Louisiana National Guard
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The Louisiana National Guard is the armed force through which the Louisiana Military Department executes the U.S. state of Louisiana's security policy. Consisting of the Louisiana Army National Guard, a reserve component of the United States Army; the Louisiana Air National Guard, a reserve component of the United States Air Force; and the
Louisiana State Guard The Louisiana State Guard (LSG) is the official state defense force of the state of Louisiana. The LSG was first created during World War II. As a state defense force, the LSG is a part of the state militia of Louisiana, and can serve as a state ...
, an all-volunteer state defense force, it is directed by an adjutant general appointed by the
Governor of Louisiana 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 ...
unless federalized by order of the President of the United States, which places members on active U.S. military duty status. The Louisiana National Guard has both active and inactive (reserve) members as well as full and part-time members. Part-time National Guard members are referred to as 'weekend warriors' both by the military and civilians.


History

The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system. With this, the present-day Louisiana National Guard was established in 1916. From 1968 to 1972 in the second term of Governor
John J. McKeithen John Julian McKeithen (May 28, 1918 – June 4, 1999) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 49th governor of Louisiana from 1964 to 1972. Early life McKeithen was born in Grayson, Louisiana on May 28, 1918. His father was a ...
, the adjutant general for Louisiana was David Wade, then a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force, who had commanded
Barksdale Air Force Base Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in northwest Louisiana, United States, in Bossier Parish. It is contiguous to Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwestern edge. Barksdale AFB ...
in Bossier City from 1963 to 1966. In 1980, Governor Dave Treen elevated Ansel M. Stroud, Jr., from assistant adjutant general to adjutant general, a position which Stroud filled until 1997. Eugene McGehee, a member of the
Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 repr ...
and a state district court judge from East Baton Rouge Parish, advanced in the Louisiana National Guard from private beginning in 1948 to colonel over a period of more than three decades of service. Bert A. Adams, a member of the Louisiana House from 1956 to 1968, won a
Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...
in World War II and subsequently advanced to
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the National Guard. Randal Gaines, a lieutenant colonel in the Louisiana National Guard, is a member of the Louisiana House for St. Charles and
St. John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
parishes. Ronald A. Waller was the first African American named a lieutenant colonel of the Louisiana National Guard. Louisiana National Guard was active in Iraq, Irbil as support role for Kurdish rebels against Iranian and Islamic State forces.


Components


Louisiana Army National Guard

The Louisiana Army National Guard has 9,500 members stationed at 67 armories in 63 communities throughout Louisiana as of 2012, reporting to the Joint Force Headquarters. * 256th Infantry Brigade - Headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana consists of a Headquarters and Headquarters Company and four Combat Heavy Engineer Battalions. HHC is located in Abbeville Louisiana. TIGER brigade in Lafayette. *
225th Engineer Brigade The 225th Engineer Brigade is a combat heavy engineer brigade of the Louisiana Army National Guard. It is one of the largest engineer formations in the United States Army National Guard. The 225th Engineer Brigade is headquartered at Camp Beaure ...
- Headquartered at
Camp Beauregard Camp Beauregard is a U.S. Army installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Parish. It is operated and owned by the Louisiana National Guard as one of their main t ...
near Pineville, Louisiana in Rapides Parish, is a combat heavy engineer brigade, and is the largest engineer formation in the United States National Guard. *61st Troop Command - Headquartered in Carville, Louisiana, at the Gillis W. Long Center, consists of a headquarters element and a Weapons of Mass Destruction ''Civil Support Team'', with approximately fifty Soldiers and Airmen. The Command has an important role in homeland security for the state. *State Aviation Command - With 800 Soldiers, eight units, and two armories, the Command has twenty-six UH-60 Black Hawks, four LUH-72 Lakotas, two OH-58 Kiowas and one C-12 Huron. Units include seemingly the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 244th Aviation Regiment (United States), 850th Medical Company, and the 204th ATSG. *139th Regional Support Group - Headquartered in Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, consisting of a Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 415th Military Intelligence Battalion, the 773rd Military Police Battalion, 165th Combat Service Support Battalion, an Army Band and an Expeditionary Signal Company. The 139th has more than 1,800 troops, in 15 armories across the state. A new Armed Forces Readiness Center is under construction in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. * 199th Regiment (Regional Training Institute) - Headquartered in Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, the 199th Regiment provides regionalized leadership, Noncommissioned Officer Education System (NCOES), Officer Candidate School (OCS), and general studies training for the Army National Guard (ARNG), the United States Army Reserve (USAR), and the Active Component (AC). The 199th Regiment plans and programs leadership training within its region based on requirements identified by the Individual Training Branch (ARNG-TRI) and the Army program for Individual Training (ARPRINT) and works in conjunction with its Proponents or Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in their respective areas of training.


Louisiana Air National Guard

The
159th Fighter Wing The 159th Fighter Wing (159 FW) is a unit of the Louisiana Air National Guard, stationed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Louisiana. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Co ...
is the main component of the Louisiana Air National Guard. Stationed at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans in
Belle Chasse Belle Chasse ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Belle Chasse is part of the Greater New Orleans metropolitan area. The population was 10,579 at the 20 ...
, the wing is nicknamed the "Bayou Militia". If federalized the wing becomes part of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. The wing was founded in 1941, on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain as one of 29 original National Guard wings in the United States, but was moved to the current location in 1957.


Louisiana State Guard

In addition, the
Louisiana State Guard The Louisiana State Guard (LSG) is the official state defense force of the state of Louisiana. The LSG was first created during World War II. As a state defense force, the LSG is a part of the state militia of Louisiana, and can serve as a state ...
(LSG) is an all-volunteer militia force under the Louisiana Military Department that provides reserve personnel to both the Louisiana Army National Guard and the Louisiana Air National Guard. It is under state jurisdiction and its members are employed only within the State of Louisiana. It is not subject to be called, ordered or assigned as any element of the federal armed forces. Its mission is to provide units organized, equipped and trained in the protection of life or property and the preservation of peace, order and public safety under competent orders of state authorities.


State Partnership Program

Louisiana has two countries in the SPP (State Partnership Program). Belize joined the SPP with Louisiana National Guard in 1996 and
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
in 2011. Both of these nations fall under the area of operations of SOUTHCOM.


References


External links


Official Website of Louisiana National GuardOfficial Website of Louisiana Air National Guard
compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History
Louisiana National Guard Magazine - Pelican Dispatch
printed by AQP Publishing, Inc.
Louisiana Militia Papers
US Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania {{authority control National Guard (United States) Military in Louisiana national guard