The D.C. “Safe and Beautiful” mission is a White House–directed, multi‑agency Task Force (established by Executive Order on March 28, 2025) that combines law‑enforcement surge operations and coordinated beautification/maintenance efforts in the District of Columbia. Its stated goals are to prevent and reduce crime (including increased federal law‑enforcement presence and coordination with MPD), restore and protect federal monuments and parks, remove graffiti and encampments on federal land, improve transit and public‑space safety and cleanliness, assist MPD recruitment and forensic capabilities, and generally make D.C. “safe, beautiful, and prosperous.”
Guardsmen assigned to Task Force Swampfox carry out presence patrols in high‑traffic areas (Metro stations, National Mall, waterfront), provide site security and support to federal and local law enforcement (MPD, U.S. Marshals, Amtrak/USPP), respond to medical and public‑safety incidents, conduct beautification/cleanup projects (trash removal, graffiti removal, park refurbishment), and perform logistics and sustainment tasks to keep the force fed, billeted, and supplied. They act as a visible deterrent and coordinate with civilian law‑enforcement to hand off incidents that require policing or arrest authority.
The public article about Task Force Swampfox does not state a specific headcount or a precise unit‑wide deployment length; D.C. Task Force activations generally have involved roughly 2,000–2,700 National Guard personnel overall, and many Task Force members have been detailed for initial periods up to about one year, but the exact size and length of Task Force Swampfox’s deployment were not disclosed in the available reporting.
South Carolina and Georgia National Guard members in D.C. operate under National Guard Title 32 state‑control activation orders, supporting a federal Task Force while remaining under their governors’ control for domestic operations; they coordinate through Joint Task Force–District of Columbia and are directed to support the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force under the White House Executive Order and applicable federal and local law. Lawful policing actions (arrests, prosecutorial decisions) remain the authority of civil law‑enforcement partners (e.g., MPD, U.S. Marshals) unless other legal authorities are specifically invoked.
Lt. Col. Brunson DePass is the South Carolina National Guard officer named in the War.gov article as commander of Task Force Swampfox; public reporting identifies him as an Army lieutenant colonel in the South Carolina Army National Guard who led a multi‑state guardsman contingent deployed to support the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission. The article does not provide a detailed service biography or earlier assignments.
The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force is coordinated among multiple federal and local agencies; key federal participants named in the Executive Order include the White House (Assistant to the President/Homeland Security Advisor as chair), Departments of Homeland Security, Interior, Transportation, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, ATF, U.S. Attorneys�(DC/MD/EDVA), and it may coordinate operationally with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), U.S. Park Police, Amtrak Police, WMATA and other federal/local partners.