The Florida Department of Military Affairs is a state agency of the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, which was created by Chapter 250, Florida Statutes. The department is responsible for providing management oversight and administrative support to the

Florida National Guard The Florida National Guard is the National Guard force of the state of Florida. It comprises the Florida Army National Guard and the Florida Air National Guard. The United States Constitution charges the National Guard with dual federal and stat ...

. The two branches of the Florida National Guard, the

Florida Army National Guard The Florida Army National Guard is Florida's component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. In the United States, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the federal army's available combat forces ...

and the

Florida Air National Guard The Florida Air National Guard (FL ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Florida. It is, along with the Florida Army National Guard (FL ARNG), an element of the Florida National Guard. It is also an element of the Air National Guard (ANG) ...

, fall under the command of the state Adjutant General, an appointee of the Governor of Florida, and fall under the command of the

Governor of Florida A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

Florida Army National Guard

The Florida Army National Guard has a dual federal and state mission. When in federal service, it acts as a reserve component of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. When activated by the state of Florida, the Army National Guard is tasked with emergency relief support during natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and forest fires;

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

operations; support to

civil defense Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...

authorities; maintenance of vital public services, and counterdrug operations.

Florida Air National Guard

The Florida Air National Guard has a dual federal and state mission. When in federal service, it acts as a reserve component of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. Like the Florida Army National Guard, when activated by the state of Florida, the Florida Air National Guard may be deployed to support

emergency services Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety and health by addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies, while others deal wit ...

operations. In addition, the Air National Guard has complete responsibility for the

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

of the United States.

Inactive components

Florida State Defense Force

The Florida State Defense Force is the currently inactive

state defense force In the United States, state defense forces are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state. ...

of Florida. The

is permitted, under Florida law to organize and maintain the Florida State Defense Force whenever any part of the Florida National Guard is in federal service, and to maintain the Florida State Defense Force as a cadre of commissioned and non-commissioned officers irrespective of National Guard deployments.

Florida Naval Militia

The Florida Naval Militia is the currently inactive

naval militia A naval militia is a reserve military organization administered under the authority of a state government in the United States. It is often composed of reservists of the Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, and Coast Guard Reserve, retirees an ...

of Florida. The Governor of Florida is permitted, under Florida law, to organize a naval militia and a marine corps in accordance with federal law governing the Naval Militia or Marine Corps of the United States and regulations issued by the

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

References

External links

Florida Department of Military Affairs Official Website
{{authority control Military in Florida State agencies of Florida