www.latimes.com

"They were deployed by the Trump administration to combat "violent, insurrectionist mobs" in and around Los Angeles, but in recent days the only thing many U.S. Marines and California National Guard troops seemed to be fighting was tedium.

"There's not much to do," one Marine said as he stood guard outside the towering Wilshire Federal Building in Westwood this week.

The blazing protests that first met federal immigration raids in downtown Los Angeles were nowhere to be seen along Wilshire Boulevard or Veteran Avenue, so many troops passed the time chatting and joking over energy drinks. The Marine, who declined to give his name because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said his duties consisted mostly of approving access for federal workers and visitors to the Veterans Affairs office."
An estimated 90% of the National Guard troops stationed in the L.A. area over the last few days have not been deployed on daily missions, according to a source within Newsom's office who has knowledge of the military operation.

"For the most part ... they're sitting around," the source said.

The source, who spoke on condition on anonymity because they were unauthorized to speak publicly on the deployment, said an estimated 3% of the 4,000 troops " about 120 soldiers " were taking part in daily missions, mostly consisting of security at federal buildings.

An additional couple hundred were standing by for "quick response force" missions " ready to mobilize within a few hours for an immigration raid or a crowd control operation. But even if all those troops were used each day, the source said, that still left about 88% of the 4,000 troops " or about three-quarters of the remaining 2,000 " underutilized."
"

Bo-@ss sticks his face on the grill.