(Canada U.S. Finance)
#American Politics, #美国军事 #
Written by Alan Zheng
Recently, with the riots in Congress, the name of the National Guard has reappeared frequently. When people who don't know much about the United States first hear the term National Guard, they probably don't think of a well-armed army, but a ragtag group of people armed with light weapons. In fact, however, with the exception of some militarily powerful powers, the National Guard, which does not sound brilliant, can easily fight against the militaries of most countries in the world on its own. So, where did the National Guard come from, and what is its status in the United States?
The predecessor of the National Guard: the American Militia
Indeed, the National Guard is so named because it was developed from the American militia, which has a much longer history than the History of the United States itself. The militia system was first introduced to the New World colonies by the Spaniards, providing basic defense and policing for the colonies. After the Arrival of the British on the American Continent, the earliest settlements of Jamestown (1607) and the Plymouth Colony (1620) both had a looser militia system, which became the first armed force in the United States.
On December 13, 1636, the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Court reorganized the local militia and established three permanent regiments to better defend the area. And this day was also named the inauguration day by the Army National Guard. Descendants of these three regiments still exist in the Massachusetts Army National Guard today and are known as the oldest units in the U.S. military. Since then, militia has appeared in all thirteen states of the United States. It was not until 1775, after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, that the United States Congress established the Continental Army, later the United States Army. That is, the National Guard is actually the predecessor of the U.S. Army.
(Source: Massachusetts National Guard official website)
In 1792, the second U.S. Congress enacted two militia laws that authorized the President of the United States to command state militias in the event of an invasion or riot in the United States. The bill helped President Washington successfully suppress the Whiskey Uprising, a tax-fighting campaign in western Pennsylvania. In 1862, with the outbreak of the American Civil War, the Militia Act was amended again to provide that African Americans could also join the militia. However, African-American soldiers at this time were paid much less than white soldiers, and it was not until 1864 that African-American soldiers received the same remuneration.
Because the Early United States followed the British tradition of streamlining the standing army, the regular army of the United States was small in number, and militias were often sent to combat missions when they were often faced with a shortage of manpower when fighting wars. For example, the main force of the American Army in the Mexican-American War, the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War basically came from the militia. This also made the militia, which was originally defined as "defensive", gradually become the main source of american overseas wars in the later period, and this influence continues to this day.
(Source: Iowa National Guard official website)
In 1903, Charles Dick, a retired-born lawmaker, advocated a major overhaul of the militia law in order to strengthen the training and equipment of the militias, while the federal government would also strengthen its control over the militias. The act is also known as the "Dick Act", and for the first time in this act, the term "National Guard" appears, which comes from the militia "National Guard" established in cities during the French Revolution. In the National Defense Act of 1916, the militia was officially renamed the National Guard, and today's National Guard model was formed.
It looks like a regular army, but it is an irregular army
In popular culture, the National Guard is often mentioned and usually represents great strength. In the game Far Cry 5, the American county policemen who were beaten by the cult gang and fled the wilderness repeatedly mentioned that they wanted to "call on the National Guard army to destroy it." In the movie "First Blood", Rambo, a Veteran of the Vietnam War, hides in the mountains after attacking the police, and the local sheriff decisively asks the governor to call on the National Guard to support him after the police are unable to deal with Rambo, resulting in Rambo being bombed by the National Guard and almost dying.
(Screenshot of Far Cry 5 game)
This also illustrates the status of the National Guard: although inferior to the regular army, it is particularly well equipped. The Army National Guard currently has 335,500 people and has a variety of main battle weapons of the regular army, including the M1 main battle tank. The Air National Guard is even more exaggerated, in addition to having the fighters, bombers, early warning aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, transport aircraft and air tankers that the regular air force should have, it even has the most advanced weapons of the United States such as F-22, F-35 fighter jets, B-2 stealth bombers and so on. No wonder some people once joked: "If the world's military strength is the first in the regular army of the United States, then the National Guard will definitely rank second."
(Source: Air National Guard official website)
Currently, the United States has a total of 54 National Guard units, including each state, three overseas territories and Washington, D.C. The national guard's expenses are largely shared between the federal and state governments, and responsibilities such as overall training policy and the allocation of military spending are administered by the National Guard, which derives from the Militia Act of 1903 and is based in Arlington, Virginia. After George W. Bush signed the FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act, the Director of the National Guard was headed by a four-star general, who is currently General Frank Glass.
Does the president have the power to take over the National Guard?
The National Guard is often confused with the Army Reserve, but as in the history of the National Guard, the National Guard is more structured like the militias of the states. The U.S. Constitution also stipulates that the "militia" nature of the National Guard is different from the "force" nature of the U.S. Army, so the National Guard is not equal to the Army Reserve, is not subject to the jurisdiction of the federal government, but is responsible to the state legislature.
Moreover, the National Guard differs from the regular army in that its members are not professional soldiers. These members, like the "citizen soldiers" of britain, engage in their own work on weekdays, but they participate in 48 weekends of military training every year, and they have to undergo a period of formal training every year to ensure that their combat quality can keep up with the level of the regular army.
(Source: National Guard official website)
However, the National Guard also bears the double blame of serving the national and state governments, because the Federation, like the states, can find a suitable way to use the National Guard. For example, if Congress, the President, the Secretary of Defense declares a state of war or emergency, then the National Guard can be conscripted into active service to replenish the strength of the regular army. Bills also limit the powers of states in the National Guard, such as the Montgomery Amendment of 1986, which prohibited states from refusing to send national guards overseas for training purposes.
That is, the National Guard is not just a "private armed force" in the states. If necessary, the president can intervene in certain extreme cases to take over the National Guard, commonly known as "federalization." However, this phenomenon is very rare, and after World War II, the PRESIDENT of the United States only "federalized" the National Guard 10 times, and each time was a very famous crisis situation in history. As a result, presidents are very cautious about "federalizing" the National Guard.
(Source: Unsplash)
Interestingly, U.S. presidents also have a special hobby for serving in the National Guard. Eighteen of the 44 U.S. presidents have served in militias or national guards. Among them, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison served as colonial militiamen, 15 presidents served as state militiamen, Truman was a member of the Army National Guard, and George W. Bush served in the Air National Guard.
The first task is to maintain stability in the country, and he has major events in history
Of course, the main duty of the National Guard is to obey the instructions of the state governments and to maintain local law and order in the event of exceptional circumstances. With the turmoil of American society in the 20th century, the National Guard also inadvertently participated in a series of major social events recorded in American history books.
In 1957, as a result of Brown v. Education Bureau, schools across the United States began to gradually desegregate. However, the pro-apartheid Arkansas Governor Ovar Fabbus deployed the state's National Guard around the school in order to prevent African-American students at Little Rock Central High School, known as the Little Rock Incident. In the end, Mayor Little Rock had to ask President Eisenhower to send the 101st Airborne Division to confront the local National Guard in order to ensure the normal enrollment of students, resulting in the National Guard finally being taken over by the federation and the admission of African American students normally.
In 1963, a similar situation occurred again. After the University of Alabama was forced to accept African-American students, Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked the door of the school auditorium to prevent three African-American students from entering the report registration. This time, in order to limit the governor's rights, President Kennedy took the lead in announcing the federalization of the Alabama National Guard, resulting in Wallace being unable to command. Finally, Henry Graham, the state's National Guard general, personally came to the school gate to persuade Wallace to step back, causing Wallace to leave. The incident is therefore also known as the "blocking school gate incident".
The National Guard was also the protagonist of the infamous Kent State University shooting. At that time, due to the intensification of the anti-Vietnam War wave, university students across the country held demonstrations to varying degrees, especially at Kent State University in Ohio. After the Governor of Ohio dispatched the National Guard to the school to crack down, the National Guard fired indiscriminately at the students in a clash that killed four students. The incident shocked the united states and caused a wider response across the country, with at least four million students on strike, indirectly leading to the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam.
During the 1992 Los Angeles riots, many parts of Los Angeles were in disarray and the Los Angeles Police Department itself was overwhelmed. The California National Guard came out to reinforce the Los Angeles Police Department at this time, and at least five shootings occurred during the stability maintenance process. In the 1993 Waco Massacre, the cult of David gathered its followers in a house in Texas and stockpiled arms in large quantities, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Alcohol, Guns, and Explosives (ATF) exchanged fire with believers when it tried to raid the house, resulting in the death of four commandos due to lack of equipment. In the ensuing raid, the National Guard provided the ATF and the FBI with military equipment and all the necessary support, from basic training to helicopters and armored vehicles.
The most active moment in the National Guard recently was the protest march that broke out across the United States after the death of George Floyd. In May 2020, Minnesota governors used 500 members of the state's National Guard to counter demonstrations erupting in Minneapolis. As the situation expanded to the states, a total of 15 National Guards were asked by local governments to help calm demonstrations and maintain law and order, becoming the largest mobilization of the National Guard since World War II.
Overseas battlefields are also frequent
After the founding of the United States, the National Guard often appeared in the middle of the United States overseas battlefields, fighting alongside the regular army. The reason is that, as mentioned before, the National Guard has a large number of personnel and excellent equipment that is almost regular, and its strength cannot be underestimated. Therefore, the US government will naturally not leave the National Guard idle when it conducts overseas operations.
In the major wars of modern times, the National Guard has appeared frequently. For example, during the Battle of the Somme in 1918, the National Guard was involved in the task of breaking through the Hindenburg Line. During Operation Overlord in World War II, the 29th Infantry Division, which suffered the heaviest casualties at the Normandy landings, was also part of the National Guard, consisting of members of the National Guard in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. The unit made several appearances in the movie "Saving Private Ryan" and is best known for its Tai Chi motif.
(Screenshot of the Movie "Saving Private Ryan")
During the Korean War, the National Guard mobilized 140,000 soldiers; in Operation Desert Storm, 63,000 were mobilized. In addition, the National Guard has also been involved in U.S. peacekeeping operations in Somalia, Haiti, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Balkans. The National Guard had promised that soldiers would not serve more than one year cumulatively and would only be stationed overseas for six months, with the aim of separating them from regular military districts.
However, with the outbreak of the 9/11 incident and the outbreak of the war on terror, the demand for military resources in the United States began to increase significantly, resulting in the national guard being sent overseas for longer and more people. Since the outbreak of the war on terror, the number of National Guard dispatches overseas has skyrocketed, and since the outbreak of the war on terror, the National Guard has sent 428,000 people to fight, accounting for 45% of the total NUMBER of U.S. troops sent overseas.
Participate in disaster relief and also grow vegetables
With regard to disaster relief, the National Guard is well known for its mission to help the affected areas after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. After the hurricane swept through, the hard-hit Louisiana state was chaotic, a large number of gangsters appeared and burned and looted, and even a street shootout with the police, which put the new Orleans police under pressure, and even 200 people resigned.
Louisiana Gov. Catherine Blanco asked the National Guard for help after police were unable to cope with the crime. 300 National Guard members who had just returned from the Iraqi battlefield immediately rushed to the city of New Orleans to help maintain law and order, and thousands of National Guard members entered the disaster area to maintain order. At the same time, the National Guard also helped in the relief effort. During hurricane Katrina, the Air National Guard flew more than 3,000 sorties, carrying more than 30,000 passengers and 11,000 tons of emergency supplies.
(Source: National Guard official website)
What is not well known is that the National Guard also has a lot of research on farming. In 2008, the National Guard's "Rural Construction Team" began teaching classes in Afghanistan, teaching Afghan farmers some of the basics of farming in order to improve Agricultural Production and the overall economy. The National Guard used this special "rural construction team" to play the public relations card and successfully built up the Afghan people's trust in the US military.
National Guard after the Congressional riots
The Congressional riots in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 brought the National Guard back into custody. However, the well-equipped National Guard did not play a large role. After the riots, members of Congress and GOVERNMENT officials asked the National Guard for help, but the National Guard arrived a few hours later to reinforce the country, already under siege by demonstrators.
The reason for this phenomenon is that although Washington, D.C., has its own National Guard, the SAR Government does not have any control over the National Guard. The power of the SAR's National Guard belongs to the President and is delegated to the Minister of Defense, resulting in the SAR itself often unable to carry out the task of maintaining law and order alone, and delaying valuable time in emergency situations. This is why, after the riots in Congress, many members of parliament demanded that the federation should also grant the SAR its own control of the National Guard.
After learning the lessons of the congressional riots, the security services have finally learned to plan ahead and prepare for the upcoming presidential inauguration. According to the information released by the Ministry of National Defense, in the days after the end of the riots, thousands of members of the National Guard were successively sent to the special zone to maintain law and order, and as of the 11th, more than 6,000 people had been gathered.
The Defense Department said a maximum of 15,000 National Guard members would be deployed in the sarcomment during Biden's presidential inauguration. With such a battle and the national guard's sophisticated equipment, Biden's presidential inauguration ceremony is probably smooth.