Preparing to serve at next week’s presidential inauguration, nearly 70 soldiers and airmen of the Wyoming National Guard underwent civil disturbance training Wednesday morning.
They were activated to support the inauguration on Monday, serving as a part of a much larger military effort to provide security, logistical and support operations for the event in Washington, D.C.
This service is not unique to the transition of power between President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump. The National Guard has supported inaugurations since 1789, when its predecessors escorted George Washington to the first inauguration, according to Joint Task Force-District of Columbia (JTF-DC).
“What it means to me, it’s (to) support my nation,” Master Sgt. Ryan Wyskochil said. “Support a peaceful change of command in our nation.”
Wyskochil assisted in conducting Wednesday’s training, which was composed of soldiers and airmen of nearly every rank. Cowboy Guard troops will participate in a comprehensive training regimen before their departure, the time of which has not been made public, according to Wyoming National Guard Strategic Communications Deputy Chris Hyde.
This training will occur in and around the Cheyenne region over the remainder of the week.
JTF-DC is led by the Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard and supports civilian authorities, such as the U.S. Capitol Police, U.S. Secret Service and D.C. Metropolitan Police. The task force provides crowd management; traffic control points; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response; civil disturbance response and sustainment operations.
While not a part of the JTF-DC, service members from Wyoming will be on reserve, ready to step in should their additional support be necessary.
“The purpose of (civil disturbance training) is to ensure our airmen and soldiers are trained to handle different types of situations that they might see in D.C. during the inauguration,” Wyskochil said.
As the training went on, soldiers and airmen practiced tactical formations to be used for a myriad of scenarios, including protecting the injured and confronting rioters.
What may appear to civilians as complicated marching accompanied by the unified, and intimidating, bark of a well-trained military is meant to support the peaceful transfer of power, according to Staff Sgt. Joshua Streeter, who has previously participated in this training.
“(It) means a lot to me to go help protect our freedoms if they were ever infringed,” Streeter said. “We are going to try to keep them safe and intact.”
Streeter noted that while they all hope nothing will trigger the need for these tactics, it’s important to prepare for the worst possible situations.
“We’re only practicing all this to keep our state and our nation safe from any possible situation that could go bad,” Streeter said.
Many of those serving in the National Guard have civilian jobs, which they have to prepare to leave for any activation order, whether that be to serve at the inauguration or fighting in a war.
“You’ve got all walks of life, and that’s a unique part of the National Guard,” Wyoming National Guard Director of Strategic Communications Joseph Coslett Jr. said.
This uniquely ties these men and women to the Cheyenne community while they balance civilian life and the duties of being a Guard member.
“I think every person here who’s wearing that uniform is praying nothing will happen, but making sure we have a peaceful transition of power is important to us,” Coslett said.
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