The Indiana Naval Militia (INM) 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 ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Along with the

Indiana National Guard The Indiana National Guard (INNG) is a component of the United States Armed Forces, the United States National Guard and the Military Department of Indiana (MDI). It consists of the Indiana Army National Guard, the Indiana Air National Guard, ...

and the

Indiana Guard Reserve The Indiana Guard Reserve (INGR), formerly the Liberty Guard and the Indiana Legion, is the state defense force of the state of Indiana. The Indiana Guard Reserve serves under the exclusive authority of the governor of the State of Indiana throug ...

, the Indiana Naval Militia is a component of the military forces of Indiana. Like the members of the National Guard, the Navy Reserve and

Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...

personnel who make up the membership of the various naval militias have a dual federal and state status, operating as a part of their state's military forces unless called into federal service, at which time they are relieved from their state obligations and placed under federal control until they are released from active service. However, unlike the National Guard, which is activated and deployed as an entire unit, naval militia personnel are activated as individuals and deployed within the ranks of their respective reserve components. Therefore, only members of the naval militia are activated under federal service, while the naval militia itself is never federalized as a unit.

History

The Indiana Naval Militia was first organized on 7 August 1909. The members of the First Battalion, Indiana Naval Militia were students at the

Culver Military Academy Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culver ...

who were nonetheless given full military status and participated in drills with naval militia from other states, serving aboard the during a drill in 1914. However, after the passage of a Naval Militia bill on 16 February 1916, the unit was mustered out of service due to the young ages of its members. The Indiana Naval Militia was re-established in 1927, and by 1929 had established units in Indianapolis and Michigan City.

Personnel

Naval militias are partially regulated and equipped by the federal government, and therefore membership requirements are partially set according to federal standards. Under 10 U.S. Code § 7854, in order to be eligible for access to "vessels, material, armament, equipment, and other facilities of the Navy and the Marine Corps available to the Navy Reserve and the Marine Corps Reserve", at least 95% of members of the naval militia must also be members of the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

or the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...

Legal status

Naval militias of U.S. states are recognized by the federal government of the United States under 10 U.S. Code §7851. Indiana law also recognizes the Indiana Naval Militia as a component of the military forces of Indiana. Therefore, an act of legislature by the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. Th ...

or an executive order from the

governor of Indiana The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the State of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state governmen ...

could return the Indiana Naval Militia to active service.

References

{{State Defense Forces Military in Indiana State defense forces of the United States