Transcript Document

History of the
Army National Guard
Terminal Learning Objective
Action: Identify accomplishments of the
Army National Guard through-out the history
of the United States of America
Conditions: Given this lesson plan
Standards: Discuss significant events of the
ARNG from the beginning of the militia to
current foreign and domestic situations
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The First Muster
1636 - The First Muster
When the National Guard's oldest regiments met for their first drill on the village green in
Salem, Massachusetts, they were barely 3 months old, organized on December 13th, 1636,
the date we now celebrate as the National Guard birthday.
In 1637, the English settlements in North America were a tiny fringe along the Eastern
seaboard. As settlement pushed west into the interior, the institution of the militia,
which the colonists brought with them from England, went with them. The militia
tradition meant citizens organizing themselves into military units, responsible for their
own defense. The militia, later called the National Guard, has fought in all the nation's
major wars, as it fights today in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its oldest units, like the one
pictured above, are the oldest units in the United States military and among the oldest
military units in the world.
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French and Indian War
1756 - French and Indian War - "20 Brave Men"
At their first muster, the members of the Massachusetts militia drilled with pikes and wore
armor, just like all European armies of the time. But in North America they faced a new enemy,
the Native Americans who fought to preserve their homelands, and a new environment:
a vast, largely empty forest. Armor was a hindrance, and so were the formal battle
formations employed in Europe.
By the time of the French and Indian War, the English colonists had adopted many of
the fighting skills of the Indians, and even some of their weapons and clothing. They
would put these skills to use in the coming decades.
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American Revolution
1775 - American Revolution
Although they did not wear
the spit-and-polish uniforms
of the British, generations of
colonial warfare had made the American militia a home-grown force with its own military
traditions. In 1775, after decades of political squabbling over taxes and parliamentary
representation, the Massachusetts militia stood their ground at Lexington and Concord
to fire the "shot heard 'round the world" which started the Revolutionary War. It was
the militia which initially formed the Continental Army led by George Washington and
augmented it a key times before battle. Just as importantly, local militias were key in
holding the countryside and denying the British intelligence and popular support,
gradually turning the tide of popular opinion towards independence.
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World War I
1918 - World War I
The U.S. entered World War I in April 1917, and by that summer the entire National Guard,
more than 300,000 men, was on active duty. The troops who sailed to France to fight with the
British and French included three regiments of African-American Guardsmen. AfricanAmericans had a long tradition of service going back to the colonial militias and the
Revolutionary War, and after the Civil War black units were organized on both sides of the
Mason-Dixon Line.
The 369th Infantry, organized as the 15th New York Infantry in 1915, fought with the
French Army, and were nicknamed "Hell fighters" by their French comrades. The
regiment spent more continuous days in combat than any other American regiment.
Their regimental band, which was twice the size of a standard regimental band and
included many of New York's finest African-American musicians, played a vital role in
spreading the popularity of the distinctly American musical form of jazz to the continent
of Europe.
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World War II
1941 - World War II - Pacific
The entire National Guard was mobilized for active duty for training in 1940 and 1941, well
before the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor brought us into the war.
By the fall of 1941, Guard units had been shipped across the Pacific to reinforce U.S. bases
in Hawaii and the Philippines. When the Japanese struck, one Coast Artillery regiment, from
New Mexico, and two tank battalions, made up of companies from all over the U.S., were in
the Philippines. These men were part of the doomed U.S. force that was finally forced to
surrender to the Japanese in the spring of 1942. They suffered terribly for three years
as prisoners of war; almost half of them did not survive.
But as these men made what has come to be called the Bataan Death March into
captivity, other Guardsmen were boarding ships for Europe and Australia, where they
would become the first U.S. divisions to fight the Germans and the Japanese.
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Korean War
1951 - Korean War
After North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, United States armed forces
fought to repel Communist aggression. The Korean War brought more than 183,000
Army and Air Guard members to active duty. Army Guard units included eight infantry
divisions and three regimental combat teams. The Air Guard call up included 66 of its
92 flying squadrons along with numerous support organizations. Two infantry divisions,
the 40th of California and the 45th of Oklahoma, and two air wings, the 116th and the
136th, fought in Korea.
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Vietnam
1969 - Vietnam
During the Vietnam War, no massive call-ups of National Guard and Reserve units were
made to raise military manpower. However, on January 25, 1968, a limited number of
Air Guard units were ordered to active duty following the seizure of the U.S.S. Pueblo
by the North Koreans. The communists' Tet Offensive in South Vietnam during
February 1968 led to another limited mobilization of Army and Air Guard units in March
1968. Of the more than 22,000 Army and Air Guardsmen mobilized following the Tet
offensive, nearly 9,000 served in Vietnam. Thousands more served as volunteers in the
war zone.
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Operation Desert Storm
1991 - Operation Desert Storm
On 2 August 1990, the forces of Iraq invaded Kuwait. From the first days of the
world's response to the Iraq's invasion, Guard soldiers and Airmen reacted, initially as
volunteers, and later as members of mobilized units. More than 62,000 Army National
Guard soldiers and 12,000 Air Guard Airmen were mobilized. The first major
mobilization of the all-volunteer era, and the largest since the Korean War, was a huge
success.
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Global War on Terror
2003 - Global War on Terror
The Florida Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry, along with the
regiment's second and third battalions, was mobilized in January 2003 for service in
Operation Iraqi Freedom. Following thirty-eight days of post mobilization training at
Forth Steward, GA, the unit deployed to Jordan where initially served as the security
force at Prince Hassan Air Base, a forward operating base for U.S. Special Operations
Forces and A-10 aircraft of the United States Air Force.
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Terminal Learning Objective
Action: Identify accomplishments of the
Army National Guard through-out the history
of the United States of America
Conditions: Given this lesson plan
Standards: Discuss significant events of the
ARNG from the beginning of the militia to
current foreign and domestic situations
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