Without a doubt the oldest of the United states Military branches, the US Army National Guard celebrates its birthday on December 13th where it turns 379 years old.
The United States National Guard, which works as part of the reserve components of the US Armed Forces, functions as areserve military force, comprised of National Guard military members or military units from each state within the United States to include the territories of Guam, Virgin Islands, and of the island of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, which comes to a total of 54 separate organizations. Of interesting note is that all members of the National Guard of the US are also considered members of the militia of the United States where it is defined by 10 U.S.C. § 311. The command of the National Guard units are under both the dual control of the state and the federal government.
The vast majority of US National Guard soldiers and airmen are employed working in a civilian job full-time while also participating as National Guard members on a part-time basis. In support of these part-time guardsmen are the full-time full-time support staff of Active Guard & Reserve (AGR) personnel in both the US Army National Guard and Air National Guard, in addition Army Reserve Technicians in the Army National Guard and Air Reserve Technicians (ART) in the Air National Guard.
What makes up the various components of the US National Guard? They are combined as part of 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 of the United States and the Air National Guard of the United States respectively.
In the earlies days of the Americas local militias were first formed from the earliest English colonization of the Americas beginning in 1607. The first colony-wide militia was formed by Massachusetts (and one of the original 13 colonies) in 1636 by combining small older local units, and several National Guard units which can also be traced back to this militia. The various colonial militias would later become state militias when the United States became independent. The title “National Guard” was first used from 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 from 1933.
Did you know any of these interesting and lesseer well known facts about the National Guard?
1. Each member of the National Guard is sworn to uphold two constitutions: federal and state.
2. The term “national guard” was popularized by Marquis de Lafayette to describe each state’s militia. It didn’t become an official term until 1916.
3. 50,000 members of the National Guard were called to take on various missions during the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
4. Only two presidents have served in the National Guard in its modern structure: Harry S. Truman and George W. Bush.
5. The National Guard is older than the Army. Militias were used as early as 1636 to protect British colonies. The U.S. Army wasn’t formed until the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
6. American Samoa is the only territory of the U.S. to not have a National Guard unit.
7. National Guard units were called Minutemen during the American Revolution due to their rapid response ability.
8. The most senior member of each state National Guard unit is the Adjutant General. Some states elect the Adjutant General, while others have their Governor appoint someone to the position.
9. The National Guard formed one of the first all African American units in U.S. military history, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers. Their creation was met with mixed reactions, but the unit serves to this day and the first African American to receive a Medal of Honor, William Harvey Carney, hailed from it.
10. The National Guard is second only to the U.S. Army in terms of number of members.
In recognition of the United States National Guard and its time honored tradition of being ever vigilent, always ready and always there and the red blood beating heart of these patriots and minutemen comes a National Guard coin created out of respect to each of the men and women, both past and present, that put on the uniform of the National Guard whenever our country needed them.
Texas National Guard Mobilized to USA – Mexico Border
National Guard Mobilized in 3 US States . We support the Texas Army National Guard 100% and we are sure that they will complete their mission with honor and effectiveness. However, what’s the point of them being there? The children coming across the border are not trying to evade capture, they are trying to be captured.
They know that U.S. law requires that each of them gets evaluated by a court. And with the system as clogged as it already is they know they have a pretty good chance to stay here for a while. So what will the National Guard do beside cost Texas taxpayers money? (source: The Arizona Republic)
Governor Rick Perry is using this wildy popular stance to make a political statement at the cost of $1.3 MILLION per WEEK.
“If the federal government does not do its constitutional duty to secure the Southern border of the United States, the state of Texas will do it.”
Should the Texas National Guard be at the border? If they are stopping illegal immigration, we are all for it, but if all they are doing is being taken away from their homes and families to boost Rick Perry’s political capital, I say send em back home!
Do you think they should be there? Tell us in the comments!
Oregon National Guard and Washington National Guard Mobilized To Fight Forest Fires
Oregon’s Governor John Kitzhaber followed Washington State in declaring an emergency Wednesday night to bring in the National Guard to battle 13 wildfires, many of which are raging through the central part of the state.
More than 400 people were assigned to fight the fires, according to USA Today, including one that had burned through more than 2,000 acres in Mitchell, nearly 200 miles southeast of Portland. Some of the fires were started by lightning strikes on Friday and were expected to expand, assisted by the weather, which was hot and windy, the report added. (source: Business Times)
Air and Army National Guard Battle Rattle Shirts from VSW
Are in the national guard, want to send a guardsman a gift or need shirts for you air or army national guard unit? Check out the awesome VSW National Guard Battle Rattle custom t-Shirt design. Just click here to customize your own. Update the Image in REAL TIME and make it unique to you! We will custom print each shirt and ship them straight out of our print shop in Texas.
[Tweet “National Guard Shirts – #air and #army #nationalguard mobilized in three states. #usa”]
Comprised of two military branches, Army and Air Force, the National Guard, is certainly a reserve military force to be reckoned with. It’s state militia units are federally recognized as part of the United States’ armed forces, whether active or inactive. Citizen soldiers make up the National Guard, working civilian jobs part time and serving in the military part time as well.
Since its inception in 1636, the National Guard has been and will always be ready to mobilize its units for active duty to supplement regular armed forces during times of war or for national emergency as declared by Congress, the President or the Secretary of Defense.
National Guardsmen, Penn Station, New York City
There is claim that the National Guard is older than our nation itself, with over three and a half centuries of service. Our modern-day units that can are direct descendants from the Massachusetts Bay Colony Regiments formed 375 years ago, are the 101st Field Artillery Regiment, the 182nd Infantry Regiment, the 101st Engineer Battalion and the 181st Infantry.
National Guardsman of the 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment in Parun, Afghanistan
It is also accredited with having served in the Mexican-American War, the beginning of the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War. During World War I, the National Guard made up to 40% of the U.S. combat divisions in France and 19 divisions in WWII.
More recently, we have seen our National Guard’s service men and women deploy to aid in Operation Desert Storm, with over 63,000 members mobilized. They were also there to assist with peace-keeping operations in places like Somalia, Haiti, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bosnia and Kosovo as well as the handling of natural disasters (Hurricane Katrina), strikes, riots and other such massive events.
Guard’s men and women traditionally serve “One Weekend a Month, Two Weeks a Year” although certain units can serve more frequently depending on the demand of the task at hand. Pilots, navigators and aircrewmen are typical examples of those who are full time service members. A significant number of these also serve full time in AGR (Active Guard and Reserve) or ART (Air Reserve Technician or Army Reserve Technician).
Vision-Strike-Wear.com has your back with custom military designs for units, ships, squadrons, associations and commands. Wear the Military Gets Cover!
