The Missouri National Guard (MONG), commonly known as the Missouri Guard, is a component of the

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

and Missouri State Department of the National Guard. It is composed of

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

units. The Department office is located in Jefferson City. The Mission of the Missouri National Guard is "to provide trained and disciplined forces for domestic emergencies or as otherwise required by state law under the authority of the governor.”

History

The Missouri National Guard traces its origins to the Missouri State Militia, which was federally funded state militia conceived in 1861 and called to service in 1862 during the Civil War. It was a force designed to protect Missouri from Confederate guerillas. The Missouri Army National Guard was formed in 1877. It was first mobilized en-masse during the Spanish-American War in 1898. During the war, it was split into six volunteer infantry regiments. The 1st Missouri Infantry Regiment was commanded by Col.

Edwin Batdorf Edwin Batdorf (1853–1927) was an American colonel who commanded the 1st Missouri Infantry Regiment during the Spanish-American War. Despite the regiment never taking part in active combat, he was well known for his involvement in a political ...

, the 2nd Missouri Infantry Regiment was commanded by Col. William K. Caffee, the 3rd Missouri Infantry Regiment commanded by Col. George P. Gross, the 4th Missouri Infantry Regiment commanded by Col. Joseph A. Corby, the 5th Missouri Infantry Regiment commanded by Col. Milton Moore, and the 6th Missouri Infantry Regiment commanded by Col. Letcher H. Hardeman. The Missouri Air National Guard was established following World War II, in 1947. The Air Guard was first mobilized en masse during the Korean War. For much of the final decades of the twentieth century, National Guard personnel typically served " One weekend a month, two weeks a year", with a portion working for the Guard in a full-time capacity. The current forces formation plans of the US Army call for the typical National Guard unit (or National Guardsman) to serve one year of active duty for every three years of service. More specifically, current

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

policy is that no Guardsman will be involuntarily activated for a total of more than 24 months (cumulative) in one six-year enlistment period (this policy is due to change 1 August 2007, the new policy states that soldiers will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months, individual states have differing policies). In December 1989, a contingent of 22 Military Policemen from the

1138th Military Police Company The 1138th Military Police Company (MP Co) was a military police company of the Missouri Army National Guard. It was federally recognized in January 1968. The company headquarters was located at West Plains, Missouri and a detachment was located ...

was in Panama on a two-week annual training when "

Operation Just Cause Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

" commenced. The MPs, who specialized in enemy prisoner of war operations, augmented the active duty force at Fort Clayton, taking enemy mortar and artillery fire when the invasion began. While serving in combat, the unit set up and operated the Empire Range EPW camp. The Missouri National Guard was the first National Guard unit to be called into active service since the end of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

The 1138th was called upon once again to serve after the Invasion of Kuwait the following year. It was one of the first Guard units placed on alert status in August, 1990 but did not deploy until December, 1990. The Missouri Guard was the first Enemy Prisoner of War (EPW) unit to deploy as part of the 400th MP Battalion. Eventually it set up and operated the 301st EPW Camp, near the Saudi Arabian city of

Hafar al-Batin Hafar al-Batin ( ar, حفر الباطن '), also frequently spelled ''Hafr al-Batin'', is a Saudi Arabian city in the Eastern Province. It is located 430 km north of Riyadh, 94.2 km from the Kuwait border, and about 74.3 from the Iraq ...

(Hotel 301). It returned to West Plains, Missouri in May 1991 with a hero's welcome. In 2012, Missouri organized the Missouri State Defense Force to serve as Missouri's official state defense force and to augment the Missouri National Guard during stateside missions. The Missouri State Defense Force was disbanded in 2022. On August 18, 2014, after violent clashes occurred during an imposed curfew in

Ferguson, Missouri Ferguson is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Per the 2020 census, the population was 18,527. History What is now the city of Ferguson was founded in 1855, when William B ...

in the aftermath of the fatal police shooting of a resident of Ferguson,

Missouri Governor The governor of Missouri is the head of government of the U.S. state of Missouri and the commander-in-chief of the Missouri National Guard. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by t ...

Jay Nixon issued an executive order calling in the National Guard to "help restore peace and order and to protect the citizens of Ferguson." 1138th Engineer Company in Morocco

In January of 2017 the 110th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade was deployed in support of Operation Spartan Shield and Operation Inherent Resolve in Qatar. In January of 2021, Governor Mike Parson activated the Missouri National Guard to help administer COVID-19 vaccinations. In June of 2022, the 1138th Engineer Company (Sapper) participated in Exercise African Lion in Morocco as part of

US Africa Command The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM), is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U. ...

. On November 8th, 2022, Amendment 5 was approved by Missouri voters which separated the Missouri National Guard from the Department of Public Safety into its own department, the Missouri Department of the National Guard. The amendment was placed on the ballot by the Missouri Legislature after being introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives by Representative

Adam Schnelting Adam Schnelting is a Republican member of the Missouri House of Representatives. He currently represents the 69th district, which primarily encompasses Harvester, Weldon Spring, and portions of St. Peters and St. Charles in St. Charles County, ...

35th Engineer Brigade Soldier promoted DVIDS66126

Organization

The Missouri Army National Guard is authorized more than 11,500 soldiers and airman, Subordinate units within the Missouri National Guard include: Missouri Army National Guard * Joint Forces Headquarters-Missouri (Jefferson City) * 110th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (Kansas City) ** 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment (Assigned to the 39th IBCT ARARNG) ** 3rd Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment (Assigned to the 72nd IBCT TXARNG) ** 1st Battalion, 129th Field Artillery Regiment ** 220th Transportation Battalion ** 135th Signal Company * 35th Infantry Division (Lexington) * 35th Combat Aviation Brigade (Sedalia) ** 1st Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (Assault) ** 935th Aviation Support Battalion * 35th Military Police Brigade (Jefferson Barracks) ** 175th Military Police Battalion ** 205th Military Police Battalion ** 235th Engineer Team * 35th Engineer Brigade (Fort Leonard Wood) ** 203rd Engineer Battalion ** 1140th Engineer Battalion ** 635th Forward Engineer Support Team - Main (FEST-M) * 1107th Theater Aviation Support Maintenance Group (Springfield) * 70th Troop Command ** 7th Civil Support Team ** 135th Army Band ** 70th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment ** 135th Military History Detachment ** Detachment 1, 179th Cyber Protection Team ** 229th Multifunctional Medical Battalion ** 835th Combat Sustainment Brigade * Missouri Army National Guard Support Elements ** Missouri Army National Guard Recruiter and Retention ** 140th Regional Training Institute ** Missouri Army National Guard Training Center ** Missouri Medical Detachment Missouri Air National Guard * 131st Bomb Wing (Whiteman AFB / Jefferson Barracks Air Guard Station) ** 131st Medical Group ** 131st Operations Group ** 131st Mission Support Group ** 131st Maintenance Group ** 157th Air Operations Group ** 131st Bomb Wing Staff * 139th Airlift Wing (Rosecrans Air National Guard Base) ** 139th Operations Group ** 139th Mission Support Group ** 139th Maintenance Group ** 139th Medical Group ** Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center ** 139th Airlift Wing Staff Source: Missouri Army National Guard 2021 Annual Report & MONG organizationOur Force
Missouri National Guard