State Guard
In the United States of America, there are federal armed forces ( US Army , US Air Force , US Navy , US Marine Corps , United States Space Force and United States Coast Guard ) and the National Guard , which are both the respective governor of the respective state as also report to the president if necessary , state guards under the designations State Guards , State Military , State Defense Forces (SDF), State Militias or State Military Reserves .
All National Guard personnel - existing in all states, territories, and DC Federal District - may be federalized under amendments to the National Defense Act of 1933; H. be placed under the authority of the federal government. The state guards differ from these in that they cannot be placed under federal orders and the states are not required to set up state guards. As a result, only 22 states and the Puerto Rico Territory currently have such military units. These state guards are used by the governors for the maintenance of public order or for defense, which is why many state guards were set up during World War II for fear of a Japanese invasion. Almost every state has state laws authorizing state defense forces, but not all have established armed forces. The existing State Guards have different levels of activity, support and strength, and are generally active in civil protection and homeland security missions. Most SDFs are organized as army units, but there are also air force and naval units.
Historical development of the State Guards
Beginnings as organized and disorganized militias
From the founding of the United States to the beginning of the 20th century, federal armed forces were only maintained to a minimum; the majority of the US armed forces were covered by state militias when necessary, although the training and willingness to set up such varied greatly. After the Spanish-American War , the US Congress was asked to reform and regulate the training and qualifications of the state militias. In 1903, when the Militia Act was passed, the predecessor of today's National Guard was formed. The states had to divide their militias into two sections. The law established the designation "National Guard" for so-called organized militias and "Reserve militia" for the rest, which is still partly reflected in the official designations to this day.
During the First World War , Congress authorized the states to set up home guards to maintain internal security. The Minister of War was empowered to provide these Home Guard units with rifles, ammunition and supplies.
In 1933, a resolution passed by Congress completed the split between the National Guard and the traditional state militias, giving all federally funded soldiers a dual role and serving as reserves for both the states and federal forces of the United States. With the beginning of World War II , Congress in 1940 amended the "National Defense Act" of 1916 and authorized states to maintain "armed forces other than the National Guard".
The State Guards during the Cold War
With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, the State Guards received the financial means for military training and "weapons, ammunition, clothing and equipment" that were deemed necessary at federal expense.
In 1956, Congress revised the law and permanently approved State Defense Forces; two years later, Congress changed the law, changing the name from State Defense Forces to Defense Forces. However, many states did not develop their state defense forces into active armed forces until the reign of US President Ronald Reagan.
In the late 1980s, several states dissolved their armed forces or reduced the number of staff and areas of responsibility. In 1987, for example, the governor of Utah dismissed all but thirty-one officers after an investigation found the Utah State Guard "littered with neo-Nazis, delinquents and the insane." With the end of the Cold War, interest in the state defense forces generally declined.
The State Guards after September 11, 2001
The attacks of September 11, 2001 brought the attention back to the State Guards, as they are quickly available and on site. In the case of politicians and US military personnel, however, the qualifications and training of state soldiers have been questioned. It was alleged that "would-be soldiers" who are not qualified for the regular armed forces register for the State Guards. For example, the state of Alaska disarmed its state defense forces in 2008 after an investigation found that a lack of training was a potential legal liability for the state. By 2010, the force's status was downgraded even further, and the Alaska National Guard's adjutant general informed the volunteers that they would only be used as the "Reserve of Last Resort". This state of affairs only changed in 2016 when Governor Bill Walker reformed the Alaska State Defense Force in 2016 by improving training standards.
Current situation and plans for future direction
In recent years, the federal armed forces have focused on realigning their capabilities to better prepare for future deployments by improving their professionalism and interoperability with other agencies and the U.S. military. There is a trend towards the establishment of professional management levels to support the National Guard, particularly in the medical field, and to support the civil authorities during a crisis situation. Due to the many foreign missions of the National Guards, the State Guards should also be able to take on tasks in this case.
Several states have begun preparing their defense forces for major emergencies that may require several states to coordinate relief efforts. In July 2015, the Virginia Defense Force conducted a state-of-the-art communications exercise, the first of its kind, that included long-distance radio communications with the Tennessee State Guard , Indiana Guard Reserve , Texas State Guard, and California State Guard . The State Guard Association was responsible for standardizing the training of the State Guards .
In March 2017, California activated the maritime armed forces, the California State Guard Naval Militia
The Maryland Defense Force (MDDF) has been reorganized since May 2017 . The number of available officer positions has been reduced and the job descriptions have been reorganized to avoid an overloaded organizational structure. New units, including the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) support unit , have been approved and others, such as the MDDF Cyber Unit, have plans to expand. The training standards have also been increased, and all new soldiers are currently required to acquire their military emergency management specialist license plate. These changes were made with the aim that the future MDDF "can be seamlessly integrated into missions with the National Guard".
Uniforms
As a rule, the soldiers of the State Guards wear the military uniform types of a branch of the US military and generally wear red name tags on the service uniforms. Instead of the designation "US Army", "US Air Force" or "US Navy", the name of the state or the official name of the state guard is given. In addition, standard badges of the US military are used or their own badges, such as the SDF (Self Defense Force) Beret Flash , which is similar to that of the US army, but in bright red instead of the blue color of the army. Other states have hat badges that are based on the colors of their state flags. The state soldiers of the New York Guards used to wear gray beret badges, but the headgear was changed to a black patrol hat.
Even so, the uniforms vary from state to state and have slight differences. For example, the Texas State Guard wears the standard camouflage uniform of the US Army with a patch of the respective State Guard unit, the designation "US Army" being replaced by the word "Texas State Guard". Similarly, the California State Military Reserve wears the uniform of the National Guard identically, but with its own unit badge and the "California" name ribbon.
The few states with state-owned air and naval units wear modified US Air Force and US Navy or US Marine Corps uniforms. Currently there are only naval militias in Texas, Ohio, Alaska and New York. State air forces exist only in Texas, California, Vermont, and Puerto Rico.
List of State Guards
Overview of former and active state guards and the breakdown into armed forces, such as land, sea and air forces:
| State, territory, or federal district | status | Designation of the land forces,
former names of inactive units |
Designation of the naval forces
former names of inactive units |
Air Force | Regular military exercises |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Not active | Alabama State Defense Force | currently suspended | ||
| Alaska | active | Alaska State Defense Force | Alaska Naval Militia | Yes | |
| Arizona | no guard set up | ||||
| Arkansas | Not active | Arkansas State Guard | |||
| Colorado | no guard set up | Colorado State Defense Force | |||
| Connecticut | State Militia: active Naval Militia: not active | Connecticut State Militia | Connecticut Naval Militia | Yes | |
| Delaware | Not active | Delaware State Guard | |||
| Florida | Not active | Florida State Guard | Florida Naval Militia | ||
| Georgia | State Defense Force: active, Naval Militia: not active | Georgia State Defense Force | Georgia Naval Militia | Yes | |
| Hawaii | Not active | Hawaii Territorial Guard | |||
| Idaho | Not active | Idaho State Guard | |||
| Illinois | Not active | Illinois Reserve Militia | Illinois Naval Militia | ? | |
| Indiana | Guard Reserve: active, Naval Militia: not active | Indiana Guard Reserve | Indiana Naval Militia | Yes | |
| Iowa | Not active | Iowa State Guard | |||
| California | active | California State Guard | California State Guard Naval Militia | ||
| Kansas | Not active | Kansas State Guard | |||
| Kentucky | Not active | Kentucky Active Militia | |||
| Louisiana | active | Louisiana State Guard | ? | ||
| Maine | Not active | Maine State Guard | |||
| Maryland | active | Maryland Defense Force | No | ||
| Massachusetts | active | Massachusetts State Defense Force | No | ||
| Michigan | active | Michigan Volunteer Defense Force | ? | ||
| Minnesota | Not active | Minnesota State Guard | |||
| Mississippi | active | Mississippi State Guard | ? | ||
| Missouri | active | Missouri State Defense Force | |||
| Montana | no guard set up | ||||
| Nebraska | Not active | Nebraska State Guard | |||
| Nevada | no guard set up | ? | |||
| New Hampshire | Not active | New Hampshire State Guard | |||
| New Jersey | Not active | New Jersey State Guard | New Jersey Naval Militia | ||
| New Mexico | active | New Mexico State Defense Force | ? | ||
| new York | active | New York Guard | New York Naval Militia | NYG: yes; NYNM:? | |
| North Carolina | Not active | North Carolina State Defense Militia | |||
| North Dakota | no guard set up | ||||
| Ohio | active | Ohio Military Reserve | Ohio Naval Militia | No | |
| Oklahoma | Not active | Oklahoma State Guard | ? | ||
| Oregon | Not active | Oregon State Defense Force | ? | ||
| Pennsylvania | Not active | Pennsylvania State Guard | |||
| Puerto Rico ( territory , not a state) | active | Puerto Rico State Guard | Yes | Yes | |
| Rhode Island | Not active | Rhode Island State Guard | |||
| South carolina | active | South Carolina State Guard | South Carolina Naval Militia | Yes | |
| South Dakota | Not active | South Dakota State Guard | |||
| Tennessee | active | Tennessee State Guard | ? | ||
| Texas | active | Texas State Guard | Texas State Guard Maritime Regiment | Yes | No |
| Utah | Not active | Utah State Defense Force | |||
| Vermont | active | Vermont State Guard | Yes | only target practice | |
| Virginia | active | Virginia Defense Force | Not active | No | |
| Washington, DC ( Federal District ) | no guard set up | ||||
| Washington (state) | active | Washington State Guard | No | ||
| West Virginia | no guard set up | ||||
| Wisconsin | Not active | Wisconsin State Defense Force | Wisconsin Naval Militia | ||
| Wyoming | no guard set up |