The Wisconsin State Defense Force (WSDF) 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 the

State of Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Mich ...

authorized by Wisconsin law. As a state defense force, the Wisconsin State Defense Force, alongside the

Wisconsin National Guard The Wisconsin National Guard consists of the Wisconsin Army National Guard and the Wisconsin Air National Guard. It is a part of the Government of Wisconsin under the control of the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs. The Wisconsin Natio ...

, is organized under the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs as a part of the military forces of Wisconsin. However, unlike the National Guard, the State Defense Force is a purely state-controlled organization and cannot be deployed outside the state of Wisconsin. When any part of the

is called into service of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the adjutant general (who is appointed by the governor) may recruit volunteers to the WSDF to serve within the borders of Wisconsin.

History

Wisconsin home guards

The military of the

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

was composed of a smaller professional army supported by various state militia volunteer units. Wisconsin provided

multiple units A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contro ...

to fight in the war. Initially, the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...

only requested one volunteer regiment from Wisconsin, leaving thousands of men eager to serve militarily but unable to enter the war until much later as the conflict continued longer than the federal government had anticipated. The desire of these men to serve, along with a fear of domestic unrest caused by Confederate sympathizers, caused the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republican ...

and

Governor 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 ...

Louis P. Harvey Louis Powell Harvey (July 22, 1820 – April 19, 1862) was an American politician and the seventh Governor of Wisconsin. He was the first Wisconsin Governor to die in office. Early life Harvey was born in East Haddam, Connecticut, and moved w ...

to create a legal framework for local militia companies to organize, drill, and serve as a home guard unit capable of handling state emergencies.

World War I

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when the National Guard was federalized and deployed, the state of Wisconsin created a state guard of volunteers, officially titled the Wisconsin State Guard. Members of the Wisconsin State Guard served solely as state soldiers, unlike members of the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

who had dual federal and state responsibilities. While the Wisconsin State Guard could not be federalized, individual members of the guard were still eligible to be drafted into federal service. Many of those who first served in the Wisconsin State Guard were inducted into the federal military at a higher rank than those enlisted who had not served any state duty. Unlike many other state defense forces, the Wisconsin State Guard was trained and equipped by the state of Wisconsin rather than relying on the

for donated surplus equipment. The Wisconsin State Guard consisted of several

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

s and drilled at National Guard bases across the state, including Camp Douglas.

World War II

The Wisconsin State Guard was again called into service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

for homeland security purposes while the

was deployed abroad.

Legal status

State defense forces are authorized by the federal government under Title 32, Section 109 of the

United States Code In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...

. Wisconsin law also allows the governor to reactivate the Wisconsin State Defense Force at any time when any part of the

is called into federal service. Therefore, the WSDF can be reactivated either by an act of legislature or by an executive order by the

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

Legal protection

Under Wisconsin law, members of the state defense force who are activated during an emergency are guaranteed a

leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...

from their place of employment, and must be reinstated to their former position when their deployment ends, without loss of pay, seniority, health insurance coverage, or other benefits.

References

External links

Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs Official Website
{{State Defense Forces State Defence Force State defense forces of the United States