Thousands of National Guardsmen banished to parking garage

[Santander]

https://mobile.twitter.com/kyrstensinema/status/1352454058636963844
It's fixed. Sounds like someone from Capitol Police told them to leave.

I knew someone would say that. But the damage has been done already. They were there for a day, over 100 now have covid, you should see the pictures in there looks like a pre covid scene, it was an absolute covid breeding hotspot ground, and some interviewed soldiers were asked about covid precautions and they said basically none, packed in there like sardines, not much we could do. It was not even a still parking lot, it was an active parking lot, inhaling car fumes and one soldier almost got hit by a car. Other toilet and food issues that one can already imagine. There needs to be an investigation, this wasn’t a no harm no foul situation.

It's been like that since they got there. We saw them cramped in the rotunda and cafeteria last week. Fact of the matter is, it's incredibly difficult to find places for them to rest safely between shifts. If it makes you feel any better, they do get to sleep in hotels off duty..

An active parking garage, even a designated corner of one, is not a "safe" place to rest. (it could be in like, a war zone, but this is obviously a very different situation) And when you consider the bureaucratic effort required to bring thousands of Guardsmen from different states to the Capitol, there really is no excuse to not have thought of places where they can take breaks.

[Santander]

https://mobile.twitter.com/kyrstensinema/status/1352454058636963844
It's fixed. Sounds like someone from Capitol Police told them to leave.

I knew someone would say that. But the damage has been done already. They were there for a day, over 100 now have covid, you should see the pictures in there looks like a pre covid scene, it was an absolute covid breeding hotspot ground, and some interviewed soldiers were asked about covid precautions and they said basically none, packed in there like sardines, not much we could do. It was not even a still parking lot, it was an active parking lot, inhaling car fumes and one soldier almost got hit by a car. Other toilet and food issues that one can already imagine. There needs to be an investigation, this wasn’t a no harm no foul situation.

It's been like that since they got there. We saw them cramped in the rotunda and cafeteria last week. Fact of the matter is, it's incredibly difficult to find places for them to rest safely between shifts. If it makes you feel any better, they do get to sleep in hotels off duty..

An active parking garage, even a designated corner of one, is not a "safe" place to rest. (it could be in like, a war zone, but this is obviously a very different situation) And when you consider the bureaucratic effort required to bring thousands of Guardsmen from different states to the Capitol, there really is no excuse to not have thought of places where they can take breaks.

Damn. Do you think they could have afforded better accomodations with the money they spent on those lobster dinners (which you supported?)

Well, it costs nothing to let them stay somewhere inside the vast Capitol Complex.

[Santander]

https://mobile.twitter.com/kyrstensinema/status/1352454058636963844
It's fixed. Sounds like someone from Capitol Police told them to leave.

I knew someone would say that. But the damage has been done already. They were there for a day, over 100 now have covid, you should see the pictures in there looks like a pre covid scene, it was an absolute covid breeding hotspot ground, and some interviewed soldiers were asked about covid precautions and they said basically none, packed in there like sardines, not much we could do. It was not even a still parking lot, it was an active parking lot, inhaling car fumes and one soldier almost got hit by a car. Other toilet and food issues that one can already imagine. There needs to be an investigation, this wasn’t a no harm no foul situation.

It's been like that since they got there. We saw them cramped in the rotunda and cafeteria last week. Fact of the matter is, it's incredibly difficult to find places for them to rest safely between shifts. If it makes you feel any better, they do get to sleep in hotels off duty..

An active parking garage, even a designated corner of one, is not a "safe" place to rest. (it could be in like, a war zone, but this is obviously a very different situation) And when you consider the bureaucratic effort required to bring thousands of Guardsmen from different states to the Capitol, there really is no excuse to not have thought of places where they can take breaks.

Damn. Do you think they could have afforded better accomodations with the money they spent on those lobster dinners (which you supported?)

Well, it costs nothing to let them stay somewhere inside the vast Capitol Complex.

Ehh, it was probably a question of room. They would have been squished no matter what. And they get a comfy hotel room at the end of the day. Look my great granddad spent 300 days sleeping in the Philippine mud as a prisoner of war. His whole platoon died except for him and his biggest complaint was that the Red Cross made him pay for coffee when the area was liberated. These guys sign up for free college and healthcare, this is hardly the biggest sacrifice that somebody can make. Especially for the big old financial commitment we make on their behalf.

If there's room for 535 members of Congress, their staff, visitors, support staff, and police to work, meet, spread out, and have space left over, there's room for a few hundred guardsmen to take a sedentary break.

You can't compare war time with domestic security duty. In war, it might be unavoidable for soldiers to experience certain "occupational hazards", but that doesn't mean they should be breathing in exhaust fumes in an underground garage with little to no toilet or hygiene facilities while deployed on security duty in what is essentially a vast office complex.