WASHINGTON –
Snow-crete hugged the curb and crowded sidewalk edges, remnants of an earlier winter storm hardened into rutted obstacles by time and traffic. What had once been clean, white powder now pressed into uneven slabs that narrowed walkways and cluttered medians, a quiet reminder that conditions on the ground rarely stay pristine for long.
Washington, D.C., slid past the windshield as Command Sgt. Maj.Scott McKennon, senior enlisted leader for Joint Task Force–D.C., guided the vehicle through the city’s tight corridors and layered streets. The drive was deliberate. Turns were measured. Patrol locations were checked and rechecked as senior leaders assessed how a national tasking was unfolding at street level.
The ride-along offered a ground-level view of how national guidance translates into daily execution in the capital.
In the front passenger seat, U.S. Army Col.Larry Doane, commander of Joint Task Force–D.C., watched the city move—metro entrances, intersections, sidewalks—scanning not for spectacle, but for rhythm. Where Soldiers and Airmen stood. How they moved. Whether presence was doing what it was intended to do.
Behind them, Chief Warrant Officer 5Robert W. Gibsonobserved quietly, decades of experience turning small details into context. One mission rarely stands alone; it rests atop many that came before it.
The vehicle shifted lanes once, then again—smooth and decisive.
“Operational security,” McKennon said evenly, before adding, “They don’t just give out that master driver badge to anyone.”
Doane didn’t look over. “Here we go again,” he said. “Maybe you should drive in the Freedom 250.” Then his attention returned to the street ahead. The humor lasted only seconds—familiar, restrained—before the work resumed.
The ride-along supported the DC Safe and Beautiful mission, which places National Guard Soldiers and Airmen alongside local and federal partners to reinforce public safety through visibility, discipline, and coordination across the city. At its core, success for the mission is defined by prevention rather than reaction—deterring criminal activity, preserving public order, protecting national landmarks, and maintaining a visible sense of safety for residents, commuters, and visitors.
Radio traffic filtered in. Updates were clarified. Situations initially flagged as concerns resolved quickly through coordination with local partners.
“That’s a good sign,” McKennon said after one report was downgraded. “Means people are communicating early and handling things the right way.”
At a transit corridor, snow-crete piled high along the curb, Soldiers and Airmen stood watch. McKennon stepped out first.
“How we doing?” he asked.
“Doing well, Sergeant Major,” a Soldier replied. “Good to see you again.”
McKennon asked where they had been posted, what they were seeing, and whether the frozen conditions were creating issues leadership needed to know about. His follow-up was practical—footing, cold-weather gear, comfort in the cold—questions designed to identify friction before it slowed good work.
“If something’s not working, tell us,” he said. “We’ll fix it.”
Doane joined the exchange, asking whether anything in the sector required attention or reporting. The answers were direct. No concerns. No surprises.
“Good,” Doane said. “That’s exactly what we want.”
As the vehicle moved on, McKennon pointed out locations the team had visited repeatedly during the mission.
“That’s when you know it’s working,” he said. “When you’re not the story anymore.”
Later, a report of a potential incident prompted a brief pause. McKennon glanced toward the back seat and directedPerry Solinski, who was navigating and managing radio traffic for the night.
“Check it,” McKennon said. “See if they need us.”
Solinski confirmed details and coordinated with local partners. Within minutes, the update came back: the situation had been resolved, and no Guard assistance was required.
The decision not to inject additional forces was intentional. It reflected confidence—in the Soldiers and Airmen already on the ground and in an interagency system designed to manage conditions without unnecessary escalation. Routine reports and uneventful outcomes were, in this context, indicators of mission success.
As they passed another patrol, McKennon lowered the window.
“You guys good?”
“Roger, Sergeant Major.”
“All right,” McKennon said. “Keep doing what you’re doing.”
The Guard’s presence remained visible but deliberately unobtrusive—supporting civil authority without supplanting it. In the nation’s capital, security is sustained through consistency: coordination that works, presence that reassures, and restraint that preserves legitimacy, even when conditions on the ground are less than ideal.
Near the end of the ride, no further Guard response was required in the areas they had monitored—another ordinary report carrying quiet significance.
Doane looked up from the radio. “All right,” he said. “Let’s set conditions for tomorrow.”
The vehicle merged back into traffic, tires crunching past hardened snow. Soldiers and Airmen remained on station—unchanged, unremarkable, and exactly where they needed to be.
Nothing about the night was dramatic—and that was the point. A national mission, executed locally, showing success through prevention, presence, and partnership. As Washington moved on, so did the mission—quietly, deliberately, and exactly as intended.