"New Pentagon data show climate impacts shaping reservists’ mission, in potential conflict with Trump’s drive to use them for law enforcement."
"The National Guard logged more than 400,000 member service days per year over the past decade responding to hurricanes, wildfires and other natural disasters, the Pentagon has revealed in a report to Congress.
The numbers mean that on any given day, 1,100 National Guard troops on average have been deployed on disaster response in the United States.
Congressional investigators believe this is the first public accounting by the Pentagon of the cumulative burden of natural disaster response on the National Guard.
The data reflect greater strain on the National Guard and show the potential stakes of the escalating conflict between states and President Donald Trump over use of the troops. Trump’s drive to deploy the National Guard in cities as an auxiliary law enforcement force—an effort curbed by a federal judge over the weekend—is playing out at a time when governors increasingly rely on the Guard for disaster response."
Marianne Lavelle reports for Inside Climate News October 7, 2025.
Advertisement 
