Time out for a few National Guardsmen who were patrolling Lincoln Park on Capitol Hill. I’ve seen them walking down our and other streets, but this is a pretty quiet neighborhood, so I don’t think they’ve had a lot to do. The ones I’ve spoken to have been very nice and also like petting Queenie.

However, an additional 1,500 National Guard troops are being deployed to DC as part of a federal “summer surge” of law enforcement ahead of the US 250th anniversary celebrations, bringing the total number of National Guardsmen in the District to 5,000. I suspect they’ll have more to do than they have since August 2025, when the first contingents were sent here, given the huge number of tourists expected for the festivities.

Queenie and the US Marine Corps War Memorial, posted earlier: