Late in August, Gov. Larry Rhoden called out the South Dakota National Guard to serve for 30 days as crime-stoppers in Washington, D.C. Its hard not to wonder why he did that.
By calling up the 129th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, maybe Rhoden is showing his belief that the pen is mightier than the sword.
Maybe he reasoned that the 12-member unit from Rapid City could make the mean streets of D.C. safer one news release at a time.
With a Republican primary for governor coming up next June, perhaps Rhoden saw the Guard deployment as a way to curry favor with President Donald Trump and get his endorsement.
If any of those is the reason, its not good enough.
Rhoden called out the Guard unit at the request of the president. Since there really was no crime emergency in Washington, D.C., Rhoden would have been better off giving the president a polite but firm no.
The images of armed soldiers on the streets of the nations capital are reminiscent of the images from third world dictatorships. The presence of the Guard in D.C. may have curbed some crime, but the presidents reasons for that deployment, and others he has threatened, are less than compelling.
According to Trump, troops are needed to patrol the streets of crime-ridden cities ruled by Democratic mayors. Cities with similar or worse crime statistics that are governed by Republican mayors are exempt from an invasion of troops. Politics shouldnt play a part in public safety, but its the first rule of the presidents plan to make big city streets safer.
Rhodens decision to so easily buy into the presidents vanity project is troubling. Perhaps he learned from his predecessor that the best way to curry favor with the president and polish up some conservative credentials is to call out the troops.
Gov. Kristi Noem had a bad habit of sending the Guard to the southern border and a willingness to let South Dakota taxpayers foot the bill. In announcing the D.C. deployment, Rhoden was sure to mention that the cost would be covered by the federal government. So taxpayers are still on the hook for the cost, but out of a different account.
A sampling of the D.C. work of the 129th shows they dutifully recorded the patrolling of the Guard as part of the effort to stop crime. They also recorded troops cleaning up parks and tidying national memorials a good sign of the Guards work ethic and a bad sign that perhaps theres not enough crime-stopping to go around for all the troops on the ground.
One of the South Dakota units videos features U.S. Army Col. Larry Doane, commander of Joint Task Force D.C. After thanking the Guard troops for coming to D.C., he gives a short lecture on self-care, admonishing them to take time for themselves by hitting the gym, going for a run or watching a movie. Doane must not have read his marching order as those are just the kind of activities that Trump says the good citizens of Washington, D.C., cant do safely because the city is so crime-ridden.
While the troops take time for themselves, its easy to wonder how their families are doing with self-care. Going for a run or watching a movie probably sounds pretty good to them. Trumps vanity project leaves the husbands and wives of Guard members with a month of single parenthood. Employers may need a little relaxation as well, since theyre short-handed for a month.
At the end of their deployment, the 129th will have worked hard to chronicle the Guards activities in D.C. a lasting record of how not to fight urban crime. It will also be a testament to one presidents ego and one governors hope that his eagerness to help during this emergency will not be forgotten.
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