The National Guard’s Response to COVID-19

The National Guard experienced their largest deployments over the past several years in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and incidents of civil unrest. Troops bolstered both the medical and criminal justice responses in various communities across the country. This ASPR TRACIE document provides a brief overview and history of the National Guard, related training, and recent deployments, with a focus on how troops were used to support both COVID-19 and civil unrest responses. Two case studies illustrate how collaboration and communication contributed to a successful response, identified challenges, and provided suggestions for future work.