During a roundtable review of crime reduction in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, yesterday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth lauded President Donald J. Trump's announcement that some National Guardsmen currently deployed around the U.S. will soon receive deployment pay and benefits equal to those of active-duty troops.
Speaking at the Memphis Air National Guard base during a gathering of senior leaders representing the Memphis Safe Task Force — an anti-crime, federal intervention force involving the National Guard and a host of federal agencies — Hegseth thanked the president for assuring that qualified guardsmen throughout the U.S. will be treated the same as their deployed, active-duty counterparts.
"Thank you for agreeing to sign that declaration for the Memphis troops, the D.C. troops [and] the troops on our border. They'll now be paid and get benefits just like folks on active duty; thank you for that, Mr. President," Hegseth said to Trump, shortly after the president made the announcement.
Hegseth added that Trump's declaration is an important step in demonstrating how serious the War Department is about its mission of combating big-city crime throughout the U.S.
"Every American is entitled — without exception — to safe, clean and beautiful cities. Cities where you can walk in peace; cities where law enforcement can do their job, and, to that end, the War Department stands shoulder to shoulder with state and federal partners so that our streets can be defended once again," Hegseth said.
Initiated via Trump's signing of a presidential memorandum, Sept. 15, 2025, and modeled after lessons learned from the Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful initiative that Trump launched in August 2025, the Memphis Safe Task Force works alongside local police to increase patrols, seize illegal weapons and target street crime.
The roundtable provided task force leadership with the opportunity to showcase a series of statistics demonstrating the success of the anti-crime initiative in Memphis.
Gadyaces S. Serralta, director of the U.S. Marshals Service, said 7,342 arrests have been made, including 44 homicide arrests, 812 drug arrests and 757 gang-related arrests.
He added that the task force has seized more than 1,200 illegal firearms and that 150 missing children have been located.
Additionally, just over 600 illegal aliens have been apprehended throughout Memphis as of this month.
"Thank you for working tirelessly to protect this state and restore law and order. … Your presence has led to a massive reduction in crime — a reduction the good citizens of Memphis deserve," Hegseth told the guardsmen and law enforcement officers in attendance.
Following yesterday's roundtable, Hegseth took time to visit the men and women assigned to the 164th Airlift Wing of the Tennessee Air National Guard.
While there, Hegseth praised the guardsmen for their service to their home state and to their country as a whole.
"Not enough people know the dynamic nature of what you undertake on a daily basis, [but] I get a chance to 'look under the hood' and see it a little bit when you look at the logistics and the coordination that it takes to sustain what's happening in Operation Epic Fury," Hegseth said, referencing the National Guardsmen who are mobilized overseas in support of the current operations against the Iranian regime.
"Ultimately, I couldn't be more grateful for the commitment that all of you make. … It's [the War Department's] job to serve you and just know that at every step — in every way that we can — we're here to have your back," he added.
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