Consider This from NPR

Episode: "Is This Really Happening? National Guard Members on Trump Deployments"

Date: November 13, 2025
Host: Juana Summers
Correspondent: Kat Lonsdorf

Episode Overview

This episode explores the realities and emotional turmoil experienced by National Guard members amid President Trump's controversial deployments to U.S. cities under a declared state of emergency. With troops stationed in Washington D.C. and other urban centers, Guard members, often instructed to stay silent, cautiously share their concerns, anxieties, and questions about the legality and purpose behind these deployments. The episode spotlights an encrypted group chat, where members find solidarity and space to process doubts, and brings in the perspective of a veterans advocate on the moral dilemmas of serving under contentious orders.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. On-the-Ground Reality in D.C.

• National Guard presence in D.C. persists months after Trump’s emergency declaration, performing patrols and menial tasks.
• Public Perception: Initial misunderstanding and suspicion from residents; some show support, while others protest or mock the troops.
  • Example: A man handed a Guardsman a note saying, "Thank you for your service...remember your oath to the Constitution as well as your duty to disobey illegal orders." (00:09)
• Some residents met Guards with hostility; one played the "Imperial March," was handcuffed, and is now suing city police. (00:47)
• The National Guard’s traditional nonpartisan role is being tested.
  • "The current commander in chief is stress testing that principle." — Juana Summers (00:47)

2. Guard Members' Emotional Response: The Group Chat

• Three Ohio National Guard members (Jay, C, and a third) describe using an encrypted group chat to share news and fears.
  • The chat grew as members sought "a place that we could express these things with people that are feeling the same way." — National Guard Member 1 (Jay) (04:20)
  • "We needed something to be able to talk to each other." — National Guard Member 4 (04:57)
• The deployments are making them question their service for the first time:
  • "This is just not what any of us signed up for." — Jay (02:07; 05:19)
• Lack of clear communication from command on the purpose or details of deployments adds unease:
  • "Are we going to have leave? And those answers aren't very clear...wherever you are on the political scale, you still have those questions." — National Guard Member 3 (06:04)

3. Guardrails and Questions about Legality

• Federal courts have blocked some deployments (Portland, Chicago); the President's authority is fiercely debated.
• Some Guard members fear the deployments function as intimidation:
  • "It's kind of like fear mongering...even if they're not doing anything." — Jay (07:03)
• The group's emotional distress is compounded by provocative rhetoric and administration social media posts.
  • "Is this really happening?" — National Guard Member 3, reacting to a Trump AI-generated meme (08:04)

4. Struggling with Duty, Pride, and Limits

• Members wrestle with whether to continue serving.
  • "I would get out if I could...I just want to use [my role] to do some good." — Jay (08:25)
  • "If I have to get out of the military, then...someone else is just gonna be put in. I like the idea that I can make a difference within my six feet." — National Guard Member 3 (08:39)
  • "What is my line that I won't cross? What am I prepared to give up? Is this tarnishing my service?...I spent a lot of time being really proud of my military career...just to watch it possibly go up in flames?" — National Guard Member 4 (09:00)
• They reaffirm the importance of the oath to the Constitution, not to a person or party.
  • "I swore an oath to the Constitution, not a person." — National Guard Member 4 (11:46)

5. Wider Dissatisfaction & Efforts for Support

• Brittany Ramos DeBarros, director of About Face, notes Guard members nationwide are connecting and questioning their deployments.
  • "In the military culture, it's really easy to feel like if you have questions or dissent, that you're the only person who thinks that." — Ramos DeBarros (10:15)
  • About Face provides resources for those grappling with conscience vs. duty: "What is the cost of not following your conscience? Because...many of us are living with that cost every day." — Ramos DeBarros (10:45)
• She likens DC and other city patrols to “presence patrols” in Afghanistan, meant to intimidate residents.
  • "There was no purpose or mission other than to be present...letting people know, oh, if you act up, we are here and we're watching." — DeBarros (11:10)

6. Looking Ahead: The Importance of Vigilance and Connection

• Members affirm the need to remain watchful and support each other.
  • "If the moment that we stop asking the questions, then everything falls." — National Guard Member 3 (11:56)
  • "There's troops all across the military...I hope that those people can all connect." — National Guard Member 1 (12:01)
  • The suggestion: "Start a group chat." — Kat Lonsdorf (12:13)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Thank you for your service...remember your oath to the Constitution as well as your duty to disobey illegal orders." — Anonymous DC commuter note, read by National Guard Member 1 (00:09)
• "This is just not what any of us signed up for." — Jay (02:07; 05:19)
• "I like the idea that I can make a difference within my six feet." — National Guard Member 3 (08:39)
• "What is my line that I won't cross?...Is it undoing everything I thought I was fighting for?" — National Guard Member 4 (09:00)
• "I swore an oath to the Constitution, not a person." — National Guard Member 4 (11:46)
• "If the moment that we stop asking the questions, then everything falls." — National Guard Member 3 (11:56)
• "In the military culture, it's really easy to feel like if you have questions or dissent, that you're the only person who thinks that." — Brittany Ramos DeBarros (10:15)
• "Start a group chat." — Kat Lonsdorf (12:13)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–02:22 | Intro, setting the DC scene, and initial National Guard perspectives
• 03:50–06:32 | Introduction to the Ohio group chat, Guard members' private coping
• 06:32–07:13 | Members’ worries about deployment purposes and communication from command
• 07:13–08:21 | Trump rhetoric, media influence, and cracks in military culture
• 08:25–09:43 | Reflections on careers, moral lines, and service pride
• 10:15–11:27 | About Face advocacy and support for questioning troops
• 11:46–12:13 | Final thoughts from National Guard members; the call to connection

Episode Tone & Final Thoughts

The episode balances empathy, candidness, and urgency as it elevates unfiltered voices of service members at a crossroads—caught between orders and conscience. The dialog is raw, introspective, and captures the anxiety of men and women called to serve in a time of historic political polarization. Above all, the message is clear: they are not alone in asking hard questions, and solidarity—in group chats or broader dissent—may be the start of protecting both democracy and the dignity of service.