Sir:
I have been meaning for some time to write a short article about State Defense Forces. These forces are an excellent way to train and learn. I have served seven years in my state guard.
There are federal laws that allow a state to maintain a state guard or state defense force. These are forces available to the governor of the state when the national guard is on duty somewhere else, or if the emergency is a huge one the state defense force can actually be activated on paid mandatory duty. If a state wants to have such a force the state legislature passes state laws to authorize the organization and the adjutant generals office sets it up as an independent military organization. You serve only in your state unless the governor of another state requests state guard help from the governor in a neighboring state. One state even sent state troops to assist in New York City after the 9/11 attack. They all volunteered to go and paid their own expenses.
There is no pay and there are no benefits as in federal or national guard service. You are serving because you want to be ready in a time of emergency to assist the people in your state. Such a force is the organized militia of a state but the word militia is never used due to negative connotations that have arisen in recent years. You are a volunteer so you don’t have to go to every drill but you are expected to make most drills. The more you put into your service the more you get out of it. Normally the state guard does not serve under arms. Some states give weapons training to the state guard in case TSHTF but others do not. There is a lot of variation from state to state depending on what the governor and adjutant general what to do.
You can join if you have some minor problem that would physically disqualify you from federal or national guard units. Most of our troops are veterans but not all, some have “no prior service”. We have army, air force, marine, and navy vets in our local unit.
What training have I had ?
- First aid/CPR
- Land navigation /compass course
- Physical security
- Patrols
- Search and rescue
- Field training exercises
- Coordination of supplies arriving into the state after a major hurricane
- Alert drills
- Red Cross damage assessment
What missions have we had ?
- Search for a lost Alzheimer’s patient
- Provide communications in an area of a chemical spill
- Set up road blocks around an evacuated town to prevent non residents from entering and looting
- Assist in crowd control during a major 10k race
- Make damage assessment in a neighborhood after a tornado came through.
About half the states currently have a state guard or state defense force. If you join yours, you will meet and serve with some good people. You will learn a lot and possibly be of service in a time of emergency to protect the people and their property in your state. In my state we are subject to hurricanes so that is the most likely thing that would occur to bring us into the field, but actually we don’t know what our next mission is going to be. We are required to keep a Go Bag and be ready to respond on a few hours notice. Note: it takes time and paperwork to activate the national guard but the state guard can be called out on a moments notice by one phone call. We are proud of that !
If your state has a state defense force then check it out. Find out what training is available and where your local unit drills. Give it a chance if you are so inclined. By the way I have met a few preppers in my unit.
God Bless the United States of America and the Constitution. – MVJ