If you’ve traveled anywhere near the Capitol over the last few months, you’ve seen them.

Thousands of men and women in camouflage standing watch outside the stone buildings that represent our democracy. Servicewomen and men from neighboring states like Maryland and New Jersey and as far away as Washington and Hawaii arrived after the armed insurrection in January to secure the Capitol from ongoing threats of violence. They will remain here until May.

Who are they? What do they do in their downtime? Where are they from and what did they leave behind?

For many of these soldiers and airmen, this is the first time they’ve been to D.C. They put their civilian lives and jobs on hold to guard the Capitol, in a situation they never could have imagined.

“For me, this was what I signed up for, just to provide that protection for the country, our government, our democracy.” 

Martin is a pre-school teacher in her home state of Missouri and said she misses her young students the most. The pandemic made it harder for her to see them, and she hopes when she returns home after this mission that the children will remember her face.

“Being a soldier, you get used to getting called up anytime. So you have to be ready to prioritize the mission.”

In his off duty time, Mirek tries to stay in shape for his civilian job as a mixed martial arts coach. He said he was teaching when he got the call that his unit would deploy to the Capitol. Mirek drives semi-trucks for his Army unit in Illinois.

“Being in the National Guard, we have to juggle our civilian life, we have to juggle our military life, we have to juggle family, we have to juggle two jobs because we have the military job and the civilian job. We deal with a lot.”

Graves was raised in Baltimore where he works as a civilian security guard and serves in the Army as a military vehicle mechanic. He said he doesn’t get a lot of down time during the Capitol mission but when he can relax, he likes to read and study.

“It’s interesting to see something that I always see on TV …the historical buildings, the Capitol, the Senate…it’s nice to see the King Kamehameha statue from Hawaii.”

Maudlin is a squad leader in charge of making sure his soldiers have everything they need, and serves as a Lakota helicopter mechanic. As a civilian, Maudlin works at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Maudlin was married in December and said Facetime is essential to keep up with things back home on the Big Island.

“When people think about the military, they often think of the Army but there’s different components and we all add something different to the mission.”

Baah graduated college last May with a degree in Psychology and she hopes to earn a PhD and eventually commission as an Air Force officer. Her favorite thing to do in D.C. has been checking out the restaurant scene.

“We’re just here to protect what we care about, and ultimately, that’s America, and Americans.”

Janz served in the Marine Corps at Base Quantico prior to joining the National Guard so he’s been to the District before, but he said this time it’s surreal to be walking around the Capitol in his gear. Janz works in a full time position for the National Guard to make sure his unit is ready to deploy quickly.

“Imagining so many things that have happened here during this whole time. This is our American history. It’s a privilege to be here.”

Sabalsa works full time for the National Guard and is in charge of keeping her soldiers ready to complete their mission. She makes sure their paperwork is correct for things like pay and benefits and makes sure the soldiers are trained and properly equipped for missions. Facetime helps keep Sabalsa connected with her family while she’s away – a welcome change from earlier deployments in her career.

“I’m happy that the legislators and the people in the community feel safe that we’re here, and I’m going to do this job to the best of my ability.”

Bennett has served in the Army for 16 years and deployed to Iraq and Jordan as a cavalry scout. As a civilian, he handles logistics and operations for the Raymour and Flanigan furniture company in New Jersey. When he first walked into the Capitol building, he said he was in awe of the beauty of the Rotunda and has enjoyed learning more about America’s history through Capitol tours.

“I was really close to my grandfather. He was like my best friend, and he served during World War II. I’m just really proud of being a part of what he was a part of, and wearing the same name tape that he did.”

Mazza finished Basic Combat Training late last year and is a junior at Youngstown State University where she studies forensic anthropology. She works as a military police officer in the National Guard. When she got the call that her unit would be deploying to the District, Mazza was excited. She loves seeing all the residents of Capitol Hill running and walking their dogs.

“I got a phone call saying this mission’s coming up, would you be interested? And that next morning, we went up to our unit and started to head this way.”

Butler is the oldest of eight siblings and lives in a small town of 600 people. He said being in D.C. and seeing all the people and different cultures has been a great experience. He works as a combat engineer for the National Guard, and helps control and issue weapons for the Capitol mission.