NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – More than 100 members of the National Guard were deploying from the West Orange Armory in New Jersey to Washington, D.C. on Sunday ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Their deployment comes after Wednesday’s breach of the Capitol building that left five people, including a police officer, dead. They’re part of 500 members of the New Jersey National Guard heading to the nation’s capital by air and ground.
Soldiers at the armory said that it was all part of the job and that they’re prepared. They packed up and left on four buses.
“Get the job done, make my sergeant proud, go home and go to work,” Pfc. Matthew Gonzalez told WCBS 880 of the deployment.
Gonzalez, who is also security supervisor at Amazon in Somerville, was among the National Guard members who had to mobilize quickly after the siege at the Capitol.
“We started mobilizing the day after. Our personnel, they have civilian jobs, so employers had to be notified, family plans had to be gathered very quickly,” Lt. Col. Omar Minott said.
He said Sunday’s deployment was “the final push” and that many from the New Jersey National Guard were already in D.C.
Gov. Phil Murphy announced Thursday that the state was deploying 500 National Guard members “to protect our democracy and facilitate the peaceful transition of power.”
Second Lt. Tiffani Mironski said there’s always a level of anxiety that comes with being deployed but that she and her platoon are ready.
“It was kind of scary, but we’re ready to go do our jobs,” Mironski said.
