With Guardsmen now stationed away from their modern haunts of Iraq and Afghanistan, they face a new operations ground: the DC metro, the Rio Grande, and Los Angeles. Many people grow squeamish or proclaim that a Rubicon has been crossed.
Often derided as the “weekend warriors” of the grander armed forces structure, the National Guard may in fact be the oldest continuously operating fighting force in the New World. On December 13, 1636, the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s General Court ordered the creation of militia units to defend the colonies, the descendants of which would become the 181st Infantry of the Massachusetts National Guard, amongst other units.
The intentions of the Guard have always been pointed firmly at the domestic sphere, even as diplomatic crises drew its attention outside of the realm of the American expanse. During the 1960s, even as the Vietnam war raged on in far-off Indochina, the National Guard focused on the sometimes equally turbulent home front. Riots in Newark, Detroit, Los Angeles, and nearly every major American city required at least some Guard intervention, with deadly consequences sometimes involved.
Has the Guard been Used Effectively in Political Affairs?
During the three major law enforcement actions the National Guard has taken during the Trump II era, in Los Angeles, the Texas Border, and most recently in Washington D.C., their effectiveness, legality, and role has been continually questioned by the typical media pundits but also by many prominent Democrats. One must go case by case to see whether the potent imagery of uniformed soldiers patrolling streets and arresting criminals has actually had an effective payoff.
Operation Lone Star
Operation Lone Star, the name of the joint border enforcement effort in the state of Texas has drawn criticism for its use of Texas Army and Air National Guard resources in its operations to reduce illegal immigration, human trafficking, and drug smuggling. Critics say the Guard, a fighting force, should not be used in this role.
However, the modern National Guard formations faced their first mass deployment in circumstances not dissimilar to those occurring in Mexico now. Chaos, lawlessness, and overwhelming violence dominated the north of Mexico then, as it does now. In 1916, during the devastating Mexican Revolution, a bandit named Pancho Villa attacked and raided American border towns, killing American civilians and servicemen alike. Obviously, a response was needed, and the Regular Army was focused on crossing the border to capture or kill Villa.
Who now would defend these towns on the American side of the line?
The National Guard would. Under orders from President Wilson, 117,000 Guardsmen deployed to the border to protect American citizens from Villa. In a historical rhyme unfolding once again, cartels and other armed groups consistently terrorize Border Patrol officers, with sporadic gunfire, violence and other dangerous acts.
Operation Lone Star is a textbook deployment of the National Guard as a state force to defend state and national borders and interests. One of the most frightening crises in international geopolitics for the United States is the destabilized situation in our southern neighbor, but without a clear solution to the crisis, we must deal with the symptoms and prevent them from entering the United States.
The cartels now possess some of the most advanced weaponry for a non-state actor in history. Reports have emerged of Javelin guided anti-tank missiles, now in the hands of cartels, being effectively deployed in combat against the Mexican Army. Tanks that cannot be pierced by anti-material rifles, M134 miniguns, and other various pieces of advanced weaponry have quickly become cartel standard affairs. It makes too much sense for a domestic fighting force with that capability to be ready to respond in force at the border if, God forbid, that very real threat presents itself.
On the law enforcement end, the National Guard’s presence in the joint operation drastically lowered encounters, and increased arrests, with the Department of Public Safety reporting in June 2024 that Texas experienced a 74% decrease in illegal border crossings since the start of OLS. By that same time, Governor Abbott claimed OLS had resulted in 513,700 migrant apprehensions, 44,000 criminal arrests (including 38,600 felony charges), and 489 million doses of fentanyl seized.
One year after the start of Operation Lone Star, Texas saw only a 9% increase in migrant encounters versus a 62% increase in the other border states. The key difference? The presence of a well trained and organized unit to reinforce existing state and federal law enforcement.
Los Angeles
ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, became a very controversial agency of the federal government with the inauguration of President Trump in January. The morning of June 6th, Federal Law enforcement raided workplaces across Los Angeles, triggering protests on the scene which quickly devolved into violence.
By the evening, protestors began to hurl broken pieces of concrete at LAPD officers triggering the use of riot control and less than lethal equipment. Little improved by the next day, when improvised Molotov cocktails and gasoline were reportedly lobbed at law enforcement. Avoiding the mistakes of previous civil unrest, and going over the head of the California state government, President Trump nationalized the California National Guard and began to deploy them to Los Angeles.
With Guardsmen still deploying to Los Angeles, the rioting continued to get worse, with the LAPD headquarters vandalized, Waymo cars ignited (which released toxic fumes from lithium-ion batteries), and numerous stores looted. By June 9th, 1,000 guardsman had deployed to downtown, and violent incidents were drastically reduced. At their peak, 4,000 guardsmen deployed to Los Angeles, and effectively protected civilian and government property in the city, along with seven hundred Marines. It is important to note the Marines typically deployed in a show of force role, with the National Guard making up most of the arrests from the armed forces.
The L.A. deployment very much fits within the typical use of National Guard forces. A riot gets out of hand, and the National Guard comes in to clean up what the city could not. Once again, the National Guard brought order to the city, and while protests continued, they stayed fairly peaceful after their deployment.
Washington D.C.
D.C. like many other American cities, faces a crisis from a lack of judges and prosecutors as well. In one case, a murder had gone for months without a trial because of a lack of judges. According to Jeanine Pirro, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, her office lacks over 90 prosecutors to bring criminals to justice.
The Defense Department stepped up here too, with twenty JAG lawyers being sent to her office to hopefully enable more prosecutions of dangerous criminals. While not entirely Guard members, the military apparatus, when deployed domestically, is deeply tied into Guard operations.
According to Fox Baltimore, the D.C. takeover has been a stunning success. As of the 20th of August, D.C. went seven days without a murder, carjackings have decreased by 83%, robberies by 46%, car thefts by 21%, and overall violent crime is down 22%. Obviously, that indicates a progress towards a more ordered society, something which could not have been achieved without the Guard’s deployment.
The most obvious critique of different state governors deploying the Guard to D.C. in aid of the presidents plans is the rampant crime in many American cities. The Tennessee National Guard coming to D.C. to stop crime seems pointless when there are much greater problems in Memphis, for example. However, the capital holds a hallowed place not only domestically but internationally as well. As a nation, we should put our best foot forward with the home of international diplomacy, to project strength and competence to visiting heads of state. As the greatest nation on Earth, we, like the Romans, should take pride in our capital, in its cleanliness, order, and beauty.
Into the Future
The two cities which stand at the crosshairs of the President for Guard deployment are seemingly Chicago and Baltimore. Already rumors have been floated and opposition has taken shape. Yet these two cities stand as famous memorials to American carnage. Baltimore stands as number four in murder and non-negligent manslaughter per 100,000 people. Chicago’s city borders are large enough to alter crime statistics when it comes to per capita crime, but 229 Chicagoans have been shot and killed in 2025 at time of writing. Neither of these statistics indicate cities that have handled their own crime problems effectively.
The country stands in unprecedented waters when it comes to many different issues: the role of A.I., a conflict with an economic, not just military, superpower in China, negotiating treaties with a more united Europe, illegal immigration and many more, but we can look to history with how to deal with lawlessness. Use the branch that’s “always ready, always there,” to save the day once again.