SD National Guard creates taskforce ahead of presidential inauguration

PIERRE, S.D. (KOTA) - South Dakota National Guard soldiers and Air Guardsmen are being assembled for potential deployment to Washington D.C. ahead of next week’s presidential inauguration.

A military taskforce has been assembled, but the size of the taskforce, its mission and potential deployment location are unknown for “operational security reasons,” according to Ian Fury, the South Dakota governor’s spokesperson. Fury could only confirm the call up to SDBA.

The taskforce will be comprised of statewide units, not a specific company or battalion, Fury said.

Privately, some members of the 235th Military Police Company based in Rapid City and Sioux Falls have been preparing to deploy to the District of Columbia ahead of next week’s Presidential Inaugural, according to the National Guard.

Some Pentagon reports indicate more than 20,000 troops will be securing the nation’s capital, more than four times the number currently deployed in Afghanistan.