National Guard

The National Guard is a reserve military unit utilized by the United States of America and serves as a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. The National Guard has branches in all fifty states as well as the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. Unlike the United States Army, members of the National Guard serve on a part-time basis either as an active guard or a reserve guard. The primary function of the National Guard is to supplement military forces of other branches of the Armed Forces during a national emergency, which may include terrorist attacks, and/or natural disasters.