Northwest Iowa — A contingent of Iowa National Guard soldiers and airmen are in Washington, D.C. to assist with Friday’s inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump.
Guard spokesman Colonel Greg Hapgood says some of the Iowa citizen soldiers involved include a contingent from the Air Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing based in Sioux City. We talked to 1st Sgt. Royd Chambers of the 185th, who in his regular job, is a teacher at Sheldon High School. He tells us how this assignment came about.
Chambers says each inauguration requires the assistance of thousands of National Guard soldiers and airmen from across the country.
Chambers declined to reveal the number of airmen from the 185th who are in the nation’s capital to assist with the inauguration, but Guard Colonel Greg Hapgood says around 30 Iowa soldiers and airmen from the 185th, along with the Des Moines-based 71st Civil Support team, as well as airmen from the Air Guard’s 132nd wing in Des Moines were picked for the assignment due to their expertise in various disciplines, from logistics to security. Hapgood says all three units’ soldiers and airmen will be used for whatever it is that’s needed on the ground for other military forces.
Hapgood says the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C. chooses the soldiers, and he says Iowa has gotten the call many times, with this year marking the third consecutive presidential inauguration that the Iowa National Guard has supported.
Chambers says that, even though he’s not working at this year’s inauguration, he is looking forward to watching it on TV, and he adds that he is extremely proud of his fellow airmen from the 185th for the work they’re doing to help the inauguration proceed smoothly.
