A message about civil unrest: Michael A. Grinston Sergeant Major , James C. McConville General, Ryan D. McCarthy Secretary of the Army: National Guardsmen Explain Mission

A message to the Army community about civil unrest

By U.S. Army

Dear Soldiers, Civilians, Family members and Soldiers for Life:

Over the past week, the country has suffered an explosion of frustration over the racial divisions that still plague us as Americans. And because your Army is a reflection of American society, those divisions live in the Army as well. We feel the frustration and anger. We felt it this week while traveling through the nation’s capital with the DC National Guard. We feel it, even though we can never fully understand the frustration and life experiences of people of color, in or out of uniform. But we do understand the importance of taking care of people, and of treating every person with dignity and respect.j

Our ability to defend this country from all enemies, foreign and domestic, is founded upon a sacred trust with the American people. Racial division erodes that trust. Though we all aspire to live by the Army values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage, the Army has sometimes fallen short. Because just as we reflect the best of America, we reflect its imperfections as well. We need to work harder to earn the trust of mothers and fathers who hesitate to hand their sons and daughters into our care. How we respond to the anger that has ignited will chart the course of that trust.

Every Soldier and Department of the Army Civilian swears an oath to support and defend the Constitution. That includes the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. We will continue to support and defend those rights, and we will continue to protect Americans, whether from enemies of the United States overseas, from COVID-19 at home, or from violence in our communities that threatens to drown out the voices begging us to listen. To Army leaders of all ranks, listen to your people, but don’t wait for them to come to you. Go to them. Ask the uncomfortable questions. Lead with compassion and humility, and create an environment in which people feel comfortable expressing grievances. Let us be the first to set the example. We are listening. And we will continue to put people first as long as we are leading the Army. Because people are our greatest strength.

God bless all of the people of our United States Army: our Soldiers, Families, Civilians, and Soldier for Life retirees and veterans. And God bless the United States of America.

Tensions decrease in Atlanta after Guardsmen explain mission to protesters

By Gary Sheftick, Army News ServiceJune 8, 2020

Once demonstrators realized the Georgia National Guard was there to protect them and facilitate a peaceful protest, violence diminished in downtown Atlanta last week, said Staff Sgt. David Knicely.

“People were extremely receptive once we kind of explained it is our obligation to defend the Constitution,” Knicely said, “and the Constitution allows for the freedom of civility, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to protest…”

Knicely and other members of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were called to augment law enforcement in downtown Atlanta beginning May 29 after rioters looted and damaged several businesses. He spent every night last week standing near the fence of Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park.

About 100 Soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard set up a security cordon along the entrance to the park. One of their jobs was to scan the crowd and look for suspicious activity.

“Some people were there to detract from the message by inciting violence,” Knicely said. For instance, one of the Guardsmen noticed that a protester was selling Tasers out of her backpack. Knicely’s team reported it to police who “pulled the backpack of Tasers out of the crowd,” he said.

Knicely said he talked with about 50 people along the fence, one-on-one.

“They’d be on the fence line, so I would just walk up and approach them and say ‘what are your thoughts on this?… Why are you out here?’”

At first, some of  his encounters weren’t very civil, he said. The first night, some crowds turned hostile. Rioters were throwing rocks and bricks at the police and National Guardsmen. But as time went on, many realized the National Guard was there to protect them and keep order, Knicely said.

“I just try to relate to them. As if it’s me standing on the other side of the fence line,” he said about the protesters.

At the beginning of last week, he estimated that about 90% of protesters were hostile, ,  but now it has flip-flopped. Most of the protesters are willing to come up to the Guardsmen and talk.

By the end of last week, he said some of the protesters were offering Soldiers water and snacks.

The first few nights of curfew, tear gas had to be used by police to disperse the crowds. Beginning Wednesday, though, the crowd dispersed peacefully at 9 p.m.

“They’re coming up and being a lot more receptive to us,” Knicely said. “Now they’re saying, ‘hey these guys aren’t our enemy. They’re here to help protect us.’ The leaders of the group are starting to preach that to the crowd.”

Knicely was born in Cobb County, just a few minutes outside Atlanta, and he has always considered the city his home. He remembers visiting Centennial Olympic Park as a young boy for the 1996 Summer Olympics.

He explained to the protesters, “I’m protecting you guys to protect the city that we both love.”

Knicely served as a police officer for about a year and a half in Smyrna, Georgia, about 16 miles from Atlanta.

After serving as a police officer, he went full-time with the National Guard as the readiness NCO for C Company, 3rd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Georgia Army National Guard.

His family has a legacy of service. Both his grandfathers fought in World War II, one in the Army and the other in the Navy. His brother is an active-duty Army staff sergeant stationed in Hawaii.

Knicely returned last year in March from a deployment in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. His unit has been activated now for about six weeks in the fight against COVID-19.

“This has been a unique experience, for sure,” he said.

When called May 29 to help with the civil disturbance, he was surprised. “This kind of activation is something,” he said. “I never dreamed I would be a part of it.

“I’m going to be telling my kids and grandkids about this. We’re literally being a part of history right now and we’re watching it unfold.”

(Editor’s note: A record 96,521 National Guard members are now supporting homeland operations at the direction of their governors. As of Monday morning, this number represented activations for civil unrest, COVID-19, and preparations for Tropical Storm Cristobal, expected to impact Louisiana.)