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It is not widely known that there are State Guards, independent of the National Guard, that answer only to the governors of their respective states, and that only have responsibility to the citizens of their respective state. Less than half of the states have State Guards, and the Southeast is the only region where the vast majority of the states have State Guards. In some states, the State Guard is the State Militia in the complete and original sense of the term. The National Guard was federalized in the National Defense Act of 1933, and most of the National Guard units were called up in World War II, leaving the states without an internal security force. It was at this time that most of the State Guards were organized in their current form.
From Wikipedia:
State defense forces(SDF) (also known as state guards, state military reserves, or state militias) in the United States are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government; they are partially regulated by the National Guard Bureau but they are not a part of the Army National Guard of the United States. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state.
State defense forces are distinct from their state's National Guard in that they cannot become federal entities (all state National Guard personnel can be federalized under the National Defense Act of 1933 with the creation of the National Guard of the United States). The federal government recognizes state defense forces under 32 U.S.C. § 109 which provides that state defense forces as a whole may not be called, ordered, or drafted into the armed forces of the United States, thus preserving their separation from the National Guard. However, under the same law, individual members serving in the state defense force are not exempt from service in the armed forces (i.e., they are not excluded from the draft). Under 32 USC § 109(e), "A person may not become a member of a defense force . . . if he is a member of a reserve component of the armed forces."
Here is a map of the states with State Guards:
I had a long talk with the recruiting officer of the Mississippi State Guard, since that is where my BOL is located. As I suspected, they are experiencing record enlistments. Most of the members of the Mississippi State Guard are either retired or discharged military. They do have a large number of professionals like doctors.
The State Guard is 100% voluntary, with members responsible for buying all of their own equipment out of their own pockets. They are, however, an official branch of the military, with military rank and military IDs. The Mississippi State Guard is in the process of converting from BDUs to ACUs.
That big block of red in the Southeast may become critical in the SHTF. Remember that the members of the State Guards do not answer to the President of the United States, and have as their primary mission the defense of the citizens of their respective states.
Think about these bullet points for a minute.
Look at that map again, and maybe you will begin to understand why Southerners have a different take on surviving the SHTF.
From Wikipedia:
State defense forces(SDF) (also known as state guards, state military reserves, or state militias) in the United States are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government; they are partially regulated by the National Guard Bureau but they are not a part of the Army National Guard of the United States. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state.
State defense forces are distinct from their state's National Guard in that they cannot become federal entities (all state National Guard personnel can be federalized under the National Defense Act of 1933 with the creation of the National Guard of the United States). The federal government recognizes state defense forces under 32 U.S.C. § 109 which provides that state defense forces as a whole may not be called, ordered, or drafted into the armed forces of the United States, thus preserving their separation from the National Guard. However, under the same law, individual members serving in the state defense force are not exempt from service in the armed forces (i.e., they are not excluded from the draft). Under 32 USC § 109(e), "A person may not become a member of a defense force . . . if he is a member of a reserve component of the armed forces."
Here is a map of the states with State Guards:
I had a long talk with the recruiting officer of the Mississippi State Guard, since that is where my BOL is located. As I suspected, they are experiencing record enlistments. Most of the members of the Mississippi State Guard are either retired or discharged military. They do have a large number of professionals like doctors.
The State Guard is 100% voluntary, with members responsible for buying all of their own equipment out of their own pockets. They are, however, an official branch of the military, with military rank and military IDs. The Mississippi State Guard is in the process of converting from BDUs to ACUs.
That big block of red in the Southeast may become critical in the SHTF. Remember that the members of the State Guards do not answer to the President of the United States, and have as their primary mission the defense of the citizens of their respective states.
Think about these bullet points for a minute.
- They are 100% volunteer
- They have a local chain of command independent of the rest of the United Stated Armed Forces
- They do not depend on money/supplies/arms from the Federal Government
- Their SOLE responsibility is the protection of the citizens of their respective states.
Look at that map again, and maybe you will begin to understand why Southerners have a different take on surviving the SHTF.
