National Guard (United States)

The National Guard is the organized militia of the United States and a reserve component of the United States Armed Forces, made up of the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. It is based in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and three territories, and its units answer to both state or territorial governments and the federal government. Governors can call it out for domestic emergencies such as civil unrest, hurricanes and floods, and the federal government can call it up to reinforce the Army or Air Force. Most members serve part time alongside civilian jobs. Its oldest units trace their descent to the three Massachusetts Bay Colony regiments organized on 13 December 1636, the date the Guard counts as the beginning of the organized militia. The title National Guard was used by some New York units in 1824 and became the standard nationwide name in 1903.