At the request of the National Guard Bureau, the Hawai‘i National Guard is set to deploy about 200 of its members to Washington, D.C., to aid in and facilitate the peaceful transition of presidential power, according to an announcement issued by the governor’s office this afternoon.

The members will arrive prior to Inauguration Day Wednesday, Jan. 20, where they are prepared to perform a multitude of missions in support of local law enforcement. 

“The Hawai‘i National Guard is prepared to support the effort in Washington, D.C., to ensure a peaceful transition of power and a smooth Inauguration Day following a free and fair election. I thank our Guard members for their dedication to protecting our democracy during these challenging times, ” said Governor David Ige in a press release.

“The Hawai‘i National Guard received a request to provide Guardsmen in support of the Jan. 20, 2021 Presidential Inauguration just yesterday and soldiers are reporting today. The Hawai‘i National Guard continues to impress me with their ability to respond to the most difficult challenges. They definitely epitomize the National Guard’s ‘Always Ready, Always There’ motto,” said Maj. Gen. Kenneth S. Hara, adjutant general, Department of Defense.

Roughly 800 guardsmen are still activated for COVID-19 support, and state officials the deployment of these members will not impact the effort to support the State of Hawai‘i. There are nearly 4,000 Guard members that will remain in the islands to assist with any local disasters.

For security reasons, specifics about the deployment are not being released at this time.