As the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Mission enters its fifth month, members of Joint Task Force-District of Columbia (JTF-DC) continue to make tangible differences in the lives of residents and visitors alike. Since the mission's launch in August 2025, these National Guardsmen have come from units across the country, providing critical support alongside local law enforcement and federal partners. Current statistics of their efforts include:
These Soldiers and Airmen hail from diverse backgrounds across the United States, many balancing part-time military service with full-time civilian careers, education, or community contributions. Their unique skills and vigilance bring real-world impact to the capital's streets.
One recent example underscores that readiness; three West Virginia National Guard members on a routine presence patrol along Massachusetts Avenue Northwest detected the faint smell of smoke drifting from a nearby apartment building. U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Brett Fries, U.S. Army Sgt. Devin Cantwell, and Pfc. Tyler E. Farley quickly sprung into action.
“We were on patrol and thought we saw smoke, and I asked them if they smelled anything,” said Fries. “We stood there for a minute just to see if it happened again, and you could see it start rolling more and more out the window. So, Farley and I ran into the building while Sgt. Cantwell went to the fire station.”
With the help of a resident, Fries and Farley entered the apartment complex and discovered a dryer that had caught fire in the second-floor laundry room. The blaze had already spread to the back wall.
“The smoke was coming out the second story of an apartment building,” said Farley. “We went upstairs and saw that it was coming out of the laundry room, so we got one of the residents to open the door for us.”
The team located a fire extinguisher in the building, extinguished the flames, escorted residents to safety, and had the fire under control by the time D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services arrived.
“The building probably would have gone up [in flames],” said Cantwell.
Their sharp awareness and rapid response likely prevented a small incident from escalating into a catastrophic fire in a densely populated area.
The National Guard is composed of citizen-Soldiers who typically serve one weekend a month and two weeks a year in training; yet they're always ready to answer the call, whether overseas or here at home, often putting their civilian lives on hold.
As the mission continues into 2026, these part-time warriors remain committed to supporting the District. “There's a lot of people that I've spoken to on the streets, and they feel safer in the area," said Cantwell. “We're definitely doing good up here.”