By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Kentucky National Guard is sending 270 members to Washington, D.C., for the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden.
The soldiers and airmen will assist in protecting property and providing a safe environment for citizens to exercise their right to peacefully assemble and protest. These Guardsmen will begin leaving the state in the next several days, and will be on duty in and around Washington, D.C., through the inauguration.
Brig. Gen. Hal Lamberton, adjutant general for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, speaks to a group of Soldiers and Airmen from the Kentucky National Guard at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville Thursday. The Guardsmen are deploying this weekend to support the Presidential Inauguration at the nation’s capital Jan. 20. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Joshua Horton, U.S. Air National Guard)
According to Brig. Gen. Hal Lamberton, the Adjutant General of Kentucky, the service members will have a variety of roles and responsibilities, to include support to civil authorities for immediate response capabilities, food service assistance and chaplain care.
“Our Guardsmen will help provide much-needed support to the nation as we swear in a new president Wednesday,” said Lamberton. “Our Soldiers and Airmen are of the highest caliber, and it’s my honor to be able to provide them an opportunity to serve in this capacity. We are grateful to the families and employers of these service members as well. We couldn’t be successful without their unwavering support for all of our missions.”
Gov. Andy Beshear authorized the National Guard support after a request from the National Guard Bureau sought additional personnel to support law enforcement and the Washington, D.C., National Guard.
“The brave men and women of the Kentucky National Guard will once again proudly serve the Commonwealth and the country in the coming days as they assist in and around Washington, D.C., during the presidential inauguration,” the Governor said. “The peaceful transfer of power is crucial to our democracy. After the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and lawmakers, it is necessary that we ensure safety and security. I was proud to authorize this request for aid and am proud our soldiers and airmen will take part in the mission.”
In addition to the Guard members deployed to Washington, Gov. Beshear announced on Thursday that they will be ready to respond to potential incidents at the state Capitol, such as occurred a few days ago.
“We’re not going to provide any further details, but the Guard has been activated to assist in security here in Frankfort, for any planned acts of terror that might be perpetrated by anybody out there, he said. ”We will have sufficient resources, we will be prepared, to ensure that what happened in the U.S. Capitol does not happen here in Kentucky. That’s our commitment, and we’ll be ready.”
