Biden Inauguration: British Army Reservist On Duty During Ceremony

President-elect Joe Biden will swear the oath of office later today during a ceremony in Washington DC and become the 46th President of the United States.

A British Army reservist will be on duty with his US National Guard unit during the occasion, due to the Foreign Military Reserve Exchange Program.

In the run-up to the inauguration, Major Keiron Francis, a Royal Signals reservist, has deployed with about 25,000 National Guard personnel who are in Washington DC providing military support to the event, completing his Annual Camp.

The new scheme means he has continued to serve as a reservist while living abroad.

Maj Francis is a sales director in the defence industry working on US Department of Defense and United Nations projects. 

He works in the Brigade Headquarters as a signals officer providing IT networks and communications.

The mutual arrangement means American, Australian, and Canadian soldiers can do the same in the UK.

Maj Francis, who has previously served on operations in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq, is attached to the Pennsylvania Army National Guard (PAARNG) with 56 Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

The unit is part of the US 28th Infantry Division, the oldest and longest-serving division in the US Army.

The division was the first ashore on Omaha Beach during the D Day landings of 1944. 

The PAARNG is the third largest National Guard in the US (behind California and Texas) with an army of about 13,500 troops, just under half of the whole British Army Reserve.  

Cover image: Major Francis, Royal Signals, at 56 Stryker Brigade Combat Team HQ (Picture: MOD).