November 4, 2015 – December 13th is recognized as the birthday of the National Guard. On this date in 1636, the first militia regiments in North America were organized in Massachusetts. Based upon an order of the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s General Court, the colony’s militia was organized into three permanent regiments to better defend the colony. Today, the descendants of these first regiments – the 181st Infantry, the 182nd Infantry, the 101st Field Artillery, and the 101st Engineer Battalion of the Massachusetts Army National Guard – share the distinction of being the oldest units in the U.S. military. December 13, 1636, thus marks the beginning of the organized militia, and the birth of the National Guard’s oldest organized units is symbolic of the founding of all the state, territory, and District of Columbia militias that collectively make up today’s National Guard.
The National Guard of the United States, part of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, is a reserve military force, composed of National Guard military members or units of each state and the territories of Guam, of the Virgin Islands, and of Puerto Rico, as well as of the District of Columbia, for a total of 54 separate organizations. All members of the National Guard of the United States are also members of the militia of the United States as defined by 10 U.S.C. § 311. National Guard units are under the dual control of the state and the federal government.
The majority of National Guard soldiers and airmen hold a civilian job full-time while serving part-time as a National Guard member. These part-time guardsmen are augmented by a full-time cadre of Active Guard & Reserve (AGR) personnel in both the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, plus Army Reserve Technicians in the Army National Guard and Air Reserve Technicians (ART) in the Air National Guard.
The National Guard is a joint activity of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) composed of reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force: the Army National Guard of the United States and the Air National Guard of the United States respectively.
The National Guard is a joint activity of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) composed of reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force: the Army National Guard of the United States and the Air National Guard of the United States respectively.
Local militias were formed from the earliest English colonization of the Americas in 1607. The first colony-wide militia was formed by Massachusetts in 1636 by merging small older local units, and several National Guard units can be traced back to this militia. The various colonial militias became state militias when the United States became independent. The title “National Guard” was used from 1824 by some New York State militia units, named after the French National Guard in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette. “National Guard” became a standard nationwide militia title in 1903, and specifically indicated reserve forces under mixed state and federal control from 1933.
The first muster of militia forces in what is today the United States took place on September 16, 1565, in the newly established Spanish military town of St. Augustine. Appropriately enough, this muster occurred in the shadow of an oncoming hurricane. The militia men were assigned to guard the expedition’s supplies while their leader, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, took the regular troops north to attack the French settlement at Fort Caroline on the St. Johns River. This Spanish militia tradition and the English tradition that would be established to the north would provide the basic nucleus for Colonial defense in the New World.
From the nation’s founding through the early 1900s, the United States maintained only a minimal army and relied on state militias, directly related to the earlier Colonial militias to supply the majority of its troops. As a result of the Spanish-American War, Congress was called upon to reform and regulate the training and qualification of state militias. In 1903, with passage of the Dick Act, the predecessor to the modern-day National Guard was formed. It required the states to divide their militias into two sections. The law recommended the title “National Guard” for the first section, known as the organized militia, and “Reserve Militia” for all others.
During World War I, Congress passed the National Defense Act of 1916, which required the use of the term “National Guard” for the state militias and further regulated them. Congress also authorized the states to maintain Home Guards, which were reserve forces outside the National Guards being deployed by the Federal Government.
In 1933, with passage of the National Guard Mobilization Act, Congress finalized the split between the National Guard and the traditional state militias by mandating that all federally funded soldiers take a dual enlistment/commission and thus enter both the state National Guard and the National Guard of the United States, a newly created federal reserve force.
The National Defense Act of 1947 created the Air Force as a separate branch of the Armed Forces and concurrently created the Air National Guard of the United States as one of its reserve components, mirroring the Army’s structure.
What is the birthday of the Army National Guard?
The official birth date of the Army National Guard as a reserve component of the Army is December 13, 1636. On this date, the Massachusetts colonial legislature directed that the colony’s existing militia companies be organized into three regiments. This date is recognized based upon the Department of Defense’s practice of adopting the dates of initial authorizing legislation for organized units as the birth dates of the active and reserve components of the armed services.
What is the oldest Army National Guard Unit?
The oldest Army National Guard units are the 101st Engineer Battalion, the 101st Field Artillery Regiment, the 181st Infantry Regiment, and the 182nd Infantry Regiment, all of the Massachusetts Army National Guard. These four units are the descendants of the original three militia regiments organized by colonial Massachusetts legislation on December 13, 1636, and share the distinction of being the oldest units in the U.S. military.
How can the Army National Guard be older than the Army?
Our ability to recognize December 13, 1636, as the organization date of the oldest Army National Guard units is based in law. The Militia Act of May 8, 1792, permitted militia units organized before the May 8, 1792, to retain their “customary privileges.” This provision of the militia act was perpetuated by the Militia Act of 1903, the National Defense Act of 1916, and by subsequent law.
What is the birthday of the Air National Guard?
The official birth date of the Air National Guard as a reserve component of the Air Force is September 18, 1947. On this date, the first Secretary of the Air Force was sworn in to office per provisions of the National Security Act of 1947, the authorizing legislation for the United States Air Force and the Air National Guard. Soon afterwards, National Guard Army Air Forces units began to be transferred to the Air National Guard as a reserve component of the Air Force.
How can Air National Guard units be older than the Air Force?
They’re not. The Air National Guard became the Reserve Component of the United States Air Force on September 18, 1947, when the Air Force broke from the U.S. Army to become a separate military service. Before 1947, the National Guard aviation units were part of the U.S. Army Air Forces. Some National Guard units trace their lineage before World War One. The original 29 National Guard aviation units were formally reorganized and activated beginning in 1921 to become part of the U.S. Army Air Corps and later the U.S. Army Air Forces which served in World War Two with great distinction. At the time when the Air Force was created in September, 1947 as a separate service, there were 59 aviation units in the National Guard, to include the original 29 observation squadrons which were mobilized in 1940. These units were all transferred from the Army Air Forces to the new Air Force effective April 27, 1948.
What is the oldest Air National Guard unit?
The oldest Air National Guard unit is the 102nd Rescue Squadron of the New York Air National Guard. This unit was originally organized in accordance with existing law, and authorized in the New York National Guard as the Aero Company, Signal Corps, on November 22, 1915. The oldest Air National Guard unit in continuous existence since its organization is the 109th Airlift Squadron of the Minnesota Air National Guard, which was organized and federally recognized as the 109th Observation Squadron, on January 17, 1921.
Duties and administrative organization
National Guard units can be mobilized for federal active duty to supplement regular armed forces during times of war or national emergency declared by Congress, the President, or the Secretary of Defense. They can also be activated for service in their respective states upon declaration of a state of emergency by the governor of the state or territory in which they serve, or in the case of Washington, D.C., by the Commanding General. Unlike U.S. Army Reserve members, National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually, except through voluntary transfers and Temporary Duty Assignments (TDY). The National Guard Bureau is headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, and is a joint activity of the Department of Defense to conduct all the administrative matters pertaining to the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard.
Other Information
• Tickets are now available for the 379th National Guard Birthday Gala in Arlington, VA. Get yours today!
• Is the National Guard right for YOU?
• Here are some of the benefits available to you in the Nation Guard.
• Are you wondering what basic training for the National Guard is like?
• Check out this National Guard Annual Training Pay Chart.
• The National Guard Educational Foundation’s (NGEF) goal is to tell the Guard’s story. The NGEF relies solely on charitable contributions to carry out its mission so go make a donation today!
• Have questions? Maybe our Army National Guard FAQ or our Air National Guard FAQ will help.