Since the current presidential administration’s inauguration earlier this year, there has been an increased focus on militaristic efforts and deportation. As a result, there has been an increasing number of authorized personnel in places like Los Angeles, California, acting as law enforcement would. Well, it seems that something in the air is shifting, as over 1,300 National Guard troops have been withdrawn from their posts in LA. What’s really alarming isn’t that they’re being withdrawn, but the sheer number of potential National Guard members who were present in the state.
The news comes after those same troops were deployed to the Los Angeles area following protests against ICE. Now that the pressure is on more than ever from Los Angeles citizens, they’re slowly being released from their deployment. According to commenters within the above post, the number of troops deployed was much higher than anticipated: “Another 1,350? Wait, how many troops were in LA to begin with?“
Another commenter responded with an approximate number, which really does seem rather extreme. They said, “4000 National Guard. Most of them didn’t do much.” With that context, I’m genuinely curious how many resources were wasted to ensure that these troops were paid and provided with living accommodations. Fortunately, with their departure from the state, they should be able to join their families once again.
After depleting their numbers so significantly, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said that there are still 250 guardsmen remaining. Hopefully, those troops will also be released, and the people of Los Angeles will no longer need to worry about being kidnapped. Mayor Karen Bass was also ecstatic about the announcement, calling it “another win for Los Angeles.” Ideally, this isn’t something that she will need to worry about any longer, and acts as a sign for other locations to pull out their National Guard troops.
