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The Army National Guard consists of the "land force" of the United States National Guard , or organized Militia , of the several States and Territories, Puerto Rico , and the District Of Columbia , active and inactive, as defined in Title 32, USC Section 101. The Army National Guard of the United States is a component of the United States Army . Maintained by the National Guard Bureau , units are under command of the state's Governor . An exception to this rule is the D.C Army National Guard; the D.C Army Nation Guard is under the direction of the President of the United States. When the unit is federalized, the unit falls under the command of the President Of The United States .

Like the United States Army Reserve , many members usually serve " One Weekend A Month, Two Weeks A Year ", although many members also serve full-time in order to maintain units, and many units have become more active in military operations in recent years.

The Army National Guard is the oldest branch of the U.S. military, tracing its origins back into American Colonies as far back as 1636 . English colonists needed to protect themselves and drew civilians into organized militias, from which are descended some units of the Massachusetts Army National Guard. The Army National Guard officially received its title in 1798.

During World War I, the National Guard provided 40% of the US Army's combat forces. Guard membership doubled in 1940, and provided 19 divisions during World War II . Later, 138,000 guardsmen were deployed for Korea, and many other smaller deployments. After September 11 , the Army National Guard has been used extensively in Afghanistan and Iraq .


TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY REORGANIZATION


The Army National Guard is reorganizing into 32 Brigade Combat Team s and 78 support brigades as a part of the Army's Transformation Plan . When the reorganization is complete, brigades will have 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers whereas the former Army organization was principally organized around large, mostly armored Divisions of around 15,000 soldiers each.

There are currently (Nov 2006) eight National Guard divisions. 34th Infantry Division , accessed 21 Nov 2006.


List of Units Undergoing Transformation

The following is a partial list of the planned end-state organization of the Army National Guard, and includes those Brigade and Division -level Units undergoing transformation as part of the US Army plan.


Divisions



Theater Level Support Organizations




Combat Support Brigades


These carry the designation (ME) which means Maneuver Enhancement.


The Army National Guard also plans three additional combat support brigades, but these have not yet been assigned.


Sustainment Brigades



Field Artillery (Fires) Brigades



Functional Brigades


(there are twelve brigades to add here)


Theater Aviation Assets

77th Theater Aviation Brigade (AR, AK, AZ, IN, WI, and OK)

(there are four aviation units to add here)


Brigade Combat Teams



Legacy Units and Formations

The following units were affected by the Army National Guard transformation, but are no longer active.


SEE ALSO



REFERENCES




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