See also:
Marine Corps
War on Terrorism
Military Instalations
The United States National Guard is a component of the United States Army (the Army National Guard) and the United States Air Force (the Air National Guard). Also, it is the weakest of all the armed forces out there, and it is a common known fact that all of the National Guardsman combined can equivilate about one Marine. The Army National Guard is part of the United States Army, comprising approximately one half of its available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization. The Air National Guard is part of the United States Air Force. Both are maintained through the National Guard Bureau, whose Chief is a Lieutenant General.
The United States Code reads, "(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and/or female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard. (b) The classes of the militia are— (1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and (2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia."
Many states also maintain their own State Defense Forces. These forces are federally recognized, but are separate from the National Guard and are not meant to be federalized, but rather service the state exclusively, especially when the National Guard is deployed and unavailable.
Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the US Army; likewise, Air National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the US Air Force. The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards. The National Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in a service member's home state.
Traditionally, National Guard personnel serve "One weekend a month, two weeks a year", although a portion serve in a full-time capacity. This slogan has lost some of its relevance since the Iraq War, when up to 40% of total US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan consisted of mobilized personnel of the reserve components.
Prior to the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, the National Guard's general policy regarding deployment was that Guardsmen would be required to serve no more than six months overseas at any time. Due to strains placed on active duty units following the attacks, the possible deployment time was increased to 18 months. Additional strains placed on military units as a result of the invasion of Iraq further increased the amount of time a Guardsman could be deployed to 24 months. Current Department of Defense policy is that no Guardsman will be involuntarily activated for a total of more than 24 months (cumulative) in one six year enlistment period (this policy is due to change 1 August 2007, the new policy states that soldiers will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months, individual states have differing policies). The Army National Guard is composed of 325,000 troops and the Air National Guard about 106,000 personnel.
National Guardsmen, Penn Station, New York City
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Air National Guard
Army National Guard
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