United States National Guard

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United States National Guard

Active English colonial government militias: since December

13, 1636

 As "National Guard": since 1824 in New

York, since 1903 nationwide

 Dual state-federal reserve forces: since 1933

Country  United States

Allegiance Federal (10 U.S.C. § E)

State and territorial (32 U.S.C.)

Branch  United States Army

 United States Air Force

Type Reserve force

Militia

Size 450,100[note 1]

Part of  National Guard Bureau

Garrison/HQ All 50 U.S. states, and organized U.S. territories,

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the District of

Columbia

Nickname(s) "Air Guard", "Army Guard"

Motto(s) "Always Ready, Always There!"

March Always Ready, Always There

Commanders
 Chief of the National General Joseph L. Lengyel, USAF

Guard Bureau

Senior Enlisted CSM Christopher Kepner, USA

Advisor to the

CNGB

Insignia

Seal of the Army

National Guard

Seal of the Air

National Guard

The United States National Guard is part of the reserve components of the United

States Army and the United States Air Force. It is a military reserve force composed
of National Guard military members or units of each state and the territories
of Guam, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, for a total of
54 separate organizations. All members of the National Guard of the United States
are also members of the Organized Militia of the United States as defined by 10
U.S.C. § 246. National Guard units are under the dual control of the state
governments and the federal government.
The majority of National Guard soldiers and airmen hold a civilian job full-time while
serving part-time as a National Guard member. [2][3] These part-time guardsmen are
augmented by a full-time cadre of Active Guard & Reserve (AGR) personnel in both
the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, plus Army Reserve Technicians in
the Army National Guard and Air Reserve Technicians (ART) in the Air National
Guard.
The National Guard is a joint activity of the United States Department of
Defense (DoD) composed of reserve components of the United States Army and
the United States Air Force: the Army National Guard[2] and the Air National Guard,
respectively.[2]
Local militias were formed from the earliest English colonization of the Americas in
1607. The first colony-wide militia was formed by Massachusetts in 1636 by merging
small older local units, and several National Guard units can be traced back to this
militia. The various colonial militias became state militias when the United States
became independent. The title "National Guard" was used in 1824 by some New
York State militia units, named after the French National Guard in honor of
the Marquis de Lafayette. "National Guard" became a standard nationwide militia title
in 1903, and specifically indicated reserve forces under mixed state and federal
control since 1933.
In 1986, Congress passed the Montgomery Amendment, which prohibited state
governors from withholding their consent to overseas deployments for training
purposes. The Supreme Court upheld this law in 1990, ruling against Minnesota's
governor in Perpich v. Department of Defense.[4]
In 2006, Congress passed the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act, which gave
the president the authority to mobilize National Guard units within the U.S. without
the consent of state governors.[5][6]