50 New Hampshire National Guard members head to Washington

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Gov. Chris Sununu on Wednesday authorized a request to send 50 New Hampshire National Guard members to Washington, D.C., for the upcoming presidential inauguration.

The request came from the National Guard Bureau.

“Ensuring a peaceful and orderly transition of power is of paramount importance to our nation,” Sununu said in a statement. He said the guard will be deployed “to protect and defend democracy.”

The guard will be sending soldiers from the 160th Engineer Detachment and airmen from the 157th Security Forces Squadron. They will be taken to Washington, D.C., on a KC-46 refueler based at Pease Air National Guard Base.

Democrat Joe Biden’s inauguration is Jan. 20.