Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) is sending 100 Arkansas National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., after the Thanksgiving holiday.
The deployment announcement comes just days after the Department of War extended the National Guard presence in the capital through Feb. 28, 2026. Sanders’s office said that the deployment is set to last several months.
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“Arkansas’ Guardsmen are there when we need them – whether it’s to deploy overseas, help secure the Southern Border, respond to a natural disaster, or keep our nation’s capital safe,” Sanders said in a statement. “I have no doubt that in this mission, they will show the same skill and discipline that makes them such valuable public servants and will help bring law and order back to the streets of Washington, D.C.”
The governor said the troops of the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade will first assemble at Fort Chaffee in western Arkansas for administrative screenings and training, then head to the district after Thanksgiving.
“These Guardsmen bring exceptional training, discipline, and professionalism. They will be well-prepared and ready to integrate with the D.C. National Guard and accomplish the mission,” Brig. Gen. Chad Bridges, adjutant general of Arkansas, said in a statement.
The National Guard encampment began in the district on Aug. 11 and was last extended to Nov. 30 before last week’s announcement extended it through February 2026.
Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard of the D.C. National Guard previously said that troops should “prepare for a long-term persistent presence” in D.C., possibly through the 250th celebration of America in summer 2026.
As of Thursday, approximately 2,400 National Guard troops from the District of Columbia and states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia, and Alabama were stationed in D.C. It was unclear whether these states’ troops were ordered to stay mobilized through February or whether the order only applied to the D.C. National Guard.
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“Defendants, by undersigned counsel, hereby provide notice that the District of Columbia
National Guard (‘DCNG’) has received direction from the U.S. Department of War to extend the
current mission through February 28, 2026,” the Department of Justice’s court notice read.
The D.C. National Guard did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment on which states, in addition to Arkansas, would keep troops in the district over the winter.
