National Guard

[JudgeDredd]

Hey

I just wanted to ask about the US National Guard.

Now as far as I know, the National Guard is present in every state. I always thought it was state run - but the name kind of suggests it's a federal institution ran by the Whitehouse...so which is it?

What is the scale of the National Guard? It seems to me it's another "army"...what's the mobilisation numbers for it.

Also - is the US reliant on the NG for outside US incidents or is it for home guard only? I ask because with cuts to conventional forces in the UK over the last couple of decades, the UK forces are relying more and more on the Territorial Army (the UK National Guard I guess) for overseas combat operations.

What is your National Guard like? Is it very professional? How often do they meet to train?

Ta.

[bayonetbrant]

The National Guard belongs to the states.  It answers to the state governors, and the oath of enlistment even specifically says "uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States and the State of ____"

They may be called into federal service for federal missions, such as WWII or being deployed to Iraq/Afghanistan, or chasing Pancho Villa around Mexico. 

But they belong to the governor, and (s)he doesn't have to ask permission to use them for hurricane relief, firefighting, or quelling riots in Ferguson, MO.

They are organized, equipped, and trained on the same lines as the regular army, so as to better integrate them when they called up. 
They have training 1 weekend/month, with a 2 week training period once/year, usually in the summer as a good number of lower ranks will be college kids who are using the extra money for school or taking advantage of tuition benefits.

One big distinction between the National Guard and the Army Reserve is the way in which they are mobilized.  If you belong to the Army Reserve, you belong to the federal government, and they can mobilize you, without bringing 50 of your closest friends with you.  There are limits to how often you can be called up, but the feds don't have to "ask". 
Technically, when a National Guard unit gets mobilized, they are mobilizing the entire unit.  They can't pick CPT Guillory out of the crowd and say "we want him"; they have to say "Hey, South Carolina, we need a detachment of 20 soldiers with the following qualifications: ________"

There's a LOT more to it than that, but that's the short version.  I can give you a longer one later when I've got more time to type :)

[JudgeDredd]

Thanks bayonetbrant

[eyebiter]

.

[steve58]

A recent example:  Gov Perry of Texas called up the Texas National Guard

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/14/first-national-guard-troops-arrive-at-texas-mexico-border/

[Gusington]

There are also State Guard units, like the New York Guard, which JH and I are members of. The NY Guard is made up of volunteers who only get paid upon deployment, cannot be deployed outside NY, and are called up by the Governor. Missions of the NY Guard include search and rescue, HAZMAT duty, and mission security, among some others. The NY Guard also has members who are sometimes integrated with National Guard and regular US Army for specific missions.

[bayonetbrant]

Yep, those guys are like the State Military Reserve in California (affectionately known as the Smurfs) that are a state-specific force that can only be used by the Governor and are not subject to any federal mobilization.  The flip side is that they are not due any federal benefits like life insurance, exchange priviledges, or retirement/pensions.

[JudgeDredd]

It's no wonder you buggers want to keep your weapons...having such a large armed force ready at your governors disposal as and when he wishes! 

[BanzaiCat]

Incorrect assumption, sir. Buggery and guns most certainly do not mix.

Well...guess it depends on whom you ask. But in general...no.



I don't know why the TNG was deployed to the border, except to quiet down people that demand more be done to stem the tide of illegals. The whole "deter and refer" mission is a BS waste of taxpayer dollars since they're just going to sit there and watch and do nothing. The Border Patrol isn't going to do anything, either. They tend to get in trouble when they do their jobs.

http://twitchy.com/2014/07/15/like-their-job-huffpo-reporter-doesnt-seem-to-understand-what-the-border-patrol-is-for/

[jejo68]

So members of your national guard gets paid ? Interesting
Is it a fixed monthly wage or only when your on duty ?

[bayonetbrant]

So members of your national guard gets paid ? Interesting
Is it a fixed monthly wage or only when your on duty ?

Whenever you report for duty you're on payroll, prorated at the same rate you'd get for your grade/time in service as if you were active duty, for those periods when you are present at weekend drills.  If you don't show up some weekend b/c you made other arrangements, or just blew it off (it happens, and yes, you get in trouble) then you don't get paid.  You can make up the time elsewhere, but you get paid when you're present and doing the work the you need to do, not just b/c the calendar rolled over to a new month.

Keep in mind I'm talking about the Army/Air National Guard.  There is no "national guard" equivalent for the Marines/Navy, and the state militia, like the CA SMR or the NY Guard like JH/Gus, are handled completely within the rules of their specific state.

[undercovergeek]

Can the president call them up?

And can he over ride a govenors decision

[bayonetbrant]

Can the president call them up?

Depends on who you mean by "them"
He can federalize the Army/Air National Guard.
He cannot call up the SMR / NY Guard / etc.  Those belong exclusively to the states.
One way 'cheating' way to tell whether or not they can be called into federal service is to look at the uniform.  Over the left chest, if the tape says "US Army" or "US Air Force" then you can be called into federal service.  If it says "California" or "South Carolina" then you can't.

And can he over ride a govenors decision

He has -zero-legal authority over anyone not obligated to the feds (see above).  There are some limited legal conditions under which he can mobilize the Army/Air National Guard without the governor's approval, but those are mainly during declared states of war, and require (literally) acts of Congress to authorize.  As a practical matter, you're not going to have a governor tell the President to piss off if he needs to mobilize a National Guard unit, even if it's a collosally bad idea, like mobilizing most of NC / SC / GA simultaneously to prep for Iraq/Afghanistan deployments, and start their pre-mob training in Indiana...  right as hurricane season is kicking off.  That was just dumb²

[undercovergeek]

So the national guard units have a loyalty to the state governor and not the president?

[bayonetbrant]

There's a very long, and very convoluted history, of how the National Guard integrates into the heirarchy in the US.

That said, the Constitution only calls for the establishment of 2 things: the Navy, and the National Guard.  All the rest of those bastards are optional ;)