Army National Guard

<p>The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized <a href="/facts/Militia_(United_States)/G5gaI3Q2">militia force</a> and a <a href="/facts/Reserve_components_of_the_United_States_Armed_Forces/KKmhUArF">federal military reserve force</a> of the <a href="/facts/United_States_Army/WACWBEK9">United States Army</a>. It is simultaneously part of two different organizations: the Militia of the United States (consisting of the ARNG of each state, most territories, and the <a href="/facts/District_of_Columbia/enXPK156">District of Columbia</a>), as well as the federal ARNG, as part of the <a href="/facts/National_Guard_(United_States)/oMCltGFe">National Guard</a> as a whole (which includes the <a href="/facts/Air_National_Guard/50qC3e0V">Air National Guard</a>). It is divided into subordinate units stationed in each state or insular area, responsible to their respective governors or other head-of-government.
</p><p>The Guard's origins are usually traced to the city of <a href="/facts/Salem%2c_Massachusetts/VoujDzut">Salem, Massachusetts</a>, in 1636. That year a regiment of militia drilled for the first time to defend a multi-community area within what is now the United States.
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Army National Guard open-in-new

Army National Guard