Colorado Army National Guard


The Colorado Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army, United States National Guard, and Colorado National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization. National coordination of various state National Guard units is maintained through the National Guard Bureau.
Colorado Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army. The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards. The Colorado Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in or to the state of Colorado.
The Colorado Army National Guard is composed of over 3500 soldiers, maintaining 30 armories in 24 communities.

Organization

As of January 2026 the Colorado Army National Guard consists of the following units:
  • Joint Force Headquarters-Colorado, Army Element, in Centennial
  • * Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Joint Force Headquarters-Colorado, Army Element, in Centennial
  • * Colorado Recruiting & Retention Battalion, in Centennial
  • * Colorado Medical Detachment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • * High-altitude ARNG Aviation Training Site, in Gypsum
  • * CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Package, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • * 8th Civil Support Team, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • * 891st Judge Advocate Trial Defense Team, in Centennial
  • * Special Operations Detachment-Korea, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • * Colorado Army National Guard NORTHCOM Mobilization Element, in Colorado Springs
  • * Aviation Support Facility, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • * Maneuver Area Training & Equipment Site, at Fort Carson
  • * Combined Support Maintenance Shop, in Firestone
  • * Colorado Army National Guard Field Maintenance Shop #1, in Firestone
  • * Colorado Army National Guard Field Maintenance Shop #2, in Denver
  • * Colorado Army National Guard Field Maintenance Shop #3, in Grand Junction
  • * Colorado Army National Guard Field Maintenance Shop #5, at Fort Carson
  • * Colorado Army National Guard Field Maintenance Shop #6, in Rocky Ford
  • * Colorado Army National Guard Field Maintenance Shop #7, in Watkins
  • * Colorado Army National Guard Field Maintenance Shop #9, in Aurora
  • * 89th Troop Command, in Denver
  • ** Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 89th Troop Command, in Denver
  • ** 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group , in Watkins
  • *** Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, in Watkins
  • *** Company A, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, at Camp Bullis
  • *** Company B, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, at Fort Carson
  • *** Company C, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, at Camp Bullis
  • *** Company E, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, in Watkins
  • *** Company D, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, in Watkins
  • *** Augmentation Company, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, in Watkins
  • ** 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Detachment 1, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Company D, 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Company E, 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Company D, 3rd Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Detachment 1, Company C, 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Detachment 4, Company D, 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Detachment 4, Company E, 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Company A, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Detachment 3, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Detachment 1, Company D, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Detachment 1, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Detachment 6, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 245th Aviation Regiment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Detachment 1, 131st Aviation Company, 1109th Theater Aviation Support Maintenance Group, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • ** 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment , in Colorado Springs
  • *** Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, in Colorado Springs
  • *** Company A, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, in Colorado Springs
  • *** Company B, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, in Fort Lupton
  • *** Company C, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, in Grand Junction
  • *** Company D, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, in Alamosa
  • **** Detachment 1, Company D, 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, in Colorado Springs
  • *** Company I, 186th Brigade Support Battalion, in Windsor
  • ** 193rd Military Police Battalion , in Denver
  • *** Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 193rd Military Police Battalion, in Denver
  • *** 101st Army Band, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** 104th Public Affairs Detachment, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** 220th Military Police Company, in Denver
  • *** 947th Engineer Company, in Montrose
  • * 100th Missile Defense Brigade, at Schriever Space Force Base
  • ** 117th Space Support Battalion, at Fort Carson
  • *** Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 117th Space Support Battalion, at Fort Carson
  • *** 217th Space Company, at Fort Carson
  • *** 1158th Space Company, at Fort Carson
  • * 169th Field Artillery Brigade, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • ** Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 169th Field Artillery Brigade, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Detachment 1, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 169th Field Artillery Brigade, in Colorado Springs
  • ** Company D, 572 Brigade Engineer Battalion, in Denver
  • *** Detachment 1, Company D, 572 Brigade Engineer Battalion, at Buckley Space Force Base
  • *** Detachment 3, Company E, 186th Brigade Support Battalion, in Denver
  • ** Main Command Post-Operational Detachment, at Fort Carson
  • ** Cyber Protection Team 174, in Centennial
  • ** 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery Regiment, in Lansing
  • ** 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery Regiment, in Milwaukee
  • ** 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery Regiment, in Colorado Springs
  • *** Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery Regiment, in Colorado Springs
  • *** Battery A, 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery Regiment, in Longmont
  • *** Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery Regiment, in Aurora
  • *** 188th Forward Support Company, in Pueblo
  • ** 147th Brigade Support Battalion, in Fort Collins
  • *** Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 147th Brigade Support Battalion, in Fort Collins
  • *** 140th Quartermaster Platoon, at Fort Carson
  • *** 540th Network Support Company, in Aurora
  • *** 928th Medical Company, at Fort Carson
  • *** 3650th Ordnance Company, in Windsor
  • * 168th Regional Training Institute, at Fort Carson
  • ** Officer Candidate School
  • ** Warrant Officer Candidate School
  • ** Warrior Leader Course
  • ** Centennial Training Site

    Duties

National Guard units can be mobilized at any time by presidential order to supplement regular armed forces, and upon declaration of a state of emergency by the governor of the state in which they serve. Unlike Army Reserve members, National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually, but only as part of their respective units. However, there has been a significant number of individual activations to support military operations ; the legality of this policy is a major issue within the National Guard.

Active Duty Callups

For much of the final decades of the twentieth century, National Guard personnel typically served "One weekend a month, two weeks a year", with a portion working for the Guard in a full-time capacity. The current forces formation plans of the US Army call for the typical National Guard unit to serve one year of active duty for every three years of service. More specifically, current Department of Defense policy is that no Guardsman will be involuntarily activated for a total of more than 24 months in one six-year enlistment period.

History

The Colorado Volunteer Militia, predecessor of the Colorado Army National Guard, was originally formed in 1860. The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system.
The Colorado National Guard was involved in the suppression of multiple strikes, including the 1903–1904 Cripple Creek Strike while under the command of General John Chase. During the 1913–1914 United Mine Workers of America strike against the Rockefeller-owned Colorado Fuel and Iron company–an event known as the Colorado Coalfield War–the Guard was deployed in October 1913, again under the command of Chase. The Guard was involved in several violent encounters prior to the April 20, 1914 Ludlow Massacre, in which over a dozen women and children were killed when Guardsmen fired into a tent camp at Ludlow. Following the massacre, the Guard battled strikers throughout Southern Colorado during a 10-Day War.
Originally, the Colorado ARNG was a part of the Southern Department. This was later redesignated, in 1920, as Eighth Corps Area, with headquarters at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. In 1941, the Colorado ARNG came under the new Central Defense Command.
Approximately 300 Colorado ARNG soldiers deployed to Iraq with the 36th Combat Aviation Brigade in September 2006. On October 20, 2007 the Guard's provisional 193rd Space Battalion became a permanent-status unit, the 117th Space Battalion. On September 25, 2010, the 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment was reestablished. By 2018–19, it had become part of the Vermont-based 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, consisting of three National Guard mountain battalions.
The Colorado Army National Guard was deployed to Washington, D.C. to avoid another violent riot such as BLM Rioting and looting or similar to the one on January 6, when supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol where a Capitol police officer shot and killed a female protester. Three other individuals died due to "health complications" during the protest. In November 2023, two Colorado congressmen accused the National Guard Bureau of lack of proper payment to 13,000 members in their service.