Speaker 1: Joining me now. He is a National Guard colonel. He's
Speaker 1: been Emergency Management Officer for the National Capital Region, now
Speaker 1: Liaison officer for Defense Support of Civil Authorities. He's in
Speaker 1: the DC parking lot right now. He is Colonel Josh McConkey.
Speaker 1: First of all, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2: Thank you very much, appreciate you having me on. I'm
Speaker 2: at the headquarters at Tindel Air Force Base. It's actually
Speaker 2: in Florida, not physically in DC.
Speaker 1: My apologies. Thanks for clarifying that. Let's talk about what
Speaker 1: actually happened yesterday and what that means in practice. What
Speaker 1: did you hear yesterday?
Speaker 2: So just addressing some of the crime issues. Having been
Speaker 2: in Washington, D C. For three years myself as a commander,
Speaker 2: I've had several colleagues attacked.
Speaker 3: I had one of my colleagues had.
Speaker 2: Their son who worked at the White House was assaulted
Speaker 2: last year, was beat very severely, had some permanent vision
Speaker 2: damage and some things. So, you know, crime is a
Speaker 2: very real deal there in Washington, D C. And this
Speaker 2: is just simply getting things under control to have a
Speaker 2: safe nation capital.
Speaker 1: And you know, I love Washington, DC, and I always
Speaker 1: tell people I think every American wherever you are in
Speaker 1: the country, you should plan and take a vacation and
Speaker 1: go to Washington, d C. And see all the monuments
Speaker 1: and go to the museums and do all the history.
Speaker 1: But make sure you're back at your hotel by eight
Speaker 1: because it's not safe to be outside after that. That's
Speaker 1: the reality, and it's not okay. And one of the
Speaker 1: things that I heard i listened to press conference this morning,
Speaker 1: this president wants our capital to be a shining, beautiful
Speaker 1: model city for the rest of the country. I really
Speaker 1: think that's his intention, But what does that mean in practice?
Speaker 1: What happens from this point forward.
Speaker 2: So really, what you're going to see is you're just
Speaker 2: going to see men and women from their own community.
Speaker 2: That's why a lot of people join the National Guard
Speaker 2: is to serve your community. So they're going to be
Speaker 2: called in and they won't be doing police activities per se,
Speaker 2: because there's a Posse Commatatis Act that prevents that if
Speaker 2: you're on federal orders.
Speaker 3: But they're going to be able to fulfill a lot
Speaker 3: of the roles that the Washington d C.
Speaker 2: Police and firefighters and social workers. They're going to be
Speaker 2: able to do some of their jobs. That then freeze
Speaker 2: them up to address these issues in Washington d C.
Speaker 2: These are your friends and neighbors out in your community.
Speaker 1: But what does this mean in terms of when people
Speaker 1: say this is the first step to authoritarian rule? What
Speaker 1: is the actual authority of the president here?
Speaker 3: So the authority it was well established.
Speaker 2: It was a congressional law passed in nineteen seventy three,
Speaker 2: so the.
Speaker 3: DC Home Act. Washington d C. Is not a state.
Speaker 2: It has always been a federal district of Columbia, and
Speaker 2: in nineteen seventy three they gave Washington d C. The
Speaker 2: ability to do some very limited self rule. But Congress
Speaker 2: has always retained that authority. Nothing has changed. They've had
Speaker 2: this authority since it was since it was Washington d C.
Speaker 2: And then even since nineteen seventy three they've they've kept
Speaker 2: that authority over them.
Speaker 1: So how long does that authority last permanently? Is there
Speaker 1: a span of time I was under the impression I
Speaker 1: don't know where I got thirty days? But how long
Speaker 1: does that last?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so the administration is announced thirty days. I think
Speaker 2: that's a very reasonable window of time to evaluate how
Speaker 2: things are progressing, and they'll reevaluate it after that thirty
Speaker 2: days and see what else needs to be done or
Speaker 2: if the mission is complete.
Speaker 1: So what is this going to look like for your
Speaker 1: normal citizens who should be worried here?
Speaker 3: I don't think anyone needs to be worried.
Speaker 2: They need to be celebrating that the crime issues are
Speaker 2: being addressed. I know if I saw the things happening
Speaker 2: in my community where I live in North Carolina, I
Speaker 2: would very much want there to be some intervention and
Speaker 2: if you had that resource. Yeah, I have three children.
Speaker 2: I want a safe environment for my family. This isn't
Speaker 2: a political issue. This is about safety in our nation's capital.
Speaker 1: Is there any concern that by bringing in FEDS you
Speaker 1: are either undermining local authority in a way that is
Speaker 1: not helpful on the long term or is there a
Speaker 1: hope that and this is what I'm hoping is that
Speaker 1: it works, and when it works, other large Democrat mayors
Speaker 1: will go, Wow, that actually worked and maybe try to
Speaker 1: replicate some of the same stuff. Do you think that
Speaker 1: there's any possibility or if there is a possibility, what
Speaker 1: would success look like in your world? You know, is
Speaker 1: it for me? Is the crime rate below the national average?
Speaker 1: That would be a stunning success.
Speaker 2: So you know, for me, just having crime lowered, especially
Speaker 2: the violent crimes, the muggings, the carjackings, the assaults. You know,
Speaker 2: that's what I've seen just personally with some colleagues that
Speaker 2: had been injured over the past year. So you know
Speaker 2: that can't happen in our nation's capital. That's the face
Speaker 2: of the country. That's where people, foreign indignitaries, people from
Speaker 2: all over the world go to visit, and needs to
Speaker 2: be a safe environment. So that's not really a political
Speaker 2: issue success. There is just a safe community for you
Speaker 2: and your family. And these DC Guard members there are ready,
Speaker 2: they live there, this is their home.
Speaker 3: So these are just your friends and neighbors.
Speaker 1: So how long did he say how long they were
Speaker 1: going to be deployed? How long is this deployment? What
Speaker 1: does that look like?
Speaker 3: It's planned right now at thirty days?
Speaker 1: That's right now.
Speaker 3: You're going to reevaluate after that.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's where the thirty days came from. I was like, Mandy,
Speaker 1: how do you have thirty days in your head? Colonel
Speaker 1: Josh McConkie. I hope you're right. I mean, I hope
Speaker 1: that it goes as planned. What I find really really
Speaker 1: interesting is that once again President Trump is essentially forced
Speaker 1: democrats into a position where they seem to be on
Speaker 1: the side of criminals, and i'm I'm you know what,
Speaker 1: it's kind of interesting to watch that happen. I appreciate
Speaker 1: your time today very much, sir.
Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am, thank you very much.
Speaker 1: All right, that is Colonel Josh McConkey.