National Guard
National Guard, the name in some countries for the organized volunteer militia. The name was first used in 1789, during the French Revolution, when citizens of Paris and other French cities formed militias. The French no longer use the name National Guard for their militia forces, but the term is used for militias in the United States and a few Latin American countries.
In the United StatesNational Guard is an organization of the United States Army and Air Force. It is an offshoot of the volunteer militia that was authorized in 1792. National Guard units are normally under the jurisdiction of each state, serving such purposes as quelling riots and giving aid during disasters. Sometimes in this capacity a National Guard force is temporarily federalized—put under federal control. The National Guard also serves as a reserve for the regular army and air force, and as such can also be federalized by being called into active duty for military emergencies.Other civilian reserves like the Army, Air Force, and naval reserves, are not connected with the National Guard.
Every state, territory, and the District of Columbia have their separate National Guard. Its army units are directed by the National Guard Bureau of the Department of the Army.
Members of the National Guard enroll voluntarily and are formed into different units. Members of National Guard units are ordinarily required to attend monthly training sessions and 15 days field training a year. During peacetime, they attend one weekend of training each month. The training of the members is supervised by The Army and The Air Force. Pilots and air crews have additional training time. Enlistment is usually from two to six years, depending on length of service, if any, in the regular armed forces. Officers are required to have served on active duty. Recruiting, organization, and training standards are set by the regular army and air force. Around 92,000 members serve full-time to help in organizing, administering, recruiting, and training the National Guard. Armories and other storage facilities are provided by the state. Clothing, weapons, and equipment are provided by the Federal funds. The members of the Army National Guard number about 370,000; of the Air National Guard, about 105,000.
The National Guard derives from militia organizations that go back to colonial times. Most state militias called themselves the National Guard by 1900. They varied widely in training and equipment until the Dick Act of 1903 gave the federal government a direct part in financing, training, and equipping them. Guard members receive dual status because they take an oath of allegiance to their state and to the federal government. Till 1903, the state controlled the militia units. The president had to call the units through the governors of the states into federal service. The National Defense Act of 1916 made the National Guard conform to regular army organization. The National Defense Acts of 1920 and 1933 extended federal control. Since then, the president may ask the units to active duty for up to two years upon a national emergency, or up to six months without declaring an emergency. State governments may also order the units to active duty during emergencies, like storms, fires, earthquakes, or civil unrest. Guard units served in World Wars I and II and in Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The Air National Guard was created in 1947.