IDAHO GOVERNOR ACTIVATES NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS TO IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION - ANOTHER MEANS TO HIT THE TAXPAYERS IN THE WALLET

On January 31, 2022 Idaho governor Brad Little activated 75 Idaho National Guard troops support health care providers around the state, as well as staff of the Idaho Department of Correction. As of the time of this writing, mainstream press had not announced how many military personnel were assigned to prisons.

In a speech to the House Judiciary Committee earlier in the day IDOC Director Josh Tewalt told state Representatives that 201 IDOC employees were out either with a confirmed case of Covid-19, or had direct contact with someone known to be positive with Covid. This means each of these employees is sitting at home is on paid leave.

Meanwhile, because one inmate tested positive for Covid on unit F3 at the ISCC, (and was immediately removed to a quarantine area) 44 other prisoners are on lockdown for the next 2 weeks (though the CDC recommends only a 5 day period of observation). Ironically, a guard that accompanied the covid-positive inmate to a local hospital for diagnosis served meals to quarantined and non-quarantined inmates the next day.

In what is sure to come to light once an audit of the Governor's actions into deploying these troops, most of the National Guard troops which were activated are already employed by the Department of Correction, and will simply be assigned the same jobs had they not been called up - thereby fudging the numbers on available IDOC staff for purposes of appropriations this legislative session.

What these troops may not know is that being called up for duty by a state Governor does not count as "active military" duty/status as it applies to federal benefits.