OLYMPIA – The National Guard ramped up its role in helping to contain the coronavirus in the U.S., with 7,300 troops deployed across the country to combat the outbreak as President Trump ordered new force activations to aid California, New York and Washington state.
General Joseph Lengyel, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, said the president’s order on Sunday, March 15 will waive the typical cost-sharing arrangement where the federal government pays 75% of the costs and states pay the remaining 25%. He said the move affects the three states most impacted by the virus so far but could quickly be extended to other states.
Lengyel said the president’s move keeps the National Guard troops under state, not federal, authority, known as Title 32.
As of March 13, Governor Inslee had activated personnel from the Washington National Guard to support “planning efforts within the Washington State Emergency Management Division for up to 45 days,” according to a news release.
In New York and California they were being used to set up temporary structures for isolation housing and emergency medical quarters. The news release says they are also available to “provide logistical support, disinfection/cleaning, conduct transportation of medical personnel, call center support, and meal delivery.”
But Lengyel rejected any plans or discussions for the Guard to enforce quarantines or lockdowns across the country, citing false postings on social media that allegedly show trains loaded with Guard equipment headed to quarantine areas.
“There is just no truth to this rumor that…the governors are planning or anyone is conspiring to use the National Guard…to do some sort of a military action to enforce shelter in place and quarantine,” he said.
(U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Amouris Coss)