Virginia Army National Guard

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Headquarters, State Area Command
Virginia Army National Guard


caption= Virginia STARC Shoulder Sleeve insignia
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country= United States
allegiance= Virginia
branch= Army National Guard
type= ARNG Headquarters Command
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command_structure=Virginia National Guard
current_commander=Major General Robert Newman
garrison=Richmond, Virginia
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colonel_of_the_regiment=
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anniversaries=The Virginia National Guard comprises both Army and Air National Guard components. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. In fact, the National Guard is the only United States military force empowered to function in a state status. Those functions range from limited actions during non-emergency situations to full scale law enforcement of martial law when local law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control. The National Guard may be called into federal service in response to a call by the President or Congress.

The Virginia Army National Guard is composed of approximately 7500 soldiers, 1200 airmen, and maintains 67 armories in 50 communities. The Governor may call individuals or units of the Virginia National Guard into state service during emergencies or to assist in special situations which lend themselves to use of the National Guard. The state mission assigned to the National Guard is:"To provide trained and disciplined forces for domestic emergencies or as otherwise provided by state law." Virginia 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 Virginia Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in or to the state of Virginia.

Units and Formations

*U.S. 29th Infantry Division (Light)
*116th 'Stonewall' Infantry Brigade Combat Team
*329 Regional Support Group
*Maneuver Training Center, Fort Pickett
*91st Troop Command
*34th Civil Support Team
*183rd Regiment (RTI)
*2-224th Aviation Regiment

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 (except through voluntary transfers and Temporary DutY Assignments TDY), but only as part of their respective units. However, there has been a significant amount of individual activations to support military operations (2001-?); 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 (or National Guardsman) 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 (cumulative) in one six year enlistment period (this policy is due to change 1 August 2007, the new policy states that soldiers will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months, individual states have differing policies).

History

The Virginia Army National Guard traces its history back to 1607, to the Jamestown settlement (the official history of the National Guard starts at 1636 in the Plymouth, Massachusetts, colony). The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system.

Many states also maintain their own military forces. These forces are federally recognized, but are separate from the National Guard and are not meant to be federalized, but rather service the state exclusively, especially when the National Guard is deployed and unavailable. The Virginia Defense Force is the commonwealth's own all-volunteer, formal military organization that is the reserve to the Virginia National Guard [http://www.virginiadefenseforce.org/] .

See History of the United States National Guard for a more complete history of the guard at a national level.

ee also

*State Defense Forces
**Virginia State Defense Force
*Militia
*Home Guard
*Transformation of the Army National Guard

References

*United States National Guard, accessed 4 Nov 2006
* [http://www.virginiaguard.com/ Virginia National Guard] , accessed 28 Nov 2006
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/arng-va.htm GlobalSecurity.org Virginia Army National Guard] , accessed 28 Nov 2006
* [http://www.cascom.army.mil/odct/Documents/AUSA_Briefing_26_Sep_05.ppt Unit Designations in the Army Modular Force] , accessed 23 Nov 2006
* [http://www.blackhorsebrigade.org/ Virginia Defense Force Black Horse Brigade]