WASHINGTON – More than 315 Kentucky National Guard Soldiers and Airmen helped federal agencies secure the National Capital Region during the 59th presidential inauguration.
Kentucky Guardsmen augmented U.S. Capitol Police, screened for potential hazardous substances, conducted Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) mass casualty decontamination operations, and provided emergency medical trauma care. Personnel supporting the inauguration included Soldiers and Airmen from the 1-149th Infantry, 138th Field Artillery Brigade, 41st Civil Support Team (CST), CBRN Enhanced Response Force-Package (CERF-P), 123rd Medical Detachment, Air Guard Food Service Support, and Chaplain Corps.
The Kentucky troops were among more than 26,000 National Guard members from around the country activated to support the inauguration as security heightened after the U.S. Capitol was breached on Jan. 6.
Army Lt. Col. Jason Penn, Task Force Mountain Warrior and 1-149th Infantry commander, spent most of his time on Capitol Building grounds along with his Soldiers.
“We came together as a collection of individual Soldiers to form a cohesive unit to successfully accomplish a unified mission – to secure the Capitol grounds,” Penn said. “I’m extremely proud and humbled to have the opportunity to lead and serve such a fine group of Soldiers. It’s the highlight of my career.”
U.S. Capitol authorities called upon Soldiers and Airmen with the Kentucky CERF-P to be available to decontaminate victims in the event of any chemical attack. Service members established decontamination and medical lanes at the Naval Observatory.
“Members of the CERF-P sacrificed time away from their families in the middle of a pandemic and unprecedented uncertainty to showcase their abilities and readiness,” said Army Lt. Col. Gary Barr, 103rd Chemical Battalion commander. “Their actions reflect the professionalism of the Kentucky National Guard.”
Service members with the CST, another unit combining Air and Army Guardsmen, provided plainclothes assistance to the Department of Energy to screen inauguration event locations for hazardous or radioactive substances.
“This is a continuation of Kentucky’s tradition of service to the state and our nation as a whole,” said Army 1st Lt. Patrick McCoy, the CST officer in charge of inauguration support.
The Kentucky National Guard deploys its Soldiers and Airmen for civil service missions, combat operations, disaster relief, and more across the globe. For many, being activated to the nation’s capital was an especially honorable and once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“This is everything I’ve ever dreamed of,” said Army Staff Sgt. Adam Stoppelwerth, the 299th supply sergeant. “I served in Iraq in 2011, and now I get to support the other side of the Guard. My career has come full circle because now we’re here at the homefront protecting the nation’s capital – what the Guard was designed for.”