In West Virginia, military service and the National Guard are woven into community life — bridges and banners honor veterans, and the state has one of the highest per-capita veteran populations in the country. For many young people in poorer parts of the state, the Guard is not just patriotic duty but an economic lifeline: enlistment bonuses, drill pay, annual training, deployment pay and benefits like tuition assistance and health care make it an attractive option.
The deaths and injuries of two West Virginia guardspeople in Washington, D.C., have brought those realities home. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, who grew up in Webster Springs, died in a shooting, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, of Martinsburg, was wounded. Authorities say both were attacked while patrolling near the White House as part of President Trump’s deployments of National Guard troops to American cities. Officials have described the suspect as an Afghan national who previously worked with the U.S. military and the CIA in Afghanistan.
Those deployments, justified by the White House as efforts to combat crime, have faced legal and political challenges from Democratic leaders and federal judges. In West Virginia — a deeply red state that has supported Trump strongly — debate is growing about whether sending Guard troops to D.C. makes sense and whether the missions are appropriate.
In Webster Springs, population about 800, residents remember Beckstrom from school and small-town life. Kenny Kidd, a longtime school bus driver, recalled her as “a great kid” who was always smiling and helpful. Opportunities for high-school graduates in the area are limited: with coal jobs disappearing, options often mean low-wage local work. For many like Beckstrom, the Guard offered a way to pay for college and gain steady income.
West Virginia has one of the highest per-capita shares of Guard members deployed to Washington, and the extra pay from such deployments can be an incentive. At a candlelight vigil for Wolfe in Martinsburg, Staff Sgt. Jason Mitchell of the 167th Airlift Wing — Wolfe’s unit — said his own Guard service helped him pay off college debt and that he plans to serve long enough to receive retirement benefits. Mitchell was deployed overseas recently and did not go to D.C.; his stepdaughter just joined the Guard while he was on deployment.
School counselor Charity Powers at Martinsburg High School said students join for many reasons: money for college, travel, a sense of duty and following family tradition. “Especially for kids who are kind of disadvantaged,” she said, the Guard can be “a really good opportunity.”
But the D.C. deployment has drawn criticism at home. Reports that troops were assigned to tasks such as trash pickup and landscaping rather than security have fueled questions about the mission’s purpose. West Virginia Democrats and some local newspapers have criticized Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey for approving the deployment. Mike Pushkin, a state delegate and Democratic Party chair, said Beckstrom and Wolfe “would not be there had it not been for the president calling in the National Guard in this strange form of political theater,” and that the deployment put them in harm’s way.
Gov. Morrisey defended the action in a statement, saying West Virginia has a proud history of military service and that the mission in D.C. continues that legacy. “We fully back the Guard members who willingly stepped up to clean up crime in our nation’s capital,” he said.
For some residents, anger and confusion are directed elsewhere. Roseanna Groves, a relative by marriage of Beckstrom, was outraged that the man charged in the attack had been allowed into the U.S. at all; she blamed former President Biden, though officials say the person entered under the previous administration. Others, like Kidd, are frustrated that the deployment seems political and unnecessary. “I think it’s turned into a lot more political than anything else,” he said.
Across the state, communities have marked the losses: flags flown at half-staff, ribbons and vigils, and the prospect that local honor rolls and Main Street banners will include the fallen. For towns where the Guard provides economic opportunity and pride, the deaths have prompted renewed debate about when and how to use those forces at home and whether deployments ordered for political aims are worth the risks.