National Guard Bureau Chief Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel said recently he does not see any demand from states to have Guard members act in law enforcement roles.

He said during a Pentagon briefing on Thursday:

In many disasters and response, when there’s a pressure put on otherwise civilian, law enforcement activities, people get sick, they need more law enforcement potential out there, then the National Guard could be used in that capacity.

But, he said, “I don’t see any demand signal that’s demanding we’re going to use the National Guard in that kind of scenario.”

He said state governors could ask National Guard members to augment law enforcement if needed — something they could not do if the president federalizes them.

Lengyel also said federalizing the National Guard does “not make sense” in dealing with coronavirus, or mobilizing them under the federal government versus state governments.

He explained that it would make things more difficult for governors who wish to use the National Guard in different capacities:

The best use of the National Guard is to use the National Guard for the unique authorities that it has, and that is to remain under the command and control of the networks in the states.

Every state has a different way to deal with disasters, and the National Guard is uniquely qualified and postured to act under the command and control of the governors in the state. And so if you were to federalize them, you would lose that ability, and you would lose some other things.

…

So, while — I mean certainly the president can mobilize and federalize the National Guard but it would be my advice and there’s no plans that I’m aware of to take the National Guards in the states and put them in a federal status. They are much better used in a state status under command and control of the governors.

There are 450,000 men and women who serve in the National Guard.

Lengyel said so far, 27 states have mobilized about 2,000 Guard members. He said he expects that to grow to tens of thousands of Guard members being mobilized within states in the next couple of weeks.

He said Guard members are doing a number of things in the nation’s coronavirus response. He said they can provide assistance with testing, ground transportation, air transportation, logistics, and a number of other things: For example, he said:

— the New York National Guard has been helping local officials distribute food;
— the Tennessee Air National Guard’s C-17 delivered half a million swabs for test kits to Memphis;
— more than 500 soldiers in South Florida are assisting with collecting samples for drive-through testing in Broward County;
— in Maryland, the National Guard is supporting medical assessments and testing site operations;
— in Wisconsin they are supporting transportation missions for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services; and
— in Louisiana, Guard liaison officers are assisting the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

“This is just a sample of the efforts that we are supporting across the country,” he said, adding:

Going forward, we expect the role of the National Guard will continue to grow and evolve to meet the country’s needs during this historic pandemic. We remain flexible and committed to whatever mission we may be called to do.

“I want to thank all of our Guard members and all the first responders for their service during this difficult time. We continue to rise to every challenge before us and continue to work with our partners to keep our nation safe and remain true to our motto: Always Ready, Always There.”