Pa. national guard to have large presence at inauguration

(Undated) — Hundreds of members of the Pennsylvania National Guard are in the nation’s capital to assist with the presidential inauguration today

The guard is providing 1,600  men and women to make sure the inauguration runs smoothly. It’s the largest contingent of soldiers and airmen except for the Washington D.C. Guard.

Col. Sam Hayes is the director of domestic operations for the Pennsyvlania National Guard. He says the guard is proud to be a part of history.

“We’ve been doing this since George Washington became president. We have a unit right here in Pennsylvania that escorted him to his own inauguration, and incidentally that same unit is going to be marching in the parade,” he says.

The bulk of the guard’s duties will be crowd and traffic management.

They also have a unit ready to address chemical, biological, and radiological threats, as well as a force on standby in Pennsylvania.