The ongoing National Guard mission in the nation’s capital, launched last August and currently comprising 2,429 Soldiers and Airmen from the District of Columbia and eleven other states, has been ordered to continue through December 31, 2026, according to two officials familiar with the decision.
The mission, centered on public safety and what officials describe as “city beautification” tasks, was originally set to conclude next month before receiving multiple short-term extensions, but the new orders mark the first long-duration extension for the force. Guard members have been patrolling Metro stations and key downtown areas, as well as conducting routine civic projects such as trash collection, landscaping, and graffiti removal across Washington, D.C.
According to one official, the current contingent includes roughly 700 personnel from the D.C. National Guard and more than 1,700 from out-of-state units, drawn from a group of eleven states that includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and West Virginia. The longer-term extension is intended to provide more stability for service members and their families after months of short-notice renewals, though officials emphasized that the mission could still be scaled back or ended earlier if circumstances change.
The decision follows a deadly November shooting that killed Specialist Sarah Beckstrom of the West Virginia National Guard and critically wounded Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe while they were on duty near the White House, an incident that has galvanized many troops’ sense of purpose while also intensifying scrutiny of the deployment’s risks. Some Guard members and family advocates, however, have voiced frustration over the length and nature of the assignment, noting that many troops earn more in their civilian jobs and questioning the need for such a large, sustained military presence in largely peaceful parts of the city.
