Colorado Army National Guard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Headquarters, State Area Command
Colorado Army National Guard
Image:Colorado ARNG SSI.png
Colorado STARC Shoulder Sleeve insignia
Active 1903-2007
Country United States
Allegiance Colorado
Branch Army National Guard
Type ARNG Headquarters Command
Part of Colorado National Guard
Garrison/HQ Centennial, Colorado
Commanders
Current
commander		 Major General Mason C. Whitney
Seal of the Army National Guard
Seal of the Army National Guard

The Colorado National Guard is comprised of both Army and Air National Guard components. The United States Code, Titles 10 and 32, specifically charge the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. In fact, the National Guard is the only United States military force empowered to function in a state status. Those functions range from limited actions during non-emergency situations to full scale law enforcement of martial law when local law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control.

The National Guard may be called into federal service in response to a call by the President or Congress.

The Colorado Army National Guard is composed of over 3500 soldiers, maintaining 30 armories in 24 communities (as of 1999).

When National Guard troops are called to federal service, the President serves as Commander-In-Chief. The federal mission assigned to the National Guard is: "To provide properly trained and equipped units for prompt mobilization for war, National emergency or as otherwise needed."

The Governor may call individuals or units of the Colorado National Guard into state service during emergencies or to assist in special situations which lend themselves to use of the National Guard. The state mission assigned to the National Guard is: "To provide trained and disciplined forces for domestic emergencies or as otherwise provided by state law."

Colorado currently has no State Defense Force. Should Colorado create a Colorado State Defense Force it would be a purely state military organization which would be authorized for creation by the United States and Colorado Constitutions, the United States Code, and Colorado Revised Statutes. The Colorado National Guard and the Colorado State Defense Force (COSDF), when one exists would both be components of the state’s organized militia. The COSDF would assume the state mission of the Colorado National Guard in the event the Guard is federalized and deployed outside of the state.

The Colorado Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization. National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau.

Colorado Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army. The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards. The Colorado Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in or to the state of Colorado.

Contents

[edit] Units

100th Missile Defense Brigade ([Ground-based Midcourse Defense]) - operators of the National Missile Defense system [1]

2d Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment -- deployed to Iraq August 2006 through August 2007.

1/157th Field Artillery Battalion

2/157th Field Artillery Battalion

8th WMD Civil Support Team

89th Troop Command

169th Field Artillery Brigade

High Altitude Aviation Training Site (HAATS)

3650th Maintenance Company

Medical Battalion (Emergency Medicine)

220th Military Police Company

140th Signal Companies

117th Space Support Battalion

HQ/HHD 5/19th SF BN (Abn)

947th Engineer Company (CSE) - Deployed to Iraq October 2005 to October 2006

[edit] Duties

National Guard units can be mobilized at any time by presidential order to supplement regular armed forces, and upon declaration of a state of emergency by the governor of the state in which they serve. Unlike Army Reserve members, National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually (except through voluntary transfers and Temporary DutY Assignments TDY), but only as part of their respective units. However, there has been a significant amount of individual activations to support military operations (2001-?); the legality of this policy is a major issue within the National Guard.

[edit] Active Duty Callups

For much of the final decades of the twentieth century, National Guard personnel typically served "One weekend a month, two weeks a year", with a portion working for the Guard in a full-time capacity. The current forces formation plans of the US Army call for the typical National Guard unit (or National Guardsman) to serve one year of active duty for every three years of service. More specifically, current Department of Defense policy is that no Guardsman will be involuntarily activated for a total of more than 24 months (cumulative) in one six year enlistment period (this policy is due to change 1 August 2007, the new policy states that soldiers will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months, individual states have differing policies).

[edit] History

The Colorado Volunteer Militia, predecessor of the Colorado Army National Guard, was originally formed in 1860. The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system.

Many states also maintain their own state military forces. These state military forces are not federally recognized, but are authorized and are separate and distinct from the National Guard. These state military forces and are not meant to be federalized, but are meant to serve exclusively within the state, especially when the National Guard is federalized, deployed, overwhelmed or otherwise unavailable.

According to a letter dated 11 April 2003 from Major General Mason Whitney, outgoing Adjutant General of the Colorado National Guard, the Colorado State Defense Force exists as a Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD) commanded by LTC Walter Paul, a member of MG Whitney's staff.

The COSDF HHD has no other staff, no troops, no funding, and no duties. LTC Paul's real job is to serve as the legislative liaison for the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DOMVA). He has no duties concerning the COSDF other than to allegedly maintain a list of ex-National Guard soldiers and citizens who would be willing to be called up to serve in the COSDF should it ever be activated. This allows the Colorado DOMVA to claim that the COSDF exists, but is inactive.

On the other hand, there is an active, uniformed, trained, and disciplined all volunteer public service organization of patriotic citizens which has been in existence since 1999 which refuses to accept the staus quo or to play charades with MG whitney and his staff cronies. This organization is known as the Colorado State Defense Force (Provisional)(COSDF(P)).

Since its inception, the COSDF(P) has been working to change the status quo and have the COSDF restored and reactivated as an active component of Colorado's state military forces. To this end, the COSDF(P) has been meeting with members of the 2007 Colorado Legislature and a Bill is being introduced to make this happen.

See History of the United States National Guard for a more complete history of the guard at a national level.

[edit] See also

Portal:Military of the United States
 Military of the United States Portal

[edit] References

    [edit] External links


    v • d • e
    Army National Guard in the United States
    States Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming
    Federal district
    and territories    		 District of Columbia • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands
    This United States Army article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
     This Colorado-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
    Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/o/l/Colorado_Army_National_Guard_aae7.html"