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The Army National Guard is part of the United States Army, comprising approximately one half of its available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organisation. The Air National Guard is part of the United States Air Force. Both are maintained through the National Guard Bureau, whose Chief sits on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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), but only as part of their respective units.
Throughout the 19th century the regular Army was small, and the militia provided the majority of the troops during the Mexican War, the start of the American Civil War, and the Spanish-American War. In 1903, part of the militia was federalized and renamed the National Guard and organized as a Reserve force for the Army. In World War IWorld War I (also known as the First World War , the Great War the War of the Nations and the "War to End All Wars") was a world conflict occurring from 1914 to 1918. No previous conflict had mobilized so many soldiers, or involved so many in the field of, the National Guard made up 40 percent of the U.S. combat divisions in FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents.. In World War IIWorld War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The war was fough the National Guard made up 19 divisions. One hundred forty thousand guardsmen were mobilized during the Korean WarThe Korean War from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, was a conflict between communist North Korea and anti-communist South Korea. It was also a proxy war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The principal combatants were North and South Korea. and over 63,000 for Operation Desert Storm. They have also participated in the US peacekeeping forces in Somalia, Haiti, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bosnia, and Kosovo as well as for natural disasters, strikes, riots and security for the Olympics when they have been in the states.
The National Guard while under state command is not subject to the Posse Comitatus ActThis article is about a United States statute prohibiting the use of the armed forces for law enforcement. For the sheriff's powers of law enforcement at common law, see posse comitatus. For the terrorist organization, see The Posse Comitatus. The Posse C and can engage in law enforcement activities. These law enforcement powers generally disappear when the National Guard is federalized.
Following World War II, the National Guard aviation units became the Air National Guard. There is no Naval National Guard due to the constitutional provision against states having ships of war in time of peace, though both New York and Maryland have incorporated Naval Militia units.