The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has confirmed a report by The Associated Press that some of the service members who deployed to Washington, D.C., last month in response to civil unrest were issued bayonets.

Army Gen. Mark A. Milley confirmed the information in a letter sent to two Democratic U.S. representatives last month.

The Pentagon letter comes as the AP also reports that members of the 82nd Airborne who deployed to Washington were not trained in riot response.

The soldiers were scheduled to learn riot control tactics once arriving. The soldiers were ultimately not used and were sent back to their home base.