Posted on December 13, 2019
The United States National Guard began before there was a nation, let alone a nation called the United States.
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Before I give you whiplash trying to re-read that sentence, of course the militia that formed on this date in 1636 was not called the U.S. National Guard. Instead, three permanent regiments of soldiers were organized in the British colony of Massachusetts.
The descendants of those early regiments are now the 181st Infantry, the 182nd Infantry, the 101st Field Artillery, and the 101st Engineer Battalion of the Massachusetts National Guard.
These are considered the oldest units in the U.S. military.
Now the National Guard, which is the "reserve" forces of the U.S. military, is made up of 54 different organizations, one for each state, plus one for each of the territories of Guam, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, and one for the District of Columbia.
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| Above, New York guardsmen. Below, Wisconsin guardsmen. |
And within each of the 54 organizations are more divisions: the Army National Guard and the Air Force National Guard are made up of part-time soldiers and airmen who also hold full-time civilian jobs. There are also full-time guardsmen in both the Army National Guard and the Air Force National Guard. Whew! That makes, like, maybe 216 different titles for guardsmen?
The motto of the National Guard is "Always ready, always there!"Also on this date:
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