Army National Guard


The Army National Guard is an organized militia force and a federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two different organizations: the Militia of the United States, as well as the federal ARNG, as part of the National Guard as a whole. It is divided into subordinate units stationed in each state or insular area, responsible to their respective governors or other head-of-government.
The Guard's origins are usually traced to the city of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1636. That year a regiment of militia drilled for the first time to defend a multi-community area within what is now the United States.

Activation

The ARNG operates under Title 10 of the United States Code when under federal control, and Title 32 of the United States Code and applicable state laws when under state control. It may be called up for active duty by the state or territorial governors to help respond to domestic emergencies and disasters, such as those caused by hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes, as well as civil disorder. The District of Columbia Army National Guard is a federal militia, controlled by the president of the United States with authority delegated to the secretary of defense, and through him to the secretary of the Army.
Members or units of the ARNG may be ordered, temporarily or indefinitely, into United States service. If mobilized for federal service, the member or unit becomes part of the U.S. ARNG, which is a reserve component of the U.S. Army. Individuals volunteering for active federal service may do so subject to the consent of their governors. Largely on the basis of a 1990 U.S. Supreme Court decision, governors generally cannot veto involuntary activations of individuals or units for federal service, either for training or national emergency.
The president may also call up members and units of the ARNG, in its status as the militia of the several states, to repel invasion, suppress rebellion, or enforce federal laws. The Army National Guard is one of two organizations administered by the National Guard Bureau, the other being the Air National Guard. The director of the ARNG is the head of the organization, and reports to the chief of the National Guard Bureau. Because the ARNG is both the militia of the several states and a federal reserve component of the Army, neither the chief of the National Guard Bureau nor the director of the ARNG "commands" it. This operational command authority is performed in each state or territory by the state adjutant general, and in the District of Columbia by the commanding general of the D.C. National Guard when a unit is in its militia status. While under federal activation, the operational command authority is transferred to the commanders of the unified combatant commands, who command all U.S. forces within their area of responsibility. The chief of the National Guard Bureau and the director of the ARNG serve as the channel of communications between the Department of the Army and the ARNG in each state and territory, and administer federal programs, policies, and resources for the National Guard.
The ARNG's portion of the president's proposed federal budget for the 2018 fiscal year is approximately $16.2 billion to support an end strength of 343,000, including appropriations for personnel pay and allowance, facilities maintenance, construction, equipment maintenance and other activities.

History

The Army National Guard is constantly reorganizing. Many storied formations with valiant battle histories have obscure descendants in the mid-2020s. Some have been renamed or inactivated. Some have had subordinate units reallocated to other commands. A partial list of inactivated major formations includes:
Deployable Army units are organized as Table of organization and equipment organizations or modified table of organization and equipment organizations. Non-deployable units, such as a state's joint force headquarters or regional training institutes are administered as Table of distribution and allowance units.

Commands

In addition to many deployable units which are non-divisional, the Army National Guard's deployable units include eight infantry divisions. These divisions, their subordinate brigades or brigades with which the divisions have a training oversight relationship, and the states represented by the largest units include:
Army Aviation Magazine wrote on 31 March 2021 that "The ARNG is pressing forward with the Division Alignment for Training effort. The DIV AFT intent is to enhance leader development and training readiness through codified relationships across echelons and states to develop combat capable division formations for large scale combat operations. The Director, ARNG. recently convened a DIV AFT Initial Planning Conference to clarify unit alignments for all eight ARNG Division Headquarters and synchronize activities that will facilitate unity of effort between Division Headquarters and aligned for training States."
The Army National Guard fields 37 multifunctional support brigades.

Maneuver Enhancement Brigades