Nearly 1000 soldiers to withdraw from Washington DC
(VOVWORLD) -President Trump agreed on Thursday to begin sending home 82nd Airborne Division troops he had ordered to Washington, temporarily easing a contentious standoff with the Pentagon over the role of the armed forces in quelling protests that have broken out across the nation.
Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper ordered 700 airborne soldiers to head back to Fort Bragg, N.C., by evening and a Pentagon official said the remaining 900 soldiers from the division as well as a military police unit from Fort Drum, N.Y., could begin withdrawing as early as Friday. More than 2,000 National Guard forces remain in Washington, a number set to climb to 4,500.