National Guard of The United States - Overview

Overview

The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system. With the passage of the 1916 National Defense Act approximately one half of the United States Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organizations were National Guard units. The Air National Guard as part of the United States Air Force was established in 1947.

Title 10 of the US Code states:

(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 of 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 militia but not as an armed force service. Because of this, they are separate from the National Guard and are not meant to be federalized. They serve the state exclusively, especially when the National Guard is deployed or otherwise unavailable.

Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the U.S. Army. The Army also operated all air units until the passage of the 1947 National Defense Act. This act created the U.S. Air Force, as well as the separate Air National Guard. Air National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the U.S. Air Force.

Both the Army National Guard and Air National Guard are expected to adhere to the same moral and physical standards as their "full-time" active duty and "part-time" reserve federal counterparts. The same ranks and insignia of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force are used by the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard, respectively, 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 or equivalent.