National Guard (United States)
The United States National Guard is an organization of the United States Army and the United States Air Force. The U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force are both branches of the United States military. The National Guard is a militia (an emergency army) for the United States. Each U.S. State has its own National Guard, usually under the control of that state's government. When needed, they are mobilized under control of the United States.
There are two parts of the United States National Guard, administered by the National Guard Bureau of the United States Department of Defense. The Air National Guard is part of the United States Air Force; the Army National Guard is part of the United States Army. The two National Guard groups are identified by the kinds of jobs they do. The Air National Guard does mainly air defense jobs, while the Army National Guard does the jobs on the ground.
National Guard (United States) Media
Army National Guard recruits arriving at Fort Jackson for basic training
Army National Guard soldiers at New York City's Penn Station in 2004
First muster of the East Regiment (present-day Massachusetts Army National Guard) in Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Spring 1637, as imagined by artist Don Troiani in the 1980s.
Following the 1992 Los Angeles riots, 4,000 National Guardsmen patrolled the city.