Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Friday ordered the remaining active-duty soldiers who had been on standby in the Washington, D.C., area back to their home bases after several days of peaceful protests in the nation’s capital.
The troops from the 91st Military Police Battalion based in Fort Drum, N.Y., will return to their state, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told reporters at the Pentagon, as reported by multiple outlets.
A small active-duty contingent of the Arlington, Va.-based “Old Guard” – the Army’s official ceremonial unit and escort to the U.S. president – will remain on standby if D.C. law enforcement needs help, he noted.
Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell confirmed McCarthy’s comments to The Hill.
The order for the troops to depart came as D.C. had peaceful protests on several consecutive days, with the Metropolitan Police Department making no arrests related to the protests on Wednesday and Thursday nights.
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