three different locations where the Guard was stationed as the Capitol was being breached, all servicemembers had access to full civil disturbance gear right there with them.
Outside of the QRF, which had recently returned from two days of training together, there is debate as to how ready the rest of the Guard was to engage in civil disturbance response on January 6th. The notion that the military is not primed or naturally skilled to deal with civil disturbance appears to stand in tension with National Guard traditions, training, and doctrine. "They were not missioned, tasked, organized, equipped to do civil disturbance operations," General Flynn said.[152] Although General Piatt conceded that "[a]ll soldiers are trained in civil disturbance," he maintained that on "that day we were not postured to do civil disturbance operations."[153]
Major General Walker—who pointed out that the DC Guard shield, on Guard troop uniforms, features the Capitol building itself: "Protect the Capitol. That's why Thomas Jefferson created it"[154]—called civil disturbance "foundational" to what they do.[155]
DC Ground Commander Takes Initiative. On January 5th, as he led his forces in traffic control, Colonel Hunter did not observe activity that raised concerns.[156] But by the next morning—as thousands of out-of-towners invited by President Trump descended on the nation's capital—that all changed. "I could see like the Proud Boys," he said.[157] "I could see different people with Kevlars on, with bulletproof vests on. You know, they're all kitted up and they're wearing different patches and colors. And I said, 'Well, this crowd is definitely different . . . .' "[158] This, of course, was an indication of the potential for violence in the hours that followed.
Colonel Hunter, sitting at the intersection of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, saw crowds flowing past him and his soldiers toward the Capitol—walking as one, chanting as one. "Hey, is it that way to the Capitol? Where's the Capitol?" some asked.[159] Colonel Hunter got in his car and began writing an update report.[160]
He was interrupted by a soldier who had been watching CNN on his phone: "Hey, sir, I think there's been shots fired at the Capitol."[161] It was then that Colonel Hunter began to put a plan in place for the redeployment of the Guard. "So at that point in my mind I said, 'Okay, then they will be requesting the DC National Guard now, so we have to move."[162] The time was 2:12 p.m.[163]
The first thing he did was designate a rally point for DC Guard reinforcements.[164] Over the radio, he relayed the rally point to all 118 members currently spread across the city doing traffic control, and one by one, in order by their points, they called in to acknowledge where they would go once approval came down.[165] At 2:17 p.m., he called Lt. Col. Reinke, the head
