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More than 100 National Guardsmen from nine states gathered at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., last week to recite the oath of enlistment and extend their service contracts.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth administered the oath.
The Guardsmen — from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia — are among more than 2,600 Guard currently serving in Washington in support of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.
The task force was established in August 2025 after the president declared a crime emergency in the nation’s capital.
Hegseth emphasized the significance of their mission and praised the Guard’s role in transforming the city, noting the contrast with conditions just a year earlier.
“What you’ve accomplished on your mission in this city is historic — life changing, actually,” Hegseth said. “Anybody who arrived in this city in 2024, early 2025, knows exactly what we walked into — a city full of crime, graffiti, lawlessness.”
As he spoke, Hegseth gestured toward the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the U.S. Capitol and the White House.
"Our job is to be willing to raise our right hand and defend it all," he said. "There's laws that are made, declarations that are made, and then there are men and women who defend [them]."
Among those reenlisting in the frigid cold was Army Sgt. Christian N. Brown, a Mississippi Army Guard public affairs specialist.
Brown, who has served seven years in the Guard, has been on mission in Washington since September 2025 as part of Joint Task Force Magnolia, which includes units from the Louisiana and Mississippi Guards.
“I’m very proud to be both in the Mississippi National Guard and to be in the Army,” Brown said. “I joined when I was 19; I didn’t expect much when joining, but I’ve actually found a family here with the military, and I love my job.”
Army Spc. Cristal Sanchez, an Alabama Guard field artillery specialist, also reenlisted. She has served in Washington since September 2025 as part of Task Force Yellow Hammer.
“We’re patrolling the streets; we’re helping law enforcement maintain the city,” Sanchez said. “I think we’re doing a good job maintaining D.C. safe and beautiful.”
Sanchez, now in her third year of service, called it an honor to be reenlisted by the secretary of war.
“I feel privileged,” she said. “It’s not an opportunity you get every day.”
Army Master Sgt. Michael E. Eschenfelder of the Florida Guard has served 36 years in both active component and Guard roles. He said the mission represents something deeply meaningful to him.
“I think every American should have the right to walk their streets without fear, and if we’re out here helping them do that — it’s an honor to do that,” he said. “I’ve never been more proud to be a Soldier. I’m just so happy and pumped up to be here for this event.”
The ceremony highlighted the ongoing commitment of Guardsmen in the nation’s capital — and around the country — to maintain safety and stability in American cities.
— By Michael Metz
