Thousands of Washington Army National Guard members did not take part in last weekend’s drill, a money-saving move that appears precipitated in part by the Trump administration clawing back funds to pay for the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C.
September is the final month of the federal budget year, and typically, the training held at armories across Washington on the second weekend draws a large turnout.
But due to a budget shortfall, adjustments were made to pare participation and reduce costs.
Approximately 5,000 soldiers were scheduled to drill for the full weekend. An estimated half received an excused absence while the other half participated for a portion but not the entire period, officials said. Those with training requirements drilled and any soldier who desired to participate could, officials said.
“The work that needed to be accomplished, got accomplished,” said Joseph Siemandel, state public affairs officer for the Washington National Guard.
Exactly how many did not take part and how much money was saved will be known in a few weeks. A typical drill weekend costs about $2.5 million, officials said. Participants earn between a couple hundred dollars to as much as $1,000 a weekend, based on their rank and number of service years.
There are a variety of reasons for the budget shortfall, said Karina Shagren, communications director for the Washington Military Department.
One of those was the decision by the National Guard bureau to pull back funding for training from several states, including $3 million from Washington since February, “with the expectation that Congress would allocate funding to fill the hole left behind,” she said.
“That expected funding has yet to arrive — and the money taken has been redirected to support other missions — to include domestic deployments,” she said.
Shagren did not know if funds shifted away from Washington went to underwrite costs associated with the deployment in the District of Columbia, or elsewhere such as the federalization of the National Guard in Los Angeles.
Last month, President Donald Trump ordered National Guard troops to patrol the streets of the nation’s capital. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth followed that with a directive that they be allowed to carry weapons.
Trump has since signed an executive order directing state National Guard units to be ready to assist local, state and federal law enforcement. He’s threatened to use them in Chicago. More recently, he vowed to “clean up” Portland and “wipe out” protesters in Oregon’s largest city, propelling state officials into action to prevent such a move.
Trump has yet to set his sights on Seattle.
Shagren said losing the dollars and excusing those soldiers from the most recent training has not weakened the capabilities of the state’s National Guard.
“On drill weekends, we focus on getting our men and women ready for all kinds of missions. So when those training opportunities get cut back, it clearly affects our overall readiness. That said, we’re still fully capable of responding to emergencies both here at home or abroad,” Shagren said.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com. Follow Washington State Standard on Facebook and Twitter.
