National Guard (United States)

Based on Wikipedia: National Guard (United States)

America's Other Army

Here's something that might surprise you: the oldest military units in the United States aren't part of the regular Army. They belong to the Massachusetts National Guard, and they trace their origins back to 1636—more than a century before the Declaration of Independence was even signed.

The National Guard occupies a peculiar position in American life. Its members are simultaneously soldiers and civilians, answering to both their state governors and the President of the United States. They might spend their weekdays as teachers, accountants, or nurses, then don uniforms on weekends for military training. And when disaster strikes—whether a hurricane, an earthquake, or civil unrest—they're often the first military force to respond.

But what exactly is the National Guard? How did this hybrid organization come to exist? And why does the United States maintain what is essentially a parallel military force that operates under two different chains of command?

Colonial Roots: Citizens Under Arms

To understand the National Guard, you have to go back to the beginning—not of the United States, but of the colonies that would eventually become it.

When English settlers arrived in Jamestown in 1607 and Plymouth in 1620, they faced an immediate problem: defense. There was no standing army to protect them. The solution was the militia—every able-bodied adult male was expected to serve. This wasn't optional civic duty like jury service today. It was survival.

By the mid-1600s, colonial militias had become more organized. Each town had at least one militia company, typically led by a captain. The companies within a county would form a regiment under a higher-ranking officer. The Massachusetts Bay Colony took this a step further in December 1636, reorganizing its scattered local units into three permanent regiments. This date—December 13, 1636—is now considered the birthday of the National Guard.

The descendants of those original regiments still exist today. The 181st Infantry, the 182nd Infantry, the 101st Field Artillery, and the 101st Engineer Battalion of the Massachusetts Army National Guard can all trace their lineage back nearly four centuries. They predate the Constitution by 150 years.

But Massachusetts wasn't even first. The Spanish had beaten them to it. In September 1565, when Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was establishing St. Augustine in Florida, he organized militia to guard supplies while his regular troops attacked a French settlement to the north. The concept of citizen-soldiers defending their communities was older than English America itself.

From Colonial Militia to National Guard

When the American colonies won independence, they inherited these militia traditions. The new Constitution explicitly recognized state militias and gave them crucial responsibilities: executing federal laws, suppressing insurrections, and repelling invasions. The framers were deeply suspicious of standing armies—they'd just fought a revolution against a king who quartered troops in colonial homes—so they enshrined the citizen-soldier concept in the nation's founding document.

For over a century, this system worked well enough. The United States maintained only a minimal regular army and relied on state militias when it needed more troops. But the Spanish-American War of 1898 exposed serious problems. State militias varied wildly in their training, equipment, and readiness. Some were well-organized fighting forces. Others were little more than social clubs in uniform.

Congress responded with the Dick Act of 1903, named for Ohio Senator Charles W. F. Dick, who happened to be a Major General in the Ohio National Guard. This legislation marked a turning point. For the first time, state militias received federal funding—but with strings attached. They had to conform to Regular Army organization within five years. Members had to attend twenty-four drills and five days of annual training per year. Regular Army officers would inspect them to ensure they met standards.

The law also officially recommended a new name for the organized militia: the National Guard.

This wasn't a random choice. Some New York militia units had adopted the title back in 1824, naming themselves after the French National Guard to honor the Marquis de Lafayette during his triumphant return visit to America. Now the name would become standard nationwide.

The Dual Enlistment System

The most consequential change came in 1933, with the National Guard Mobilization Act. This law created something entirely new: a dual enlistment system.

Here's how it works. When you join the National Guard, you're actually joining two organizations simultaneously. You enlist in your state's National Guard—the California National Guard, the Texas National Guard, the New York National Guard. But you also enlist in the National Guard of the United States, which is a federal reserve force.

This distinction matters enormously.

When activated by your state governor, you serve as a state soldier. You might help with hurricane relief, fight wildfires, or maintain order during civil emergencies. Your commander is the governor, acting through the state's adjutant general. Federal law has little say in what you do.

But when activated for federal duty—by Congress, the President, or the Secretary of Defense—you become, for all practical purposes, part of the regular Army or Air Force. You deploy overseas, follow federal orders, and fall under the military chain of command that leads to the President.

This dual status creates some interesting legal wrinkles. National Guard members can serve in roles that regular federal troops cannot. Under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, the Army and Air Force are generally prohibited from enforcing domestic law. But when National Guard troops are operating under state authority, that restriction doesn't apply. This is why you see National Guard soldiers, not regular Army troops, helping police maintain order after natural disasters or during civil unrest.

How the Guard Actually Works

The popular image of the National Guard is the weekend warrior—someone who maintains a civilian career while training one weekend a month and two weeks a year. This is largely accurate, but the reality is more complex.

Most National Guard soldiers and airmen do indeed hold full-time civilian jobs. They're teachers, plumbers, lawyers, software engineers. Their military service is a part-time commitment, albeit a demanding one. The traditional obligation is "one weekend a month, two weeks a year," though actual training requirements often exceed this.

But these part-timers are supported by a full-time cadre. Active Guard and Reserve personnel, known as AGR soldiers and airmen, work full-time military jobs maintaining equipment, conducting training, and handling administrative duties. Army Reserve Technicians and Air Reserve Technicians—ARTs—serve in a hybrid status as both federal civilian employees and drilling guardsmen.

The National Guard Bureau, headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, coordinates all of this. It's a joint activity of the Department of Defense that handles administrative matters for both the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. The Chief of the National Guard Bureau is a four-star general—either Army or Air Force—who serves on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and advises the President and Secretary of Defense on National Guard matters.

Think of the Bureau as a communications hub. State National Guards technically report to their governors, but they receive federal funding, federal equipment, and federal training standards through the Bureau. The Chief serves as the official channel between state adjutants general and the federal government.

Army Guard, Air Guard, and the Question of Space

The National Guard has two components: the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard.

The Army National Guard is the older and larger force. It provides combat units, support units, and everything the Army needs—infantry, armor, artillery, aviation, military police, engineers, and more. When you see news footage of National Guard soldiers helping after a hurricane or deploying overseas, they're usually from the Army Guard.

The Air National Guard came later, created in 1947 when the Air Force became a separate branch. Air Guard units fly fighter jets, transport aircraft, and tankers. They maintain radar sites and cyber capabilities. They're a reserve component of the Air Force in the same way the Army Guard is a reserve component of the Army.

But here's where it gets interesting: What about the Space Force?

When the United States Space Force was established in 2019 as a new military branch, it didn't get a National Guard component. This has been a matter of ongoing debate. The National Guard Bureau has proposed creating a Space National Guard, and several states already have National Guard units that conduct space-related operations—Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, New York, Arkansas, Ohio, and even Guam.

The Congressional Budget Office analyzed the costs. A modest Space National Guard, as proposed by the National Guard Bureau, would cost about $100 million per year in operations and support, plus a one-time $20 million for new facilities. A larger Space National Guard—comprising about a third of Space Force strength—would run $385 to $490 million annually.

For now, there's no Space National Guard. But given the historical pattern, it may only be a matter of time.

What's Not National Guard

It's worth understanding what the National Guard is not.

It's not the Army Reserve or Air Force Reserve. Those are purely federal forces. Reservists serve under federal authority only. National Guard members serve under both state and federal authority, depending on who activated them.

It's not the regular active-duty military. Active-duty soldiers and airmen are full-time federal employees. Most National Guard members are part-timers with civilian careers.

And it's not the only state military force. Many states maintain State Defense Forces—military units that serve only the state and can never be federalized. These trace their history to the Home Guards created during World War I when National Guard units deployed overseas, leaving states without military forces. Congress has authorized these state forces since 1956 under federal law, but they remain purely state entities.

There's even a Naval Militia authorized under federal law, though it's less prominent than the Army and Air Guard. To receive federal funding, a state naval militia must be composed of at least 95 percent Navy, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps Reservists. States like Alaska, California, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Texas, and Ohio have maintained such units at various times.

Same Standards, Different Status

Here's something that might surprise civilians: National Guard members are held to exactly the same standards as their active-duty counterparts.

The same physical fitness requirements. The same moral standards. The same ranks and insignia. A National Guard captain is a captain, period. A National Guard staff sergeant is a staff sergeant. They're eligible for the same federal military awards—Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars, all of it.

States can also bestow their own awards for service, both at home and abroad. Under Army and Air Force regulations, guardsmen can wear these state awards while serving in state status, though not while on federal duty. It's another manifestation of that dual identity.

A Constitutional Curiosity

The National Guard exists in a constitutional gray zone that reflects the compromises of the founding era.

The original Constitution distinguished between "militias"—which were state entities—and "Troops"—which states were not allowed to maintain without Congressional approval. The framers wanted states to have military forces for local emergencies, but they didn't want states building independent armies that might challenge federal authority.

The solution was to give Congress power over the militias. Congress can call them forth to execute federal laws, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions. Congress sets the guidelines for organizing, arming, and disciplining them. But states retain the power to appoint officers and train their forces according to Congressional standards.

When called into federal service, the President becomes commander-in-chief of state militias. This happened repeatedly throughout American history—during the Civil War, both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the post-9/11 conflicts.

The modern National Guard, created by the 1903 and 1933 laws, is the heir to this constitutional tradition. It's a state force that can become a federal force. It answers to governors until it answers to the President. It embodies the American ambivalence about standing armies—the desire for military capability combined with the fear of concentrated military power.

The Guards in Your State

Every state has a National Guard. So do the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each operates under its territorial governor—with one exception.

The District of Columbia National Guard answers not to a governor but to the President of the United States, or the President's designee. Washington, D.C., isn't a state, and its unique federal status means its National Guard has a unique command structure. This became a significant issue during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, when questions arose about who had authority to deploy D.C. Guard troops and how quickly that could happen.

In all other cases, governors exercise day-to-day control through their state adjutants general. These are typically two-star generals who serve at the governor's pleasure and run the state's military department. When a governor activates the National Guard for a state emergency—a hurricane, a wildfire, civil unrest—the adjutant general coordinates the response.

More Than Half a Million Strong

The National Guard today comprises more than half a million soldiers and airmen spread across all fifty states, three territories, and the District of Columbia. They constitute a first line of defense for the United States—not in the sense of being deployed first to foreign wars, but in being the first military force available for domestic emergencies.

When hurricanes strike the Gulf Coast, the National Guard responds. When wildfires rage across California, the Guard is there. When floods devastate the Midwest, Guard members fill sandbags and rescue stranded residents. When civil order breaks down, governors can call up the Guard to assist law enforcement.

This domestic mission is what most Americans see of the National Guard. But Guard units have also deployed to every major conflict since World War I. They served in the trenches of France, stormed the beaches of Normandy, fought in the jungles of Vietnam, patrolled the streets of Iraq, and conducted operations in Afghanistan. The line between "weekend warrior" and combat veteran blurred long ago.

The National Guard represents something uniquely American: the citizen-soldier tradition dating back to the earliest colonial settlements, adapted to the demands of modern warfare and domestic emergency response. It's a force that belongs partly to the states and partly to the nation, staffed mostly by part-timers who nonetheless meet the same standards as full-time professionals.

Nearly four centuries after those first militia regiments formed in Massachusetts, the concept endures. The National Guard remains what it has always been—communities defending themselves, ready to answer a larger call when the nation requires it.