The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the governor of the state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army National Guard is called to federal service, then the commander-in-chief becomes the President of the United States. The military commander of all forces in the State of Ohio is the Adjutant General, Major General Deborah A. Ashenhurst (the first female to hold this position) is responsible for the command of 17,000 members, preparedness and readiness, installation management and budget of the Ohio National Guard. The current Assistant Adjutant General for Army, with responsibility for overseeing the Ohio Army National Guard training and operations, is Colonel(P) John C. Harris Jr. The current Assistant Adjutant General for Air is Brigadier General Mark E. Bartman, with responsibility for overseeing the Ohio Air National Guard.
Ohio Army and Air National Guard units can be mobilized at any time by the governor of the State of Ohio upon declaration of a state of emergency or by the presidential order to supplement regular armed federal forces. Unlike Army Reserve members, National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually (except through voluntary transfers and Temporary Duty Assignments or TDY), but only as part of their respective units. However, there has been a significant amount of individual activations to support military operations since 2001. The legality of this policy has been a source of contention in some quarters.
Famous quotes containing the words ohio, national and/or guard:
“Heaven is not one of your fertile Ohio bottoms, you may depend on it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation.”
—French National Assembly. Declaration of the Rights of Man (Sept. 1791)
“It is rare indeed that people give. Most people guard and keep; they suppose that it is they themselves and what they identify with themselves that they are guarding and keeping, whereas what they are actually guarding and keeping is their system of reality and what they assume themselves to be.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)