A history of Tennessee National Guard deployments as soldiers head to Memphis

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — President Donald Trump announced the National Guard will be deployed to Memphis in a rare move in Tennessee history to combat crime.

The Tennessee National Guard was established in 1887 by the General Assembly. While soldiers have been deployed to maintain order and support local law enforcement in the past, their responses have never looked quite like the upcoming mission in Memphis.

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The Tennessee National Guard has a long history of deployments, typically responding to areas after natural disasters or during times of crisis and emergencies, including assisting hospital staff during COVID-19 and helping with rescue and recovery efforts following the 2021 floods in Humphreys County.

A few of the more unique deployments of the Tennessee National Guard include a deployment to Clinton in 1956 to facilitate school integration. In addition, soldiers were sent to Nashville and Memphis in 1968 after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to combat riots.

“We had tanks in the street, and people in military uniforms,” Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) said in August. However, Rep. White told News 2 their deployment to Memphis to fight crime wouldn’t necessarily look the same.

“I think we could have a much lower key [response] where they could be back office administrative help that you would never even know,” Rep. White said in August. “We don’t have enough police officers in Memphis right now anyway, so this would free them up to patrol the streets and be out on the streets where they could do administrative work, and it would be very lowkey. I think that would be a great benefit to Memphis.”

In 2020, Tennessee guardsmen were deployed to Washington, D.C., to support local law enforcement during civil unrest.

“We don’t do this mission a whole lot,” Col. Bowlin said in 2020 of the mission in D.C. “Like I said, we train for it annually, just in case.”

Despite many local leaders, including the Shelby County mayor and multiple Democratic state lawmakers expressing concern over the National Guard’s Memphis deployment, President Trump told Fox News Friday that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Memphis Mayor Paul Young are both “happy” about the mission.

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Lee issued the following statement regarding the National Guard’s deployment to Memphis on Friday:

“For months, I have been in constant communication with the Trump Administration to develop a multi-phased, strategic plan to combat crime in Memphis, leveraging the full extent of both federal and state resources.

The next phase will include a comprehensive mission with the Tennessee National Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Memphis Police Department, and other law enforcement agencies, and we are working closely with the Trump Administration to determine the most effective role for each of these agencies to best serve Memphians.

Our goal is to accelerate the positive momentum of Operation Viper — an ongoing FBI mission in Memphis with a dedicated task force of federal, state, and local law enforcement that has already arrested hundreds of the most violent offenders. To further support this mission, I have authorized an additional Tennessee Highway Patrol surge in Shelby County, and THP continues to work closely with the Memphis Police Department through the Bluff City Task Force.

I’ve been in close contact with the Administration throughout the week, and will be speaking with President Trump this afternoon to work out details of the mission. I’m grateful for the President’s unwavering support and commitment to providing every resource necessary to serve Memphians, and I look forward to working with local officials and law enforcement to continue delivering results.

As one of America’s world-class cities, Memphis remains on a path to greatness, and we are not going to let anything hold them back.”

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