MEMPHIS, Tenn. — More National Guard troops may be headed to Memphis at a hefty price tag for taxpayers, but some are questioning the need and wondering what purpose they are serving.
Unclassified documents obtained by WREG show the Pentagon is prepared to send up to 1,000 Guard members and keep them here through next September, at an estimated cost of $226 million.
Secretary of War prepared to send 1,000 troops to Memphis
Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley spoke Tuesday at a Free The 901 press conference, expressing outrage at what the Guard’s deployment is costing the government.
“There’s a lot of conversation about what happened at Wolfchase, but guess what? The National Guard could not and did not do anything to prevent it, because what they’re doing in our community is, nothing,” Smiley said. “We’re spending millions of dollars a day for people to put on their military outfits, to walk around our streets, talking to each other, playing.”…