WASHINGTON — Thirty members of the Oregon National Guard, mainly military police, leave Friday for Washington D.C. to help with security for Joe Biden's presidential inauguration.
The 1186th Military Police Company has been to D.C. for many inaugurations.
Sgt. Alicha Smoot will lead a squad as they guard the U.S. Capitol building. She does not think this mission will be all that different from years past.
“I mean, we’re trained to respond to volumes of crowds – be able to maintain safety for everyone, if its individuals in the crowd or our fellow agencies we’re gonna be working with," Smoot said. "And I don’t think the mission is going to change with past or recent events."
Smoot is a marijuana inspector for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission in her civilian life. This will be her third call up for active duty in the last year.
She’s seen the pictures of soldiers already in the nation’s capital and is not concerned about sleeping conditions.
“A lot of soldiers would not mind sleeping on marble floors. It would probably be better conditions than we have slept in," Smoot said. "Myself, when we were doing fires, I slept in a horse arena basically that was outside. But I’ll take a marble floor. I don’t care as long as we’re there doing our mission.”
The nation's 59th presidential inauguration will be on Wednesday, Jan. 20.