Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark., spoke to members of the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade and their families Monday morning, December 1, 2025, during a sendoff ceremony at their training facilities at Fort Chaffee in Barling, Ark. Bad weather forced a one day delay in the departure for the 100 guard members. They instead flew off Tuesday morning to their deployment in Washington D.C., which officially begins Thursday.
As Little Rock Public Radio reports, Governor Sanders highlighted the bravery of the guard members, noting their deployment to the nation’s capital, one week after the attack on two West Virginia National Guard soldiers, one of whom died, while critically wounding the other.
Sanders said the attack was a reminder that we quote, ‘live in a fallen world full of sin.’ “Last week’s attack made clear that this is about more than just about law and order. We live in a world where men want to tear down everything that is good, whether it is out of hatred towards our president, hatred towards our country, or just hatred in their hearts. And the Arkansas National Guard is being called on to confront that evil head on and confront it with good.”
The Arkansas National Guard Deployment to Washington D.C. is expected to last for several months. They will conduct security presence patrols and provide support to local law enforcement, and relieve at least some of the guard members currently on patrols in Washington.
