National Guard

Reserve component of the U.S. military that is organized on a state-by-state basis and is under state, rather than federal, control. An outgrowth of the early state militias of the American colonial period, the U.S. National Guard is the oldest organized military structure in the United States. It also has the unique distinction of providing an armed force that serves both a federal and state mission.

The first state militia was established in Massachusetts in 1636 by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. By the time of the American Revolution, every state had its own militia. During the Revolutionary War, the militia played a significant role in defeating British forces and actually fought in greater numbers than the Continental Army. In 1787, the U.S. Constitution mandated the maintenance of a militia as well as a regular army. The state militia system existed side by side with the U.S. Army until 1903, when Congress reorganized the state militias into the National Guard system.

A member of the Texas National Guard (Lieutenant General Wayne D. Marty) saluting the American flag during the 49th Armored Division formation as Apache helicopters fly over in July 2004. The oldest military force in the United States, the National Guard consists of citizens trained as soldiers and aviators. Service in the guard has often been viewed as a part-time job, but approximately 40% of the U.S. troops stationed and fighting in Iraq since 2003 have come from either the guard or the Army reserves. As of September 2004, more than 90,000 members of the Army Guard were deployed to Afghanistan and other countries in the front lines of the war on terrorism.

U.S. Army.

The National Guard plays a unique dual role among U.S. military units. It has both a federal and a state mission, and both federal and individual state governments dictate the size, structure, and implementation of national guard units. U.S. National Guard servicemen and servicewomen hold the joint position as a U.S. soldier and a soldier from their respective state. There are 54 national guard organizations for the United States: one for each of the 50 states, and one each for Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington, DC.

The National Guard is administered by the National Guard Bureau, a joint bureau of the Army and Air Force. The National Guard Bureau administers the federal regulations and missions of the Army and Air National [Page 495]Guard. The federal mission of the National Guard is to maintain well-trained and well-equipped forces, whose size is mandated at the federal level, for fast mobilization in times of war or national emergency. The National Guard's state mission includes providing peace, order, and public safety, and responding to emergencies such as natural disasters. The state mission requires National Guard personnel to report to their state's governor.

The National Guard is divided into two branches, the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. Although both fulfill the dual state and federal mission, each is charged with specific reserve roles to reinforce active duty U.S. military personnel. The Army National Guard's mission is to train, equip, and maintain forces to assume crucial combat, combat support, and combat service support roles. The Air National Guard similarly plays a unique role in accordance with its federal mission. The Air National Guard provides almost half of the tactical airlift support, combat communications functions, and aeromedical evacuation capability for the entire Air Force. It is charged with maintaining well-trained and equipped forces in support of the broader Air Force.

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