While federalized, the units answer to the Combatant Commander of the theatre in which they are operating and, ultimately, to the President.
Even when not federalized, the Army National Guard has a federal obligation or mission. That mission is to maintain properly trained and equipped units, available for prompt mobilization for war, national emergency, or as otherwise needed. The state, territory or district leadership are the Commanders in Chief for each Guard. Their Adjutants General are answerable to them for the training and readiness of the units. At the state level, the governors reserve the ability, under the Constitution of the United States, to call up members of the National Guard in time of domestic emergencies or need.
The Army National Guard's state mission is perhaps the most visible and well known. Guard troops can also be used for security details at borders and airports. While state governors command their state's guard troops, each state has an adjutant general who acts as a liaison, interpreting the governor's orders into specific tactical decisions. When the president federalizes National Guard troops, they can be used in domestic emergencies much like they are used in state emergencies.
However, the troops are not limited to emergencies within their home states. For example, in , National Guard units from all 50 states were used to aid in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
There were actually more out-of-state National Guard personnel deployed to Louisiana and Mississippi than those states' own National Guards provided [source: Congressional Research Service ]. Federalized Guard troops can also be folded into the U.
Army and be called upon to active service in military operations overseas. In fact, 40 percent of the U. Army's current combat capacity, including 43 percent of its piloted and unmanned aircraft are National Guard members [source: Soucy ].
The National Guard played a critical role when the U. From to , the National Guard had , individual overseas deployments [source: Soucy ]. One out of six U. Most of the time, when someone refers to the National Guard, they're talking about the Army National Guard. However, the Air Force has a National Guard as well.
The Air National Guard is a separate organization with the same functions as the Army National Guard, but units usually wings can be activated to supplement the U. Air Force. The two guards were split in this way by a reorganization of the U. The National Guard's existence is ensured by the Constitution, which has a series of clauses outlining the states' rights to create militias and the federal government's right to utilize those militias.
These are a long chain of federal laws, the most important of which are the Militia Act and the National Defense Act of A more recent law, the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act of , expanded the president's authority to activate guard units during a natural disaster, terrorist attack, epidemic or other public health emergency, even without the approval from the states' governors [source: Melnyk ].
But presidential power to use the National Guard still has limits. Federal law still restricts the president's use of National Guard forces to enforce federal laws within U. About half of the states in the United States also maintain a state defense force. Members of the Army National Guard are fairly compensated for all hours spent training, drilling or deployed.
The Guard allows members to train close to home while maintaining civilian careers or pursuing further education. This provides a valuable experience that benefits individuals at home and while serving. The U. Military consists of six active-duty Service branches and their respective Guard and Reserve components. Together, they offer a broad variety of ways to serve. X Tap to Close What can we help you find? Main Menu ESC x. Cadet Paige Herbst. Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Abdallah.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Cody Greer. Corporal Brooke Dieters. Sergeant Brian Threat.
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