National Guard of The United States - Laws Covering The National Guard and The National Guard of The United States

Laws Covering The National Guard and The National Guard of The United States

The United States Congress has enacted various laws which control the National Guard

1. The Militia Act of 1792

   Providing for the authority of the President to call out the Militia, and providing federal standards for the organization of the Militia.

   For the 111 years that the Militia Act of 1792 remained in effect, it defined the position of the militia in relation to the federal government. The War of 1812 tested this uniquely American defense establishment. To fight the War of 1812, the republic formed a small regular military and trained it to protect the frontiers and coastlines. Although it performed poorly in the offensive against Canada, the small force of regulars backed by a well-armed militia, accomplished its defensive mission well. Generals like Andrew Jackson proved that, just as they had in the Revolution, regulars and militia could be effective when employed as a team.

2. The Insurrection Act
3. The Militia Act of 1862

   Providing for the service of persons of African descent in the Militia, and the emancipation of slaves owned by Confederates.

4. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1385: The Posse Comitatus Act of June 18, 1878

   Reaction in Congress against the Reconstruction-era suspensions of Southern states' rights to organize militias led to the passage of the Posse Comitatus Act, restricting any person's use of the U.S. Army and, as later amended, the U.S. Air Force in domestic law enforcement (use of the Navy and Marine Corps, being uniformed services within the Department of Defense, is similarly restricted by statute). The U.S. Coast Guard, in its peacetime role within the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Guard, when not in Federal Service, are specifically not limited by this act.

5. The States revise the military codes – 1881 to 1892
6. The Militia Act of 1903

   Established the creation of the National Guard of the United States as the primary organized reserve force for the U.S. armed forces.

7. National Defense Act of 1916

   This act abandoned the idea of an expandable Regular Army and firmly established the traditional concept of the citizens' army as the keystone of the United States defense forces. It established the concept of merging the National Guard, the Army Reserve, and the Regular Army into the Army of the United States in time of war. The act further expanded the National Guard's role, and guaranteed the State militias' status as the Army's primary reserve force. The law mandated use of the term "National Guard" for that force, and the President was given authority, in case of war or national emergency, to mobilize the National Guard for the duration of the emergency. The number of yearly drills increased from 24 to 48 and annual training from five to 15 days. Drill pay was authorized for the first time.

8. The National Defense Act Amendments of 1920

   This act established that the chief of the Militia Bureau (later the National Guard Bureau) would be a National Guard officer, that National Guard officers would be assigned to the general staff and that the divisions, as used by the Guard in World War I, would be reorganized.

9. The National Guard Mobilization Act, 1933

   Made the National Guard a component of the Army.

10. The National Defense Act of 1947

    Section 207 (f) established the Air National Guard of the United States, under the National Guard Bureau.

11. The Total Force Policy, 1973

    Requires all active and reserve military organizations be treated as a single force.

12. The Montgomery Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987

    provides that a governor cannot withhold consent with regard to active duty outside the United States because of any objection to the location, purpose, type, or schedule of such duty. This law was challenged and upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1990 in Perpich v. Department of Defense.)

13. The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 Pub.L. 109-364

    Federal law was changed in section 1076 so that the Governor of a state is no longer the sole commander in chief of their state's National Guard during emergencies within the state. The President of the United States will now be able to take total control of a state's National Guard units without the governor's consent. In a letter to Congress, all 50 governors opposed the increase in power of the President over the National Guard.

14. The National Defense Authorization Act 2008 Pub.L. 110-181

    Repeals provisions in section 1076 in Pub.L. 109-364 but still enables the President to call up the National Guard of the United States for active federal military service during Congressionally sanctioned national emergency or war. Places the National Guard Bureau directly under the Department of Defense as a joint activity. Promoted the Chief of the National Guard Bureau from a three-star to a four-star general.