An eight-month deployment of over 100 National Guard troops in New Orleans ended Monday, officials said, as troops wrapped up final patrols around the city’s popular French Quarter and other tourist-heavy areas. The federally funded but state-managed deployment was supposed to last just two months but extended into the summer, ostensibly to provide security at major events.

“I am extraordinarily proud of the Guardsmen who participated in the New Orleans security mission,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, Adjutant General of Louisiana, in a statement. “Our Soldiers brought presence, professionalism, law enforcement skills, and a sense of safety to citizens and visitors, alike.” 

New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said that all troops will be out of the city by Aug. 31.

“While this deployment is ending, our partnership is not,” Moreno said in a statement on Aug. 21. “The Guard has always been an integral part of major events like Mardi Gras, working alongside our public safety agencies to keep our city safe.” 

Last September, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry requested that the Department of Defense activate up to 1,000 National Guard troops to be sent to New Orleans and across the state for “ongoing public safety concerns.” Landry cited drops in crime statistics during hurricanes and highly-policed events like the Super Bowl as evidence that a guard deployment was needed, though he also noted “critical personnel shortages within local law enforcement.”

Landry’s request followed National Guard deployments in Washington, D.C. and Memphis with the stated goal of addressing violent crime in the cities. It also followed the mobilization of federalized National Guard troops in Los Angeles in June following anti-ICE protests. 

In December, the Pentagon mobilized 350 Louisiana National Guard troops in New Orleans, operating under federal Title 32 status. Like guard deployments in D.C. and other cities, the Louisiana troops kept mostly to relatively safe and highly-policed tourist areas, like the French Quarter during major events including New Year’s celebrations, the Sugar Bowl and Mardi Gras. As with other deployments around the country, they were directed to support federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, with little law enforcement powers themselves.

The deployment angered local officials, who noted that crime was already decreasing before Landry’s request. Murders across the city have dropped by more than half since 2022, according to federal numbers, and crime figures released at the start of January showed that violent crime had decreased the prior year, the third consecutive annual decline.

In February, days before Mardi Gras, one service member lost an M4 rifle inside a hotel bathroom in the city’s busy French Quarter.

While the deployment was originally supposed to last just two months, Landry extended it another six months in January, but reduced the scope to 120 troops.

According to the Louisiana National Guard, troops carried out more than 31,000 hours of patrols and assisted law enforcement with 171 arrests, a rate below one per day. The guard also said that New Orleans’ 8th Police District — which includes heavy-tourist areas and the central business district — saw homicides drop from 15 in the prior year to 2.

National Guard deployments in Memphis and Washington, D.C. continue. The latter is expected to run through January 2029.

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