Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: National Guard Organization

  1. #1
    Member TGS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Back in northern Virginia

    National Guard Organization

    Note to admins: I'm including this in the LE forum as it is a technical question specifically related to the duties of NG and its role in riot control, regardless that individual Guardsman may not be LEOs.

    Context: Over the summer, some of our National Guard members discussed how their state units were structured, with MP units have a responsibility to support LE at the state level with riot control. In addition, states had a "quick reaction force" of types under various names which could be activated on short notice to also provide riot control, and these units may be entirely unrelated to the Military Police Corps but cross-trained in riot control. For instance, my one friend from Connecticut is a Nat'l Guard MP and told me the state quick response unit at one point was a heavy truck company.

    Question: For the Guardsmen here, have you seen a change in these response models throughout the last year, especially as things seem to not be showing any signs of slowing down? Have your organization of non-MP units tasked with riot control expanded, or units train harder for riot control and take it more seriously than ever before?

    Thanks
    "Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer

  2. #2
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    America
    I retired from the Army National Guard more than a few years ago so I have no new information. But remember that guard units are spread out geographically. A guard division on paper will have much the same table of organization as an active division but that could be spread over three states. So a unit assigned to assist with a riot in city X might just be tasked with that mission on paper because of proximity to that city or because the unit originally slated for that mission is currently deployed or on another mission.

  3. #3
    Site Supporter MGW's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Kansas
    Quote Originally Posted by TGS View Post
    Note to admins: I'm including this in the LE forum as it is a technical question specifically related to the duties of NG and its role in riot control, regardless that individual Guardsman may not be LEOs.

    Context: Over the summer, some of our National Guard members discussed how their state units were structured, with MP units have a responsibility to support LE at the state level with riot control. In addition, states had a "quick reaction force" of types under various names which could be activated on short notice to also provide riot control, and these units may be entirely unrelated to the Military Police Corps but cross-trained in riot control. For instance, my one friend from Connecticut is a Nat'l Guard MP and told me the state quick response unit at one point was a heavy truck company.

    Question: For the Guardsmen here, have you seen a change in these response models throughout the last year, especially as things seem to not be showing any signs of slowing down? Have your organization of non-MP units tasked with riot control expanded, or units train harder for riot control and take it more seriously than ever before?

    Thanks
    The short answer is no. Force structure of the national guard is set by the national guard bureau and it doesn’t change much from year to year. If it does change it is planned several years in advance. All national guard units have defense support to civil authorities mission. It can vary slightly depending on their location in the state and proximity to points of interest. It’ll also align somewhat with the specialties that they have within their force structure. So MP’s would most likely be trained in riot control, traffic control, etc. Engineer units would be trained to respond to rangeland fire, natural disaster response etc.
    “If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything." - Miyamoto Musashi

  4. #4
    Member TGS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Back in northern Virginia
    Quote Originally Posted by MGW View Post
    The short answer is no. Force structure of the national guard is set by the national guard bureau and it doesn’t change much from year to year. If it does change it is planned several years in advance. All national guard units have defense support to civil authorities mission. It can vary slightly depending on their location in the state and proximity to points of interest. It’ll also align somewhat with the specialties that they have within their force structure. So MP’s would most likely be trained in riot control, traffic control, etc. Engineer units would be trained to respond to rangeland fire, natural disaster response etc.
    My understanding is that the state is in control of what units it decides to dedicate to a particular state mission.

    I.e., if the state wants 1 company of non-MP troops to be cross trained and equipped for riot control or wants 2 companies, that's their purview at the state level. As I said before, this has already been discussed earlier last year.

    I'm not talking about traditional unit designations, such as how "state A" gets X of infantry, armor, MP, logistics, etc, while "state B" gets Y number of infantry, armor, MP, logistics, etc.
    "Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer

  5. #5
    Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Indiana
    TGS your understanding is fundamentally correct at least for the State that I have training oversight on.

    Not going into graphic details for OPSEC but obvious emphasis on additional DSCA training civil disturbance, MED/COVID support, etc. This includes cross training units for "less standard" missions. For example MP units or State law enforcement training and certifying 11Bs for civil disturbance response.

    Very proud of our team here but OPTEMPO is high!

    If you have more specific questions of a professional nature PM me and we can chat .MIL to .GOV.

  6. #6
    Member TGS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Back in northern Virginia
    Quote Originally Posted by 60Driver View Post
    Very proud of our team here but OPTEMPO is high!
    That's great to hear. Nothing better than feeling you're part of a team that's "Getting work done". Sort of what prompted my general question is having talked to my Nat'l Guard MP buddy (as well as @Cory ) earlier this year, and then chatting with my buddy earlier today now that the year has finished out. He said that his unit has done more riot control training this year than they've done in his entire 14 years combined.

    I'd just hate to see if a riot broke out in XYZ town, if the Nat'l Guard unit responding would be just as unprepared as they would've been last March. That would be disheartening.
    "Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer

  7. #7
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Canton GA
    Some facts pointed out be earlier responses plus additional thoughts

    1) National Guard Bureau allocates force structure across the Nation based on overall DOD strategy (Active Military requirements, Army Reserve, National Guard). In very broad terms - Active components weighted with Combat Arms plus Combat Support and Combat Service Support, Army Reserve weighted toward Combat Support and Combat Service Support, National Guard has Combat Arms, CS, and CSS.
    2) Geography has a major impact on which National Guard unit gets what mission inside a state besides that unit's core mission. If event happens in Southeast corner of state and the closest unit is a Heavy Truck unit - they may get the initial call out until the unit with "more correct" training and equipment arrives.
    3) Some states have regular missions that they train and equip - fires out West, tornado response Midwest, hurricanes in the South. There are Memo of Understanding etc. across state boundaries to facilitate sharing resources and expedite response.
    4) Many Combat Arms units (Field Artillery, Combat Engineer, Armor, etc.) now have a strong basis for Infantry/MP missions (not true LEO but route security and basic crowd control) due to multiple deployments to SW Asia where we did not use Tanks, Artillery but needed more Infantry/MP missions. Part of overseas deployment trainup through National Training Centers and Mobilization Stations was skewed toward interactions with Civilians on the Battlefield vs tearing across the Mojave in large formations of armored vehicles.
    5) Almost all units have a minimum annual training requirement for "State Mission" which is euphemism for crowd control. I suspect that state mission training has been higher priority last few years. Got by law minimum 39 days to train - do the math based on priorities what to train for so lots of compromises made - however, lots of NG units have been on some form of full time status for extended periods so lot more time to train on state mission, etc.
    6) Each region of country has National Guard Weapons of Mass Destruction Teams that full time Guard and used for big events like Super Bowl, political conventions, etc. Won't go further on that other than they exist and are highly trained.
    7) It takes time to gather up a National Guard unit, get loaded out, and deploy. The days of the local mayor being Company Commander and the First Sergeant was local contractor are decades over. Georgia learned that the hard way a few years ago when there was the snow-ice storm in Atlanta - Governor waited until storm hit then asked GAARNG to mobilize.

  8. #8
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Away, away, away, down.......
    I hope it’s not too outside the intent of the op, but I’m posting this in case people come across the thread and wonder why some parts of the armed forces have CONUS riot response as a job and others don’t.


    This video by the Chieftain did a good job of explaining the various different command structures within and surrounding Army, National Guard And Army Reserve. Be forewarned, it’s a way deeper dive than anything my basic civi education taught me.

    im strong, i can run faster than train

  9. #9
    Thanks for the tag @TGS I remember our PMs.

    I was an MP in the NY National Guard for 6 years, and went into IRR in 2014. I did a few state activations and the like. My unit was the more or less the go to unit for activations in most of the state, though I don't recall the technical name for that. I got out as an E5. So I can only speak from a unit level understanding, and it may be somewhat dated.

    That being said, I'll do my best to answer any questions I can if asked. If it's out of my lane, then I'll say so.

  10. #10
    Context out of the heavy truck company mention... The VA and MD Guard units called out last week seemed to initially roll designated “quick reaction” units but quickly scaled up.

    Each state has literally dozen of personnel on the Air and Army Guard side dedicated to various planning functions, including domestic contingency plans. They will be getting assorted threat briefs on an ongoing basis and also have a small full time Monday-Friday contingent. The Monday-Friday leadership often go through a specific training course on the process, legalities, etc.

    Each state also has a multi year matrix plan, so responsibilities for quick response rotate amongst units. Units generally know this years out and have lots of time to train up and plan. Doesn’t always work that way, but very systematic. Training topics can be adjusted, but only so much.

    The Inauguration is now authorized up to 15,000 National Guard personnel. That is an Army division in size or around the size of the ground combat element of the Tarawa invasion.

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •