‘More of a political issue’: Florida National Guard General says Florida troops were ‘fine’ in D.C.

The Florida National Guard’s top-ranking General on Tuesday said Florida troops experienced “fine” treatment in Washington, D.C., and described the infamous parking garage debacle as a “political issue.”

“We really had no complaints with the way D.C. treated our Guardsmen,” Adjutant General James Eifert said. “They were allowed to stay in hotels and they were fed. I think that was a lot more of a political issue than it was a real issue.”

Speaking after a Senate panel, Eifert said Florida Guardsmen were not among the thousands of troops housed in a parking garage while on orders at the nation’s Capital.

Instead, he described the debacle as an “optical” problem and said Florida’s troops experienced “great care.” 

“I think that they were good people trying to do the right things based on a bunch of different competing priorities at the time,” Eifert said. “It just so happened that some of those guardsmen were put in a place that didn’t look good.”

Roughly 650 Florida National Guardsmen deployed to D.C. last week to provide security for President Joe Biden‘s inauguration. Florida troops, Eifert said, protected national monuments around the city. Other units, meanwhile, guarded the Capitol.

Florida’s federal mission came to an abrupt close when Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the Florida National Guard home.

The decision came after photographs showed service members sleeping on the ground in a crowded parking garage after being kicked out of the U.S. Capitol. 

The images drew harsh criticism from lawmakers across the spectrum.

DeSantis, shortly thereafter, appeared on Fox News to lament the accommodations.

“These folks are soldiers, not Nancy Pelosi’s servants,” DeSantis said. “This is a half-cocked mission at this point and the appropriate thing is to bring them home.”

Republican Sen. Danny Burgess, an Army Reserve Officer, also took issue with the lackluster arrangements. Burgess previously served as the Florida Department of Veteran’s Affairs’ Executive Director. 

“We’re not immune to sleeping or staying, or prepping for adverse conditions and inclement type environments,” Burgess said on Tuesday. “However, there’s a certain way to treat your troops and I just don’t feel like that was appropriate.” 

Burgess supports DeSantis’ decision and called for better treatment in the future. He noted that National Guard troops nationwide are mobilized at historic levels. 

At least four states, including Texas, New Hampshire, and Montana, ordered their troops home after the images went viral.

Biden later apologized for the incident during a telephone call with Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, the National Guard Bureau head, the New York Times reported. 

Eifert said all Florida National Guard men and women arrived home over the weekend.