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The director of the D.C. government Operations for D.C. National Guard emphasized the steps that troops are taking to engage with the community and mentor young people, in addition to helping beautify the city, during a neighborhood meeting in Northeast D.C. on Thursday night.
Marcus Hunt spoke at the monthly Advisory Neighborhood Commission 7C meeting. He said President Donald Trump enacted the current mission Aug. 11, but it鈥檚 separated into two parts 鈥� one about safety and one about D.C. beautification.
Hunt told the crowd at the Deanwood Community Center that he couldn鈥檛 speak about the safety part of the mission, but he described the Guard鈥檚 monthslong effort to beautify the city.
Troops are in neighborhoods picking up trash and laying down mulch, specifically in neighborhoods in which Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners have highlighted where they can use the assistance, Hunt said. They also attend events they鈥檙e invited to, and have established partnerships to be visible at school events to mentor young people.
The Guard has done several events in Ward 8, where commissioners invited troops, Hunt said. They鈥檙e planning to attend an upcoming event in Ward 4 at Fort Stevens, and they also have a few coming up in Ward 5, he said.
Separately, Hunt defended the Guard鈥檚 current day-to-day responsibilities, suggesting troops are required to execute missions they鈥檙e part of.
It鈥檚 鈥渁 big waste of our time and tax dollars and of your service,鈥� Commissioner Anthony Lorenzo Green told Hunt. 鈥淭here鈥檚 other ways you can be effective at your job than picking up trash. This is how we feel as a community.鈥�
Asked to respond to community concerns about whether beautification is the best use of the Guard鈥檚 time, Hunt told 草莓传媒, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 an opinion-based question.鈥�
Hunt also faced criticism that the Guard wasn鈥檛 responsive to community requests for assistance. About a month ago, Hunt sent a message to ANCs asking how Guard members could best help their neighborhoods.
After his remarks at the meeting, Hunt said Guard members don鈥檛 鈥済o out every day, it鈥檚 based off of mission priorities.鈥�
He said community feedback has been positive, and that 鈥渋t鈥檚 important to know that we live here. We serve here. This is our community, as well. And while I do value the opinions of folks, it鈥檚 understandable, but it鈥檚 our D.C. National Guard. We are a part of the community.鈥�
The mission is ongoing during the government shutdown, Hunt said, and he referred a question about whether troops are currently getting paid to the White House.
Current orders extend through the end of November, Hunt said, but 鈥渢he president has the authorization to either curtail those orders earlier or extend it.鈥�
Gerald Hines, who attended Thursday鈥檚 meeting, said the First Baptist Church of Deanwood is hoping to get the Guard鈥檚 help to clean up its garden area.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of overgrown right now, and we鈥檙e in a need for beautification, which is what I just heard, that Officer Hunt has a program with the National Guard that does that,鈥� Hines said.
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