United States Army National Guard

The United States Army National Guard was officially established in 1903 under the Militia Act, Title 10 and Title 32 of the U.S. Code. The Army National Guard is divided into units based within each of the fifty states of the United States of America, and is answerable to the governer of the state to which they are assigned. While serving primarily on a reserve basis, the National Guard may be called up by the governer in the event of civil unrest or natural disasters, including floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and others.

National Guard units may be federalized and put under control of the federal government and President of the United States. When a National Guardsman or National Guard unit is federally recognized, the member or unit becomes part of the Army National Guard of the United States,  a reserve component of the United States Army. The National Guard is unique in this regard, that they play a dual state and federal responsibility.

History
The Army National Guard can trace its birth as far back as 13 December 1636 under colonial militias which were organized to protect the colonies against Native American attacks. The official founding of the group was after the Spanish-American war in 1903 through the Dick Act, which was intended to reorganize the militia system of the United States. During World War I, the National Guard provided 40% of the US Army's combat forces. In World War II, the National Guard provided 19 divisions. Since the end of the second World War, the mantra "One weekend a month, two weeks a year" has been central to the duty requirements of the National Guard. However, with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this saying has been the source of derision from dissilusioned Guardsmen finding themselves called up to greater duty than anticipated.

