RALEIGH – In response to requests from local officials, Governor Cooper on Sunday authorized 450 North Carolina National Guardsmen to mobilize due to civil unrest. The Guard will support local authorities and help safeguard the lives and property of North Carolinians and the ability for individuals to exercise their right to peacefully demonstrate.
North Carolina is among 15 other states and the District of Columbia that has called out the National Guard.
The NC Guard has long standing partnerships with local and state officials that ensures all response efforts are well coordinated.
Many of the mobilized Guardsmen are the same Citizen-Soldiers that for over two months have helped their fellow North Carolinians across the state, distributing food, essential household items and conducting COVID-19 testing during the pandemic. This mobilization will not impact NC Guard’s current COVID-19 response efforts.
Governors have used Guard members many times during response efforts to support local and state law enforcement in a wide range of capacities, to include site security, crowd control and cyber support.
All the mobilized NC Guardsmen supporting local authorities have undergone special training in site security operations, crowd control and inter-agency operations.
-NC National Guard News Release
