The National Guard members at medical facilities aren’t there for enforcement or protection—they are there to reduce the strain on the medical staff.
Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Borders, public affairs officer at the Idaho National Guard, spoke to 670 KBOI on Thursday to reassure people who are worried about seeing soldiers at their hospitals.
“We are there at the request of those facilities,” Borders said. “Because they’re overwhelmed…No security, no enforcement of any kind. If we’re at a doorway, we’re probably screening patients, checking for fevers, asking those questions, doing the things that the medical staff would normally be there doing.”
A 670 KBOI listener said a member of the National Guard escorted her throughout the hospital on her visit, and that she felt “intimidated.”
In response, Borders said, “We joined the Idaho National Guard so we can support our community in times of crisis, and that’s what we’re doing…I can tell you, that is the sole purpose of why all of us serve, and that’s what they’re at these locations doing.”
“We’re people too,” Borders said. “I suppose the uniform could be intimidating, but we’re Americans, we’re Idahoans, and we are there to help our community. No one needs to be intimidated by our presence.”
Borders confirmed multiple times that members of the National Guard are not standing guard or arresting anybody.
