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"I really went to a dark place when they sent the troops to [Los Angeles], and then eventually [Washington, D.C.], and now, Chicago. This is just not what any of us signed up for, and it's so out of the scope of normal operations," says J, a member of the Ohio National Guard who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity.

In the summer, Trump sent troops into Los Angeles as anti-ICE protests escalated. He then deployed guard troops into D.C., where around 2,300 still regularly patrol streets. Then a torrent of plans for deployments came — Chicago, Portland, Memphis, cities in Louisiana and Missouri. Many of them remain embroiled in legal limbo.

In Ohio, J and several other members have taken to that group chat to discuss the deployments and the accompanying anxiety they've felt. J, as well as members C and A — all part of the same unit — agreed to talk to NPR on the condition that they are only identified by their first initials, because they are not authorized to talk to the press and fear retribution for expressing their opinions.

"I have been on two humanitarian-esque missions with the guard, which were awesome, doing the things you see on the commercial, helping these communities," says J. "And then you want me to go pick up trash and dissuade homeless people in D.C. at gunpoint. Like, no dude. It's so disheartening every time I see another city — and I just wonder, 'who's going to stand up to this?'"

https://www.wosu.org/npr-news/2025-11-10/in-an-encrypted-group-chat-national-guard-members-question-trump-deployments