New York National Guard Still Assigned to Prisons as Monthly Cost Reaches $50 Million

Officials also say a training program has been created to better prepare the guardsmen who remain inside the prisons.

The New York National Guard continues to provide staffing inside state prisons, with about 2,600 members still assigned more than a year after correction officer walkouts began. One state lawmaker says the arrangement is costing taxpayers roughly $50 million each month.

The deployment began in February 2025, when correction officers across New York staged strikes and the Guard was sent in to help keep facilities operating. At the height of the response, more than 7,300 troops were working in prisons, according to the National Guard’s 2025 Annual Report, and more than 8,000 military personnel were mobilized overall during the strike period.

State Sen. Mark Walczyk, R-49th District, said the Guard was never meant to serve as a prison workforce and called the current use of troops unsustainable. He said the governor has relied on the Guard for duties far outside its intended mission.

Although the strikes were said to have ended in March 2025, the military presence did not disappear. Instead, 2,600 National Guard members stayed on through a volunteer program, which corrections union leaders say remains necessary for now. Bryan Hluska, central region vice president for NYSCOPBA, said the Guard is the only practical short-term fix, while also acknowledging that it should not become a permanent answer and that recruitment must improve.

Gray’s office says the continued deployment is draining about $50 million a month from the state budget. He also argued that the prison system’s deeper problems are still unresolved and said staffing shortages will not ease unless officials address several underlying issues, including the HALT law, contraband inside facilities, and broader quality-of-life concerns for officers.

Officials also say a training program has been created to better prepare the guardsmen who remain inside the prisons.