The Virginia National Guard consists of the Virginia Army National Guard and the Virginia Air National Guard. It is part of the Government of Virginia though the National Guard across the United States is mostly funded by federal monies. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. In fact, the National Guard is the only United States military force empowered to function in a state status. Those functions range from limited actions during non-emergency situations to full scale law enforcement of martial law when local law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control. The National Guard may be called into federal service in response to a call by the President or Congress.
Many states also maintain their own military forces. These forces are federally recognized, but are separate from the United States National Guard and are not meant to be federalized, but rather service the state exclusively, especially when the National Guard is deployed and unavailable. The Virginia Defense Force is the commonwealth's own all-volunteer, formal military organization that is the reserve to the Virginia National Guard .
The Virginia National Guard has a State Partnership Program relationship with the Military of Tajikistan.
Famous quotes containing the words national and/or guard:
“You cannot become thorough Americans if you think of yourselves in groups. America does not consist of groups. A man who thinks of himself as belonging to a particular national group in America has not yet become an American.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)