Nebraska National Guard airmen and soldiers board a 155th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotanker on Sunday at the Nebraska National Guard air base in Lincoln. The Guard is providing security during the presidential inauguration.
Nebraska National Guard airmen and soldiers prepare to board a 155th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotanker Sunday at the Nebraska National Guard air base in Lincoln. The Guard is providing security during the presidential inauguration.
Nebraska National Guard soldiers and airmen departed Lincoln aboard 155th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotankers on Saturday to report for duty in Washington, D.C., to assist law enforcement for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday.
Nebraska National Guard soldiers and airmen departed Lincoln aboard 155th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotankers on Saturday to report for duty in Washington, D.C., to assist law enforcement for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday.
Tens of thousands of National Guard troops are pouring into Washington, D.C. to help with this week's inauguration, and the FBI is vetting each and every one of them. A number of the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 had ties to the military. So this is the federal government's way of proactively trying to sniff out any possible extremist sentiment within the Armed Forces. "So the question is, Is that all of them or are there others?"Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said to an AP reporter over the weekend, "So it's clearly something we need to be conscious of inside the entire formation, let alone men and women that may be assigned to this this operation here in the Capitol."The military screens its own members on a regular basis, so these FBI checks are really just additional layers of security for this specific deployment, the inauguration. This type of vetting usually involves running names through databases and watch lists, and so far, no troop has been red-flagged, according to McCarthy. But if anything alarming does end up popping up, such as terrorism related concerns or involvement in previous investigations, then, the chief of the National Guard Bureau says that person would either be dealt with by the chain of command or handed over to law enforcement.
They are Task Force Husker, 273 members of the Nebraska National Guard who are in Washington to help provide protection for the Capitol and the White House during this week's inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
"Pretty quiet, pretty locked down, pretty calm" so far, Lt. Col. Jeremy Smith of Papillion said Monday evening during a telephone conference call after a day of duty on the streets of downtown Washington, D.C.
The troops represent part of a quick-reaction force that is ready if things turn ugly or dangerous on or before Inauguration Day on Wednesday.
"All roads are blocked off and there is no traffic" near the Capitol, Smith said. And the Nebraska soldiers have had no interaction with the public.
"We're not carrying lethal weapons at this time," he said, but the Guard force will be ready to quickly respond "if something bad happens."
Small elements are carrying lethal ammunition now, he said.
So far, he said, it's been "long days" with soldiers on duty for 12 hours a day and sleeping in hotels.
Smith said that there have been "background checks on just about everybody" in order to be sure there are not soldiers on duty who might be sympathetic with the kind of armed insurrection that occurred at the Capitol earlier this month.
That precaution was directed by the FBI to guard against insider threats during the inauguration ceremonies.
The Guard troops have been deputized as police officers and deputy U.S. marshals in carrying out their duties this week.
"It's definitely an historic event," Smith said. "We are proud to support it."
Smith said he has previously been deployed to Iraq and Kuwait.
The Nebraska National Guard has deployed 303 soldiers and airmen to Washington, including the 273 who are providing law enforcement support.
PHOTOS: JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT IN WASHINGTON
Photos: Scenes of violence at U.S. Capitol shock world
Police with guns drawn watch as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Trump supporters participate in a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
People listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Lawmakers evacuate the floor as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
People shelter in the House gallery as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Trump supporters gather outside the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Trump supporters gesture to U.S. Capitol Police in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
U.S. Capitol Police hold protesters at gun-point near the House Chamber inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
U.S. Capitol Police with guns drawn stand near a barricaded door as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Trump supporters gather outside the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. As Congress prepares to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory, thousands of people have gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of election fraud. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Trump supporters gather outside the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A woman is helped up by police during a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Police keep a watch on demonstrators who tried to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
President-elect Joe Biden speaks at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Biden has called the violent protests on the U.S. Capitol "an assault on the most sacred of American undertakings: the doing of the people's business." (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Trump supporters gather outside the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier earlier this month at the Capitol in Washington.
Lawmakers prepare to evacuate the House gallery as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
People shelter in the House gallery as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Trump supporters participate in a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington. As Congress prepares to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory, thousands of people have gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his baseless claims of election fraud. The president is expected to address a rally on the Ellipse, just south of the White House. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Papers and other equipment after the House floor was evacuate as protesters tried to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
U.S. Capitol Police try to hold back protesters outside the east doors to the House side of the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, Jan 6, 2021.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LJSdon
Don Walton
Political reporter/columnist
Don Walton covers politics and the Legislature along with writing a weekly column.
