Approximately 150 Mississippi National Guardsmen arrived in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to provide support for the 58th Presidential Inauguration ceremony on Friday.
The team departed from the 172nd Airlift Wing in Flowood, Miss. Wednesday morning on a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and arrived in the Washington, D.C. area in late afternoon.
The joint team will conduct missions in support of the Joint Task Force – District of Columbia (JTF-DOC). Their activities will include traffic control, crowd management, and communications operations.
the Mississippi National Guard said in a press release that the Army Guard group is comprised of soldiers from Canton’s 112th Military Police Battalion, Brandon’s 113th Military Police Company, and Clinton’s 114th Military Police Company.
Air National Guard personnel from Flowood’s 172nd Airlift Wing and Meridian’s 186th Air Refueling Wing are also included in the task force’s effort to augment the U.S. Secret Service, Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan Police forces, the release stated.
The Mississippi National Guard team joins more than 7,500 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen, from 44 states, three territories and the District of Columbia for inauguration support.