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Due to what's happened throughout 2020 and how it is starting in 2021, and considering the general lack of accurate info I've seen on the subject, I think it is time for a National Guard Thread. Buckle up. Here we go.
[Today's Thread]
[Today's Thread]
I will attempt to keep the military jargon to a minimum so civilians can follow along. You grunts, jarheads, squids, and flyboys keep that in mind. Don't @ me with nomenclature lol. I'm doing it on purpose.
The roots of the National Guard predate our nation's independence - claiming the founding date of 1636. It was citizens who volunteered to help protect towns and villages from hostile attacks. (See the Army NG website for more history)
There are still debates, historical, philosophical, and legal, as to whether the modern NG is the Militia mentioned throughout our founding documents and the 2nd amendment of our constitution. Some states also have an official State Militia. (I don't know how many states.)
So, for the 2nd Amendment debate, the NG is front and center, whether you realize it or not. Many contend the 2nd amendment ONLY applies to the Militia, the NG is the militia, and therefore, you regular citizens shouldn't be allowed to own guns. NG stays silent on this debate.
Photos of troops sleeping on marble floors in the halls of the Capitol seem to shock people and results in outcries about how we treat our troops. Although we can always find ways to make the lives of our troops better, worrying about their sleep habits isn't one.
That is a scene that has played out millions of times over our history and the history of every military force since the first caveman declared himself Sergeant Major and started criticizing the trim of people's mustaches.
When troops aren't working or training, they're either sleeping, drinking, fighting, or looking for intimate companionship. If you tell 5 soldiers they're official duties are complete, two of them will be asleep before you dismiss them. One slept through your speech entirely.
Soldiering can be tiring work. Those NG members sleeping on the floor had probably been at it for at least 24 hours before those photos were taken. They didn't just materialize at the Capitol. They had to assemble, pack, load up, move to the location, and reverse that process.
[There are going to be typos. I know about them. Please ignore lol. Between fat-thumbing this Android and autocorrect, there will probably be many. I know that should be *their. Don't @ me]
There is still the misconception that NG members are not "real soldiers." I've actually seen tweets to that effect. Due to the part-time (way more time than you think, though) status, the assumption is that they are just playing soldier. This is an ancient perception.
There was a time when NG training standards did not necessarily reflect the same standards used for active duty federal forces. This has not been the case for decades but the perception persists to this, even within the Active duty forces.
Active duty troops who have never been in or worked with the NG tend to look down their nose at them.
Well, until they find out those gun trucks that just saved their ass in that ambush were from the Nebraska NG, or whatever. Suddenly NG troops are pretty cool.
Well, until they find out those gun trucks that just saved their ass in that ambush were from the Nebraska NG, or whatever. Suddenly NG troops are pretty cool.
If you attend pretty much any Army training school, a portion of those students will be NG or Army Reserve members. Same schools, same training, same graduation standards. One just flies off to Korea while the other goes home and goes back to work until their next drill weekend.
The Army National Guard and the Army Reserve are two separate entities. That confuses many. Although the NG is part of the overall "reserve components" under military regulations, reserve and guard are different components with different chains of command.
As an example, the Commander in Chief of the Ohio NG is the Governor of Ohio, not the President of the United States. Until those troops are called up to federal service, like when sent to war. When that happens, NG troops BECOME federal active duty troops.
Yes, we often call them troops. It is common lingo. It is also not technically correct but that is a debate only the most dedicated military pedants will venture into lol
The NG has served in every war our nation has ever fought going back to the days before we were a sovereign nation.
Tales of joining the NG to get out of Vietnam did happen, but plenty of NG Vietnam vets will tell you a different story. Plenty of examples on both sides.
Tales of joining the NG to get out of Vietnam did happen, but plenty of NG Vietnam vets will tell you a different story. Plenty of examples on both sides.
The NG makes up around 40% of the Army's total troop strength. (Check my numbers, it has been a while since I looked some of this up.) Around 45% of the forces sent to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan came from the NG. The NG absorbed 20% of the total casualties as well.
In the Army, federal, reserve, and NG, your unit patch is worn on your left sleeve. The patch on the right sleeve is called (forgive me. Mil jargon) your Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, Former Wartime Service. The SSI/FWS. Your "combat patch" as it is commonly known.
When you see the NG soldiers in DC, if they wear a patch on their right shoulder, they didn't get that guarding a Denny's during a riot, or rescuing people during a flood. Or helping people after a tornado, hurricane, or while fighting a forest fire. They got it overseas.
There are freakin Special Forces in the NG! Not kidding. Green beret units, part timers, within some state NG. For Ohio, our Special Forces unit is the most deployed ONG unit, constantly rotating in and out of the various Hotspot around the world.
So when you meet some guy in a bar bragging about being Special Forces and showing you his NG ID as proof, it could be the truth! But probably isn't. Probably just some admin trying to get laid. (You have to get the whole picture, folks.)
"Slick sleeves" or soldiers without a "combat patch" may now appear to you to be slackers or untrained, incapable troops. Nope. That isn't true either. Some young NG soldiers have yet to deploy to a war. Some haven't been in very long. Some may still have schools to finish.
Some joined soon after their NG unit returned from the war and that unit isn't scheduled to deploy again for two or three years, if ever. There are many reasons. Some can't deploy due to medical reasons. This is true for many active duty troops as well.
But those "slick sleeves" may have pulled a drowning child out of flood waters in Missouri. Or helped save lives and homes fighting forest fires in CA. Or digging people out of rubble after an earthquake. Treating injured after a hurricane. Saving lives right here at home.
In their civilian life, that slick sleeves might be a cop, firefighter, nurse, IT technician, electrician, construction worker, lawyer, or manicurist. And you never know when those skills might come in handy as a military. Don't laugh.
