That makes sense to me for a head of state visit, the military is for show in that scenario and the SS are the only ones with teeth. After Kent State, I wouldn't think the guard would have live ammo either. But I do recall it being reported about them having live ammo around the beginning of January. I'm looking for an article that says live ammo explicitly, but everything I'm finding now just mentions the guard "carrying arms". https://www.stripes.com/news/us/pentagon-authorizes-national-guard-troops-to-carry-firearms-in-dc-1.658346 My coworker is the one who told me about the protocol for carrying live ammo and the rules of engagement. He was doing a similar job in Africa in the 90's as a Ranger and that was the protocol he described. It may be different for the guard, but I would think that's an SOP across the board. I honestly don't have any more personal knowledge than that, so I could be wrong. Honestly who the hell knows what's going on anymore.