Head of DC National Guard submits resignation

     The US Army general who heads the District of Columbia National Guard and has an integral part in overseeing the inauguration said Friday that he will be removed from command effective at 12:01 p.m. Jan. 20, just as Donald Trump is sworn in as president.
     Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz's departure will come in the middle of the presidential ceremony - classified as a national special security event - and while thousands of his troops are deployed to help protect the nation's capital during an inauguration he has spent months helping to plan.
     As is customary, Schwartz, like other presidential appointees, submitted a letter of resignation to give the new administration a clean start. He had done so before, but the Obama administration twice declined to accept it.
     A person close to the transition said transition officials wanted to keep Schwartz in the job for continuity, but the Army pushed to replace him.
     When Schwartz steps down on Inauguration Day, he will be replaced in the interim by Brig. Gen. William J. Walker, the commander of the D.C. Army National Guard's land component.
     It would be interesting to know why the Army wanted him gone as he’s been at the post since being appointed by Pres. George W. Bush in 2008. What ever it is it seemed to be serious enough to accept his resignation immediately when Trump takes office.