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Army National Guard
The Army National Guard is one of the three components
of the US Army, the other two being Active Army
and the Army Reserves. The Army National
Guard has been an integral part of the US Army for around 366 years.
The Army National Guard consists of traditional Guardsmen- civilians
who serve their country on part time basis, which is usually a weekend
each month and two weeks during the summer. The President has the
powers of activating the army to participate in federal roles like
combating the terrorism in Middle East or peace operations in Bosnia
and Kosovo.
The state missions of Army National Guard include local or state
emergencies such as storms, earthquakes, civil disturbances, fires
and providing security for the Olympics while in States. They need
to be always ready with well-maintained and trained units promptly
available with adequate equipment during national emergencies or
wars. The Governor through the state Adjutant General commands such
army missions.
The Army National Guard comprises of state guard forces. However,
they are not a part of the main militia though they may be at any
time called for duty to assist them. Mobilization of such members
of the army is possible only as a part of their respective units
and through voluntary transfers.
In 1903, a part of the US Army became
the Reserve Force for the army. This was the Army National
Guard. This army made up for 40% of the US combat divisions
in World War I and around 19 divisions in World War II. Korean War
saw one hundred and forty thousand members of this force in action
and over 63.000 during Operation Desert Storm assisting the general
armed forces. They were also a part of the US peacekeeping forces
in Somalia, Haiti, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bosnia and Kosovo.
After the World War II, the Air National Guard came from the Army
National Guard aviation units, today functioning with more than
106,000 army personnel.
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