio: Okay, thank you.
Lt. Col. Wright: All right. Amanda Moore from The Nation, did you have a question? I apologize, ma’am.
Amanda Moore, The Nation: I will not, thank you.
Lt. Col. Wright: All right, thank you. Moving back down to Eric Schmitt from The New York Times.
Eric Schmitt: Just a couple follow-ups. One, I was a little surprised to hear that your title is still only interim commander. I know functionally it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference, but given the high priority you mentioned you give that, I’m still kind of surprised you haven’t been given full permanent standing as commander. Can you explain a little bit more about why that is?
And secondly, is your command doing any internal assessment, following up on one of the earlier questions, just to assess, rather than just anecdotally, how effective they are and to weigh the cost-benefit of this 4,600-member National Guard presence? I understand all the things you ticked off earlier, but given the cost, is that really the most cost-effective way of using these forces in the District?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: Yeah, so we’ll continue to assess. One of the things that certainly we’ve learned, and I think that we’ll talk about in community efforts, is really understanding those very mobile things that are happening because each neighborhood is unique.
We continue to work with the soldiers and airmen on the ground and get their feedback so we can make those adjustments as well — whether it be time, what day of the week, or what season — so that we can move resources around to ensure that we’re meeting the needs.
We’ll continue to work with our law enforcement partners. That feedback on the ground is invaluable. As you mentioned, we want to be efficient, certainly with dollars and mindful of that, but also with the most precious resource we have, which is our soldiers and airmen themselves, ensuring that we’re not misusing their time and energy. We want to make sure we apply it correctly.
As far as the status or the title, I sit in the chair, I’m very proud of it, and I’m extremely enthusiastic each and every day. I appreciate the fact that I get a chance to lead these men and women. So I focus a lot less on what my title is or what my parking spot might say, and a lot more on whether I’m able to positively impact them. And I see that on their faces as I get out pretty much every day, whether it’s in the rain, the snow, or the heat. Just being alongside these amazing people keeps me motivated and keeps me moving in the right direction every day.
Eric Schmitt: Sure. Are you interested in making public or sharing some version of that internal assessment that you said you’re doing, either ongoing or as a quarterly or semiannual set, just to give us your own internal sense of how this is working?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: What I’m going to tell you is that the assessment really isn’t a formal sit-down product. It’s the daily feedback and the information that I receive every morning and every evening. So we continue to assess daily.
If you’re looking for a specific product that we’ve put together, we don’t necessarily do it that way. We try to make those adjustments in the moment each and every day as we go from event to event — whether there’s a national event, whether a major sports team is in town and you know there are going to be more people — that drives some of our behaviors as a force.
Again, we are generally doing those assessments, but I wouldn’t have a big formal product to share. I’m always happy to discuss what I can.
Lt. Col. Wright: Sir, I’m sorry, I’ve got to get through the rest. We’ve got time for maybe just one more question from someone else.
Mr. Beynon, do you have one last question before I wrap this up?
Steve Beynon: Yeah. You talked earlier about a next phase and maybe another neighborhood in the city. Could you talk a little bit more in detail about that and the timeframe and how that might materialize?
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: So, just so I make sure I understand — in looking at that and looking at our moving forward?
Steve Beynon: Yeah. You mentioned earlier we’re kind of looking at a new phase in the mission when we were discussing troop placement, maybe another neighborhood in the city that’s not where you guys are now, or changing the mission in any material way in that year or so.
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: Yeah, so I would say that you will definitely see over the next couple of weeks some adjustments. Again, as we see success in the numbers in places where we’ve been, we’ll shift some of those resources.
You’ll still see us in places that we’re in now. We’ll still be downtown, and we’ll still be in the neighborhoods that we’re in right now. We’ll just shift some of those resources and, again, working in coordination with federal law enforcement and the Metropolitan Police Department, reallocate and repurpose some of those personnel.
Lt. Col. Wright: All right, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. We’re just about out of time here, but I did want to make sure to offer General Blanchard an opportunity to provide any closing comments. Sir, the floor is yours.
Brig. Gen. Blanchard: Well, I appreciate that. Again, I appreciate everybody here or online.
To say that I’m passionate about each and every one of these airmen and soldiers would be an understatement. I love the fact that they are willing to step up into what their nation and their community ask. They work some pretty long hours. They are out there regardless of the weather. Many of them are so connected to the nation’s capital. Many of them want to continue to stay and serve.
By talking to them each and every day when I’m out there — and I think about yesterday, out in the rain, talking to a group of them — the pride that they share and the same request that I hear often is, “Can we do more? We want to do more.”
So I would just say that I am really proud of them and thankful that we continue to have young people who step up and say, “If not me, then who? So send me.”
Thank you again for being here. I appreciate it, and I’m looking forward to the next one.
Lt. Col. Wright: Okay, sir. Media colleagues, thank you very much. Please feel free to reach out to me here at ACO if you have any questions. Again, a transcript will be provided to you. Thank you very much and have a great day.
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