In West Virginia, the Nationwide Guard is a chance and a lifeline : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5042x3329+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F96%2F06%2F8cd3110f4468aae84a2ca5a87f88%2F2025-12-03-andrew-wolfe-vigil-martinsburg-npr-13.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5042x3329+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F96%2F06%2F8cd3110f4468aae84a2ca5a87f88%2F2025-12-03-andrew-wolfe-vigil-martinsburg-npr-13.jpg" class="img" alt="Staff Sgt. Jason Mitchell, a member of the West Virginia Air National Guard, attends a candlelight vigil for Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe outside the Berkeley County Sheriff's office on Wednesday in Martinsburg, W.Va. " fetchpriority="high"/> Employees Sgt. Jason Mitchell, a member of the West Virginia Air Nationwide Guard, attends a candlelight vigil for Employees Sgt. Andrew Wolfe outdoors the Berkeley County Sheriff's workplace on Wednesday in Martinsburg, W.Va. Wolfe was shot close to the White Home on Nov. 26 in what officers described as a focused assault by an Afghan refugee who had beforehand labored with the U.S. navy and CIA in Afghanistan. Michael A. McCoy for NPR conceal caption

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Michael A. McCoy for NPR WEBSTER SPRINGS, W.Va. — In West Virginia, most of the 1000's of bridges spanning mountain valleys and gorges are named for native veterans and on Predominant Streets in small cities, banners function hometown troopers, a few of whom fought and died in previous conflicts.

It is a state with one of many nation's highest per-capita populations of veterans. Service within the navy — together with the assorted branches of the Nationwide Guard — has lengthy been seen not simply as a patriotic obligation, however as an financial lifeline, notably in a number of the poorer elements of the state.

The dying of Military Specialist Sarah Beckstrom in a Washington, D.C., taking pictures and the wounding of one other Nationwide Guard soldier — Air Power Employees Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, have introduced that actuality dwelling as soon as extra of their hometowns and throughout the state.

The 2 had been attacked whereas patrolling close to the White Home as a part of President Trump's Nationwide Guard deployments to American cities. Trump has mentioned the deployments are essential to struggle crime, however Democratic leaders and federal judges have questioned their legality. In deep crimson West Virginia too, there seems to be a rising refrain questioning the rationale for sending troops to D.C.

Earlier than transferring to close by Summersville after highschool, Beckstrom, 20, grew up in Webster Springs, with its inhabitants of simply 800 tucked amid mountains and spruce forests. Kenny Kidd has been driving a faculty bus within the city for years. He remembers all the youngsters and Sarah he says, "was an important child."

"She at all times had a smile on her face. At all times prepared to assist. And he or she at all times preferred to provide me a tough time," he says laughing.

On this a part of the state, job prospects for somebody graduating highschool are fairly sparse.

"Coal mining is on its approach out," Kidd says. "Apart from that, it is… work at a grocery retailer or a ironmongery store. And there is simply not a lot right here."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1080x720+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9a%2F8c%2F6b6d981940aeb44f36e6a3ec5426%2Fwestvirginiaguard5.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1080x720+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9a%2F8c%2F6b6d981940aeb44f36e6a3ec5426%2Fwestvirginiaguard5.jpg" class="img" alt="Main Street in Webster Springs, W.Va., on Wednesday." loading="lazy"/> Predominant Avenue in Webster Springs on Wednesday. The small West Virginia city with a inhabitants of simply 800 affords few job prospects for highschool graduates. Chris Jackson For NPR conceal caption

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Chris Jackson For NPR <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F68%2Fab%2Fcb48b83e4044bce40eac66c9eb8a%2Fwestvirginiaguard7.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3000+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F68%2Fab%2Fcb48b83e4044bce40eac66c9eb8a%2Fwestvirginiaguard7.jpg" class="img" alt="Flags fly at half-staff for West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom at the Webster County Courthouse in Webster Springs, W.Va., on Wednesday." loading="lazy"/> Flags fly at half-staff for West Virginia Nationwide Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom on the Webster County Courthouse in Webster Springs, W.Va., on Wednesday. Chris Jackson for NPR conceal caption

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Chris Jackson for NPR Financially, he says, the Guard is an effective deal for younger adults. The bonuses may help put them by way of faculty, the pay from month-to-month drills and annual coaching are much-needed cash of their pockets. After which there's the additional pay from deployments, just like the one to D.C., the place the West Virginia Guard has extra troopers per capita than every other state.

At a prayer vigil for Wolfe in his hometown of Martinsburg, Air Power Employees Sergeant Jason Mitchell says it was the necessity to repay faculty debt that introduced him to the Nationwide Guard. Mitchell, who's in the identical unit as Wolfe — the 167th Airlift Wing — has served 13 years, however did not go to D.C. as a result of he was already deployed within the Center East as a part of a daily rotation. He plans to remain for one more seven years to get full retirement advantages, together with a pension and veteran healthcare.

"My stepdaughter truly simply joined and she or he graduated primary [training] whereas I used to be deployed," he says. "She was form of in the identical boat the place she was going to school and was on the lookout for… a possibility."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6240x4160+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F25%2F3d%2F64872b324f429ff6f37db5a3d017%2F2025-12-03-andrew-wolfe-vigil-martinsburg-npr-22.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6240x4160+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F25%2F3d%2F64872b324f429ff6f37db5a3d017%2F2025-12-03-andrew-wolfe-vigil-martinsburg-npr-22.jpg" class="img" alt="Members of the West Virginia public safety community attend a candlelight vigil for Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe outside of the Berkeley County Sheriff's office on Wednesday." loading="lazy"/> Members of the West Virginia public security group attend a candlelight vigil for Employees Sgt. Andrew Wolfe outdoors of the Berkeley County Sheriff's workplace on Wednesday. Michael A. McCoy for NPR conceal caption

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Michael A. McCoy for NPR <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4888x3242+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F33%2Fd3%2F7a36a5a04a57be3be29179b887c4%2F2025-12-03-andrew-wolfe-vigil-martinsburg-npr-12.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4888x3242+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F33%2Fd3%2F7a36a5a04a57be3be29179b887c4%2F2025-12-03-andrew-wolfe-vigil-martinsburg-npr-12.jpg" class="img" alt="Members of the West Virginia public safety community attend a candlelight vigil for Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe outside of the Berkeley County Sheriff's office on Wednesday." loading="lazy"/> Members of the West Virginia public security group attend a candlelight vigil for Employees Sgt. Andrew Wolfe outdoors of the Berkeley County Sheriff's workplace on Wednesday. Michael A. McCoy for NPR conceal caption

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Michael A. McCoy for NPR At Martinsburg Excessive College, steerage counselor Charity Powers advises seniors. It isn't only one factor that motivates those that select the Guard, she says. Some need cash for school, some wish to journey and others see it as a patriotic obligation to observe within the footsteps of kinfolk who've served.

"I believe on this space, particularly for teenagers who're form of deprived, which we've got plenty of these college students, it is a actually good alternative for them."

Regardless of the state's enthusiasm for the navy and the voluntary nature of the D.C. deployment, Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey has discovered himself on the defensive about it. Amid experiences that troops are being employed in duties resembling trash pickup and landscaping as a substitute of safety, because the White Home has steered, West Virginia Democratic lawmakers have sharply criticized Morrisey for signing off on it. A number of state newspapers have echoed that sentiment on their opinion pages.

Mike Pushkin, a West Virginia Home of Delegates member and chairman of the state's Democratic Social gathering says Beckstrom and Wolfe "wouldn't be there had it not been for the president calling within the Nationwide Guard on this unusual type of political theater and it sadly put them in hurt's approach."

In an announcement to NPR, Gov. Morrisey mentioned: "The State of West Virginia is unwavering in its assist for our Nationwide Guard. Since our founding, our state has a proud historical past of navy service, answering the decision for missions throughout the globe. The mission in D.C. is a continuation of this legacy of service — and we totally again the Guard members who willingly stepped as much as clear up crime in our nation's capital."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x2999+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3f%2F55%2F630b22c940f0b43d1360065cdf4c%2Fwestvirginiaguard9.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x2999+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3f%2F55%2F630b22c940f0b43d1360065cdf4c%2Fwestvirginiaguard9.jpg" class="img" alt="A pedestrian walks into United Bank as ribbons in honor of Sarah Beckstrom adorn the door on Main Street in Webster Springs, W.Va., on Wednesday." loading="lazy"/> A pedestrian walks into United Financial institution as ribbons in honor of Sarah Beckstrom adorn the door on Predominant Avenue in Webster Springs, W.Va., on Wednesday. Chris Jackson for NPR conceal caption

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Chris Jackson for NPR However in a state that went closely for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024, it is not tough to search out individuals who marvel aloud why sending the West Virginia Nationwide Guard to Washington makes any sense.

Roseanna Groves, who lives in Webster Springs and is expounded by marriage to Beckstrom was outraged that the person charged within the assault — an Afghan nationwide who labored with the CIA — had been let into the U.S. in any respect. She blamed former President Biden, though he was let in beneath Trump's administration.

"I believe one thing needs to be finished" about immigrants like him, she says. However she would not perceive the choice by Trump and Morrisey to ship that Guard to Washington. "I really feel it was loopy, I actually do," she says.

It is a sentiment shared by Kidd, the varsity bus driver. He is heard the experiences that Beckstrom, Wolfe and others had been busy in cleanup as a substitute of "doing their jobs." It simply is not price it, he says.

As for the deployment, "I believe it is became much more political than the rest," he says.

Referring to these banners that includes native heroes in cities throughout West Virginia, "Sarah's image … it's going to be subsequent," he says. "However she'll be missed."