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
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. The LSG was first created 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 opposing ...
. As a state defense force, the LSG is a part of the state militia of Louisiana, and can serve as a stateside replacement of the
Louisiana National Guard
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 ...
while the National Guard is deployed. Unlike the Louisiana National Guard, the Louisiana State Guard is solely under state control, and cannot be federalized or deployed outside of Louisiana, guaranteeing additional soldiers will always be available to the governor to deploy in response to crises.
History of predecessor units
Both 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 ...
and the
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.
...
s are descended from the state militias which augmented the relatively smaller professional federal military in times of war. During the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
, numerous Louisiana militia units were raised to aid in the defense of the city during the
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...
. Later, in 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 ...
Militia Act of 1903
The Militia Act of 1903 (), also known as the Efficiency in Militia Act of 1903 or the Dick Act, was legislation enacted by the United States Congress to create an early National Guard and which codified the circumstances under which the Guard co ...
, state militias were placed under federal control and reorganized as the modern
National Guard of the United States
The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions. However, it was not organized until March 1943, due largely to the difficulty of recruiting members when most able-bodied men were being drafted into the federal military. By October 1943, the Louisiana State Guard had reached a strength of nearly 3,000 guardsmen.
Equipment
The War Department agreed to equip state defense forces, though often with outdated equipment. Louisiana was provided with reconditioned military trucks and cars, and obsolete uniforms and weapons, including sixty machine guns.
Plaquemines Parish incident
In October 1943, Louisiana Governor Sam Jones attempted to fill a vacancy for the position of sheriff in the
Plaquemines Parish
Plaquemines Parish (; French: ''Paroisse de Plaquemine'', Louisiana French: ''Paroisse des Plaquemines'', es, Parroquia de Caquis) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 23,515 at the 2020 census, the parish ...
. Simultaneously, Leander H. Perez, an Assistant District Attorney and Democratic
political boss
In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous of ...
of Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes, attempted to fill the position through a special election. ADA Perez raised a local militia of deputies and armed citizens and fortified the town in order to prevent Governor Jones’ appointee from taking office, and Governor Jones moved several State Guard units closer to the parish after a supreme court ruling affirmed the Governor’s right to make the appointment. On October 9, the Governor declared
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
and ordered the State Guard to advance into the parish. Guardsmen in armored cars entered the parish and ended the crisis without meeting any resistance.
Disbandment
The Louisiana State Guard was disbanded on June 30, 1947.
Later reactivation
Louisiana later began rebuilding the Louisiana State Guard to a cadre-level organization throughout the 1980s. As of 2003, the Louisiana State Guard was organized as teams of soldiers and desk officers, trained as experts in operations and logistics, and organized for deployment to each parish (county)
emergency operations center
An emergency operations center (EOC) is a central command and control facility responsible for carrying out the principles of emergency preparedness and emergency management, or disaster management functions at a strategic level during an emerg ...
during a crisis. The Guard contains a pool of retired military personnel that can be called back to active duty if needed. Key Louisiana state employees are also members of the force so they can be mobilized more effectively in order to deal with emergencies.
All units of the Louisiana State Guard were deployed in support of the Louisiana National Guard in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Legal basis
The Louisiana State Guard is authorized under Louisiana state law under Title 29 §5 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes. State defense forces are also authorized by the federal government under Title 32, Section 109 of the United States Code. Currently, 23 states and the territory of Puerto Rico maintain active state defense forces. In 2005, state defense forces from several states were activated to aid the National Guard in sheltering the large number of refugees leaving Louisiana and assist in other disaster recovery operations after Hurricane Katrina struck
Employers in the state of Louisiana are required by law to grant 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 ...
to any employees who are members of the Louisiana State Guard who are activated for any military service, and to restore those employees to their previous positions upon their return from their deployment.